2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Jun 27, 2025

2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Climate, Environment, and Society Minor

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Climate, Environment, and Society Overview

Climate, Environment, and Society (CES) involves the study of Earth’s natural and human systems amidst profound global environmental change. Students examine how earth’s climate and environment are being transformed by socioeconomic and cultural processes, and how socioeconomic and cultural conditions are, in turn, being transformed by the changing climate and environment. In addition to building foundational understanding, the CES curriculum involves a search for more equitable, sustainable and just pathways for the future. The curriculum is problem-focused and solution-oriented, moving students across the various disciplinary perspectives required to understand and address climate change and other sustainability challenges.

Students are oriented to the CES theme through exposure to a range of physical, social, economic, and cultural dimensions of environmental challenges. The CES curriculum examines these dimensions holistically to understand their interconnections and intersections. It features three foundational elements, including (1) biophysical sciences, (2) social science, technology and policy, and (3) worldviews and ethics.

Biophysical Sciences cover the biological, physical, and earth system sciences that are foundational to understandings of the physical climate system and its response to natural and human forcings, the biological and physical consequences of land change, agriculture, and natural resource extraction, as well as associated impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Students chose among courses that tend to specialize in one of these thematic areas but that provide points of connection to the others. Students and advisors should select a complement of introductory and elective courses that deliver knowledge of the following core science themes:

Environmental processes that regulate and impact climate
Impacts and dynamics of land change, food systems, and natural resources management
Physical, chemical, and biological processes shaping the landscape of the earth
Coupled natural-human systems
Earth systems, conservation, and ecosystem services

Social Science, Technology, and Policy involves an orientation to globalization, urban studies, development, socioeconomic systems, resource and environmental politics and governance, and socio-technical and economic dimensions of sustainability. Students and advisors should select a complement of introductory and elective courses that deliver on knowledge of the following core themes:

Human health in relation to environment, especially water, air, and soil quality
Policy, governance and social change processes in relation to environmental and climate issues
Historical causes, processes and contexts of human-induced climate change
Cultural and geographical diversity of human relationships with the environment
Globalization and urbanization processes, including those that produce uneven development locally and globally
Economic dimensions of development, inequality, and environment
Socio-technological dimensions of the provision of energy, food, and materials, including solutions for more sustainable provision of energy and materials

Worldviews and Ethics covers topics of governance, equity & justice, environmental worldviews, values, politics and power, and environmental and human health ethics. Students and advisors should select a complement of introductory and elective courses that deliver knowledge of the following core themes:

Intersectionality of environmental hazards and impacts with class, race, gender
Resource and health governance, equity and justice
Ethics of the environment and human health

Climate, Environment and Society encompasses urgent areas of concern for society at large central to the challenges of climate change, environmental transformation, human‐environment relationships, and associated socio-economic and development trends. The Climate, Environment and Society domain is among Clark’s signature strengths. We have a powerful legacy of leadership in geography, development, urban studies, resource governance, economics, earth system science, and environmental humanities, drawing on over a century of pioneering work that is sustained today. This curricular program draws these powerful elements together in productive synergy to address this shared interdisciplinary space, and centers experiential learning and engaged practice throughout the program.

Minor Requirements

The requirements for a minor in Climate, Environment, and Society include a total of six courses from the following components of the program.

1 CES 101: Introduction to Climate, Environment and Society.
3 Introductory Core Courses, one in each area: Biophysical Science; Social Science, Technology and Policy; and, Worldviews and Ethics
2 Elective Courses, taken in any area.

CES 101: Introduction to Climate, Environment, and Society

Orientation to CES core areas of biophysical science, social science, technology and policy, and worldviews and ethics as complementary approaches to exploring a topic in CES such as climate change or sustainability.

Three Introductory Core Courses

Climate, Environment, and Society minors are required to take 3 introductory core courses, one in each area: Biophysical Science; Social Science, Technology and Policy; and Worldviews and Ethics.

Introductory Core Biophysical Courses (select one)

Introductory Core Social Science, Technology and Policy Courses (select one)

Introductory Core Worldviews and Ethics Courses (select one)

Two Elective Courses

Climate, Environment, and Society minors must take 2 elective courses in any area.

Climate, Environment, and Society Faculty

Core (Advising) Faculty

Cynthia Caron, Ph.D.
Tim Downs, Ph.D.
Karen Frey, Ph.D.
Sang Hoo Bae, Ph.D.
Eman Lasheen, Ph.D.
James McCarthy, Ph.D.
Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Ph.D.
Morgan Ruelle, Ph.D.
Magda Tsaneva, Ph.D.
Christopher Williams, Ph.D.
Junfu Zhang, Ph.D.

Affiliated Faculty

Nathan Ahlgren, Ph.D.
Atefeh Yazdanparast Ardestani, Ph.D.
Dana Bauer, Ph.D.
Jude Fernando, Ph.D.
Ellen Foley, Ph.D.
Abby Frazier, Ph.D.
Christina Gerhardt, Ph.D.
Dominik Kulakowski, Ph.D.
Steve Levin, Ph.D.
Matt Malsky, Ph.D.
Deborah Martin, Ph.D.
Kaitlyn Mathis, Ph.D.
James Murphy, Ph.D.
Gustavo Oliveira, Ph.D.
Max Ritts, Ph.D.
Johanna Vohlhardt, Ph.D.