Environmental Science Major

Environmental Science Overview

Undergraduate Program

The interdisciplinary environmental science major introduces students to physical, biological, geographical and policy aspects of the natural environment. Following a set of common core courses, majors choose one of three tracks: Earth System Science, Environmental and Conservation Biology, or Environmental Science and Policy. The major provides training for those who want to continue on to graduate school or establish management, fieldwork, or laboratory careers in areas as diverse as ecology, conservation biology, teaching, environmental planning, protection, or regulation, water or air monitoring, and policy development.

Advanced students are encouraged to undertake directed research or internships and may do a senior project for honors. Environmental science faculty come from a wide range of Clark’s departments. Most are from Biology, Geography, and International Development, Community and Environment, but faculty with environmental interests are also to be found in departments as diverse as Chemistry, Economics, Political Science, Management, Philosophy, and Physics. Many of the research faculty of Clark’s George Perkins Marsh Institute are also contributors to the ES major.

For more information, please visit the Environmental Science website.

Major Requirements

Clark environmental science majors may elect to focus in one of three areas: Earth System Science, Environmental and Conservation Biology, or Environmental Science and Policy.

Students who have clearly developed interests in environmental science when they arrive at Clark may be interested in satisfying some of their perspectives with environmentally-relevant perspective courses.

Environmental and Conservation Biology Track

Environmental biologists explore the ways in which organisms evolve and interact with one another and their environments. Levels of exploration can range from molecular evolution and genomics to ecosystem level function. Conservation biology makes up one component of this field, focusing on the biological knowledge necessary to preserve biodiversity. Because the loss of biodiversity has reached crisis proportions, we offer a focused curriculum that enables students to bring appropriate biological tools and knowledge to efforts to develop conservation strategies and policies.

This track is designed to provide this focus and to allow students to design a curriculum that will prepare them for research and teaching in environmental and conservation biology. The environmental and conservation track carries the following requirements. We recommend that students interested in obtaining both a strong background in environmental and conservation biology and policy consider completing this track and then the accelerated B.A./M.A. degree in environmental science and policy.

Earth System Science Track

Earth System Science uses an interdisciplinary approach to study the complex, interacting physical and biological components of the Earth’s land surface, atmosphere, cryosphere and oceans, placing an emphasis on observing, understanding and predicting global environmental changes. 

The ESS track of the Environmental Science major program incorporates intensive field study, satellite remote sensing analysis, geographic information science (GISci), and computer simulation as tools for understanding, monitoring, and predicting Earth system behavior. The ESS program trains students for a wide range of professional endeavors as well as more advanced studies involving physical geography, forest ecology, landscape ecology, land-atmosphere interactions, hydrology, biogeochemistry, remote sensing, and GISci.

Environmental Science and Policy Track

The Environmental Science and Policy track prepares students for exciting careers at the intersection of environment, development, society, and technology. ES&P began as a pioneer in the 1970s, one of the first environmental programs anywhere to explore this vital intersection. The social and ecological challenges of the 21st Century are inherently complex and dynamic. ES&P teaches students to: apply knowledge and methods from both the natural and social sciences; to integrate quantitative, spatial, qualitative and narrative data; to understand and respond to complex challenges like climate change, pollution, and social injustice. The ES&P student becomes equipped with knowledge, skills and perspectives to work collaboratively with a wide array of stakeholders - communities, governmental agencies, NGOs, businesses, researchers, and donors - in ways that are sensitive to cultural, institutional, socio-political, and economic contexts. Our approach to teaching, scholarship and practice is constructively critical, engaged with diverse people and places, and strongly integrative. ES&P students participate in research/practice collaborations that tackle a wide range of pressing issues, including health risks associated with toxic chemicals, climate change impacts and resilience, natural resource governance, and capacity building for sustainable development in both domestic and international settings. ES&P students are educated to recognize, characterize, frame, understand and collaboratively respond to the challenging issues of the 21st Century.

The environmental science and policy track carries the following requirements:

Environmental Engineering Track

The Environmental Engineering track is designed for students intending to pursue the 3-2 Program in Engineering.  Environmental engineering aims to design solutions for a more sustainable, healthy and equitable development and use of natural resources and our environment.  With pressures from population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and associated demands for materials and goods, environmental engineers find ways to anticipate and monitor natural resource shocks and natural disasters, track pollutants and reduce and manage wastes to improve environmental quality and provide clean air and water, develop safe and sustainable built environments and industries, and more.  The ES-ENG track provides a solid foundation in mathematics and sciences with an orientation toward the environment, preparing students to continue with more advanced and focused studies within Columbia University’s engineering school.

Capstone Requirement in Environmental Science

Completion of a capstone is required for the major. The capstone shall be performed during the third or fourth year of study.

To fulfill the capstone requirement, students must earn a 200- or 300-level credit that relates to their specialization. There are several options including:

• A 200-level, a 200/300-level, or a 300-level course that the instructor deems appropriate as delivering on the intent of a capstone. The course should involve a substantive amount of independent work by the student, even through homework and lab assignments and exams, that involves synthesis and integration of concepts, and typically involving applications of what they are learning to some kind of problem solving or practice in the field. The experience does not necessarily need to involve an in-depth, independent project. Any course that fulfills the capstone in Biology, the ESS area of Geography, or the ES&P area of IDCE (i.e. an EN course) could be taken as a capstone course in the ES major, regardless of the student’s track.
• Directed Study with a faculty member (DEPT* 299)
• Directed Research with a faculty member (DEPT* 299)
• Honors Thesis (DEPT* 297)
• Internship (DEPT* 298)

*DEPT can be EN, GEOG, BIOL, or IDND/HERO as appropriate

Other research or practical experiences may qualify, at the advisor’s discretion, even if they are not recognized with a formal academic credit. Satisfying the capstone in this way requires submission of (a) a report to the advisor explaining the work performed, (b) a substantive demonstration of the outcome of the capstone experience, and (c) confirmation from the mentor/supervisor of the student’s satisfactory completion of the experience. Examples include:

• Directed Research during Study Away (e.g. School for Field Studies Directed Research)
• Summer Research with faculty
• Internship or Research Experience that does not confer credit (e.g. a NOAA Fellows or NASA DEVELOP internship, an NSF REU)

The student’s faculty advisor is the judge for determining whether any particular credit or experience satisfies the capstone criteria in the area of the student’s specialization. The advisor will make the judgment based on the intent of the capstone and its elements described above. Questions about whether a capstone experience meets the intent may be brought to the ES program Director after first consulting with the major advisor.

Before beginning the qualified activity, the student must obtain on the Capstone Form their advisor’s signed approval of the intended capstone experience, and then deliver the form to the major advisor. It is also the student’s responsibility to coordinate any requirements necessary outside of the department (i.e. internship registration, any other Clark forms that may be needed, etc.).

Upon completion of the capstone, the student must obtain on the Capstone Form the signed approval by the professor/supervisor who oversaw the Capstone credit, and then submit the form to the major advisor. Students shall provide evidence of the capstone outcome if requested by the major advisor to support the advisor’s deliberation and evaluation of satisfactory completion.  The advisor will make the judgment based on the intent of the capstone and its elements as described above, and the awarding of a passing grade (if credit-bearing).

Honors

Environmental Science Faculty

Environmental Science Courses