Environmental Studies

Applying for the Environmental Studies Major

Students are admitted into the Environmental Studies major by application at the end of the freshman year. Acceptance is determined by the Steering Committee of the Environmental Studies Program, which includes faculty drawn from many departments and an associate dean from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. Criteria for admission include academic achievement and a personal statement.

The deadline for submitting applications is the last day of classes, at the end of your first year. The application form may be found at Apply for the Major page.

Major Requirements

The ENVS major consists of a minimum of 43 credits, equivalent to at least 14 full-semester courses, as detailed below. ENVS students may choose more than one major, but at least 27 credits for the ENVS major must not be used to fulfill requirements for another major or minor (i.e., 16 credits can be shared). Note that all Boston College majors require at least 27 unique credits, so the number of credits that can be shared will be fewer for majors that require fewer courses, such as most departmental majors (i.e., if a major requires 30 credits, only 3 can be shared).

A. Environmental Studies introductory seminar ENVS1100 (1 credit)

This seminar is offered in the fall semester for the new cohort of ENVS majors (sophomores). It involves readings of classic texts in environmental studies, and it is similar in structure to Cornerstone courses.

B. Eight credits of Environmental Systems courses: EESC2201 Environmental Systems: The Human Footprint plus three of any of the following courses (and labs EESC2211–2218):

• EESC2202 Environmental Systems: Ecosystems
• EESC2203 Environmental Systems: Water Resources
• EESC2204 Environmental Systems: The Critical Zone
• EESC2205 Environmental Systems: Climate Change
• EESC2206 Environmental Systems: Oceans
• EESC2207 Environmental Systems: Earthquakes
• EESC2208 Environmental Systems: Quantitative Methods

These are a series of 2-credit half-semester courses that introduce students to the basic concepts of environmental science from a variety of perspectives and professors, with the specific goal of providing students with a foundation for further interdisciplinary study of environmental issues. Students can take one or more of these courses in any given semester. Approved substitutions include: EESC1167 for EESC2201, EESC1170 for EESC2203, EESC1174 or EESC1505 for EESC2205, and EESC1157 for EESC2206.

C. Six credits of foundation courses in environmental studies: ENVS3360 Research Methods in Environmental Studies plus another environmental course in the social sciences or humanities

• ECON2277 Environmental Economics and Policy or ECON2278 Environmental Economics
• HIST2406 This Land is Your Land: U.S. Environmental History
• HIST4703 Environmental Histories of Water
• INTL2260 International Environmental Science and Policy
• SOCY1031 Society and Environmental Transformations
• SOCY2200 Statistics (or a different statistics course)
• SOCY5563 Environmental Sociology I
• ENVS/UNAS2256 Environmental Law and Policy
• PHIL5534 Environmental Ethics
• Core Courses Open Only to First Year Students
  • PHIL1501 Science and Ethics of Climate Change
  • SOCY1501 Global Implications of Climate Change
  • SOCY1509 Planet in Peril: History and Future of Human Impacts

D. A concentration in a theme or discipline (6 courses, 18 or more credits)

Available themes include Food and Water Sustainability and Climate Change and Societal Adaptation. Available disciplines include Economics, History, Political Science, and Sociology.

Themes

Food and Water Sustainability

This theme focuses on the interrelated challenges of providing water and food for the growing human population on a finite planet with unequal access to resources. Students will gain a firm foundation in hydrology and ecology as well as related historical and cultural perspectives.

• Two fundamentals:
  • EESC3310 Agroecology
  • ENVS3315 Sustainable Agriculture
  • HIST2505 Feast or Famine, a History of Food and the Environment
• One of:
  • EESC1170 Rivers and the Environment
  • EESC2203 Environmental Systems: Water Resources (in addition to the B requirement above)
  • BIOL2010 Ecology and Evolution
• One of:
  • EESC2297 Environmental Hydrology
  • EESC4400 Geomorphology and Landscape Change
  • EESC4457 Watershed Science
  • EESC5535 Coastal Processes
• Two of:
  • ENVS3345 Environment and Public Health
  • ENVS3355 Sustainable Cities
  • ENVS4407/SOCY4407 Easy Being Green?
  • HIST2044 A Material and Cultural History of Food in China
  • HIST4254 Century of Famine
  • HIST4701 Ecological History of the Atlantic World
  • HIST4703 Environmental Histories of Water
  • PHIL5534 Environmental Ethics (in addition to the C requirement above)
  • SOCY5560 Consumption and Sustainability
  • THEO2231 The Bible and Ecology
  • THEO5429 Theology and Ecology

Climate Change and Societal Adaptation

This theme gives students a strong foundation in the science, policy and related challenges of global climate change, as societies learn to adapt to changes in sea level, biodiversity, and the availability of energy and water.

