Program Requirements
Students will choose the Environmental Track or the Urban Track as their course of study. A student interested in urban environmental topics can design a program of study through either track.
- The Environmental Track of the major emphasizes critical thinking and rigorous applications to the study of the environment through the social sciences and humanities. Central concepts to this track include human behavior and its relationship to the environment, moral and ethical dimensions of environmental preservation and conservation, the evolution of environmental discourse, communications, and media, and cultural and historical constructions of nature and the human. The track provides emphases in environmental economics and policy, law and politics, sustainable development, human ecology, environmental ethics and justice, and the social and humanistic study of climate change.
- The Urban Track of the major emphasizes perspectives on human interaction with the urban, built environment. The track encourages a spatial and place-based urban perspective, meaning that built form and environmental context provide the conceptual core through which the social, economic, and political understanding of urbanism is pursued. The track approaches the nature, dynamics, and human experience of cities by capitalizing on the growth of interest in urban design, urban planning, and emerging urban science.
All students in the major and minor program must take the foundational sequence in Environmental and Urban Studies:
- ENST 21201: Human Impact on the Global Environment
- ENST 20150: Sustainable Urban Development
These courses provide an overview of contemporary environmental issues and the theoretical and empirical approaches used to understand and address them. Students are encouraged to take these courses in their 2nd or early in their 3rd year. Students must also take a series of methodological and elective course requirements depending on their thematic track.
Honors: In addition to a minimum GPA 3.25 overall, 3.7 in the major, students must complete the BA Thesis track and receive a grade of A in ENST 29802: BA Colloquium II, which includes the overall thesis grade, to receive program honors.
Grading: Students who are majoring or minoring in Environmental and Urban Studies must receive quality grades in courses taken to meet the requirements of the program.