The Bachelor of Science with a major in Environmental and Sustainability Studies (BS-ESST) curriculum's key competencies align with sustainability studies’ national standards, building students' proficiency and capabilities to tackle complex environmental challenges. Students will learn to analyze environmental change with a diverse analytical toolkit that integrates ecology and earth systems science knowledge with human behavior, governance, and ethical considerations to develop innovative solutions or strategies to address sustainability issues. Students will develop systems thinking to understand ecological, economic and social interconnections, paired with interdisciplinary knowledge that spans environmental and earth sciences, social science, humanities and policy. With a focus on strategic and critical thinking, students will cultivate a solutions-oriented approach emphasizing long-term impacts of environmental change and sustainability interventions. Additionally, data literacy and analytics are core to the degree program, training students to assess and improve sustainability outcomes through data-driven methods.

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Select 15 hours from chosen environmental theme elective list below. 

Two courses in the degree plan must be writing-intensive courses designated by the Environmental Programs in the schedule of classes. Graduation requirements include a requirement for 3 hours of International and Cultural Diversity courses and 3 hours of Cultural Discourse courses. A course satisfying a Core category, a college/department requirement, or a free elective can be used to satisfy this requirement. See an academic advisor.

Environmental Theme Electives

Three credits of undergraduate research or internships may be substituted for Environmental Theme elective credit with the approval of the Environmental Programs Director.

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Students need to take GEOL 101 & GEOL 102 to be eligible for this environmental theme.