• One of:
  • EESC1174 Climate Change and Society
  • EESC1501 Global Implications of Climate Change (for freshmen only)
  • EESC1505 Science and Ethics of Climate Change (for freshmen only)
  • EESC2205 Environmental Systems: Climate Change (in addition to the B requirement above)
• One of: (counts toward requirement C)
  • PHIL1501 Science and Ethics of Climate Change (for freshmen only)
  • SOCY1031 Society and Environmental Transformations
  • HIST2503/SOCY1025 People and Nature
  • SOCY1501 Global Implications of Climate Change (for freshmen only)
  • SOCY1509 Planet in Peril (for freshmen only)
• Two of:
  • EESC4400 Geomorphology and Landscape Change
  • EESC4440 Global Biogeochemical Cycles
  • EESC4457 Watershed Science
  • EESC4462 Paleoclimate Dynamics
  • EESC4463 Paleoclimate Proxies
  • EESC5535 Coastal Processes
  • EESC5599 Climate Change Debates
• Three of:
  • ECON3391 Economics of Energy and the Environment
  • ENVS3340 Alternative Energy
  • ENVS3355 Sustainable Cities
  • INTL2260 International Environmental Science and Policy (in addition to requirement C)
  • PHIL5515 How to Save the World: Ethics of Climate Change
  • POLI2531 Energy Politics in U.S., Comparative and Global Perspective
  • SOCY5562 Environmental Sociology I

Disciplines

Economics

• Six of fundamentals:
  • ECON1131 Principles of Economics I/Microeconomics
  • ECON1132 Principles of Economics II/Macroeconomics
  • ECON2201 Microeconomic Theory
  • ECON1151 Statistics, or a different statistics course (can also count toward requirement C)
  • ECON2228 Econometrics
  • ECON2277 Environmental Economics and Policy or ECON2278 Environmental Economics (can also count toward requirement C)
• Two of:
  • ECON3386 Public Policy Analysis
  • ECON3391 Economics of Energy and the Environment
  • ECON3392 Quantitative Methods in Environmental Economics

History

• Two of:
  • HIST1505 Planet in Peril (for freshmen only): (in addition to the C requirement above)
  • HIST1511 Science and Technology in American Society (for freshmen only)
  • HIST1704 The Worlds of Moby-Dick
  • HIST1708 Nature on Exhibit: From Sea Monsters to Sea World
  • HIST2044 Chinese Environmental History
  • HIST2045 A Material and Cultural History of Food in China
  • HIST2406 This Land is Your Land: U.S. Environmental History (in addition to the C requirement above)
  • HIST2411 Civil War and Reconstruction
  • HIST2431 Leeches to Lasers: Medicine and Health in the U.S.
  • HIST2505 Feast or Famine, a History of Food and the Environment
  • Several other environmental history courses TBA

• Four of:
  • HIST4043 Environment, Economy, and Politics in Medieval China
  • HIST4090 Modern South Asia
  • HIST4222 Animals
  • HIST4254 Century of Famine: Nineteenth Century Social Crisis
  • HIST4423 The Plains Indians
  • HIST4701 Ecological History of the Atlantic World
  • HIST4703 Environmental Histories of Water (in addition to the C requirement above)
  • HIST4875 New England: Winthrop to Walden
  • HIST4891 Science and Religion in American History

Political Science

• One of fundamentals:
  • POLI1042 Introduction to Modern Politics
  • POLI1061 Introduction to American Politics
  • POLI1091 Introduction to Comparative Politics
• Two of American politics:
  • POLI2301 Policy and Politics in the U.S.
  • One of POLI2305, POLI2309, POLI2317, POLI2322, POLI2334, POLI2338
• One of Comparative politics:
  • POLI2415 Models of Politics
  • POLI2422 Comparative Social Movements
  • POLI2460 Comparative Politics of Development
• Two of International politics:
  • POLI2531 Energy Politics in U.S., Comparative and Global Perspectives
  • One of POLI3521, POLI2522 or POLI2525

Sociology

• Four of fundamentals:
  • SOCY5562 Environmental Sociology I (counts towards requirement C)
  • SOCY1001 Introductory Sociology
  • SOCY2200 Statistics (in addition to the C requirement above)
  • SOCY2210 Research Methods
• Three of:
  • SOCY1509 Planet in Peril (in addition to requirement C)
  • SOCY1031 Society and Environmental Transformation
  • SOCY3349 Environmental Studies: Selected Topics
  • SOCY3375 American Economic Crisis and Social Change
  • SOCY5560 Consumption and Sustainability
  • SOCY5572 Sociology of Science and Technology

E. At least 6 credits (two or more courses) of environmental studies electives

At least 3 credits must be from courses numbered 3000 and above. Please see our current elective offerings, which include all Earth and Environmental Sciences courses, as well as more than 30 other options.

F. Senior research seminar (ENVS4941–ENVS4942; 4 credits; 2 credits per semester for both semesters)

The senior seminar involves a combination of discussions of key readings in ENVS, guest speakers, team research projects focused on solving real environmental problems, and engagement with communities beyond the BC campus. Alternatively, students can request to fulfill this requirement via a two-semester (6 credits) senior thesis.

Information for First Year Students

First-year students who are considering applying to become Environmental Studies majors should consider taking the following courses:

• Environmental Systems: The Human Footprint (EESC2201 and lab EESC2211), as well as one or more of other the Environmental Systems courses (EESC2202–EESC2208 and labs EESC2212–EESC2218).
• One or more of the foundation courses (requirement C above), several of which also fulfill University Core requirements.

Information for Study Abroad

ENVS majors are encouraged to take advantage of study abroad opportunities. Studying outside of the U.S. provides a global perspective on environmental and sustainability issues and educational opportunities not available at BC. ENVS students are allowed 4 credits per semester abroad to count toward the major (or minor) requirements, or 8 credits in unusual circumstances.

For further information contact ENVS Program Director Tara Pisani Gareau, see the program website at www.bc.edu/envstudies, or stop by the program office in Devlin 213.