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Major and Minor in Environmental Studies

Requirements for the Major:

A Major in Environmental Studies may be of particular interest to students who are considering careers or graduate programs in diverse subjects such as renewable energy technology, non-profit management, education, ecosystems, energy, and environmental policy. Moreover, it will complement any student’s liberal arts education. 

A minimum of twelve credits is required.  Courses taken Pass-No Pass may not count towards the major or minor in Environmental Studies. A cumulative average of a C (2.0) or better must be maintained across all courses used to fulfill the major.

Required (not necessarily in this order):

1. Introduction to Environment and Society (ES 110)
2. Introduction to Environmental Sciences (ES 120)
3. Environmental Chemistry (ES/CHEM 108) or Chemistry I (CHEM 115)*
4. Evolution, Ecology, and Environment (ES 220)  orEvolution and Ecology (BIOL 220)*
   *Because many upper-level environmental science electives require BIOL 220 as a prerequisite rather than ES 220 (see elective list below), students may wish to take BIOL 220 and its associated pre- and corequisites to satisfy requirements 3 and 4:
   1. Prerequisite: Organismal Biology (BIOL 120)
   2. Corequisite: Bio Inquiry. Any one of the following: Invasion Ecology (BIOL 131) or Plant-Animal Interactions (BIOL 132) or Tropical Forest Biology (BIOL 133) or Emerging World Diseases (BIOL 134) or Human Ecology (BIOL 135) or Sensing the Environment (BIOL 136) or Human Evolution (BIOL 138) or Adaptive Patterns of Animal Behavior (BIOL 145) or Viruses and Evolution (BIOL 147)
   3. Corequisite: Chemistry I (CHEM 115)
5. Statistics. Any one of the following: Introduction to Probability and Statistics (MATH 150)  orApplied Statistics (ECON/BUSN/FIN 130) or Research Methods & Statistics I (PSYC 221) or Reasoning & Statistical Inference (BIOL 150) 
6. Environmental Politics and Policy (ES 236)
7. Ethics. Any one of the following: Environmental Ethics (ES 210)  or Religious Perspectives on Environmental Issues (ES 240) or Endangered Species and Endangered Languages (ES 368) or Who Speaks for Animals? (ES 387)**
8. Four elective courses from the Group 1 (Environmental Sciences) and Group 2 (Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences) lists below. At least one must be from each group, and at least two must be 300-level or above.**
   **ES 210, 240, 368, and 387 cannot be double-counted for requirement 7 (Ethics) and Group 2 elective.
9. Senior Studies. Satisfied with completion of any one of the following: ES Senior Seminar course (offered each year) or a Senior Thesis or an Independent Research Project with prior approval of the Department Chair.

Elective courses. Because of upper-level course prerequisites, courses in italics are only open to students who take CHEM 115 to satisfy requirement 3 and BIOL 220 to satisfy requirement 4 above.

 Group 1: Environmental Sciences

• Spring Flora of the Great Lakes (ES 203)
• Summer Flora of the Great Lakes (ES 204)
• Prairie Flora of the Great Lakes (ES 205)
• Molecules, Genes, and Cells (BIOL 221)
• Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 220)
• Organic Chemistry II (CHEM 221)
• Biodiversity (ES 224)
• 91ÉçÇøry (ES 282)
• Biochemistry (CHEM 300)
• Animal Physiology (BIOL 340)
• Developmental Biology (BIOL 342)
• Animal Behavior (BIOL 344)
• Endangered Species & Languages (ES 368)
• Ecology (BIOL 370)
• Community Ecology (BIOL 373)
• Biogeography (BIOL 374)
• Conservation Biology (BIOL 375)
• The Political Ecology of Infectious Diseases (ES 382)
• Herpetology (ES 383)
• Plant Biology (BIOL 384)
• Plant and Insect Systematics of the Great Lakes (ES 385)
• Experimental Plant Ecology (ES 386)
• Evolution (BIOL 389)
• Plant and Animal Interactions (BIOL 483)
• Biology of Extinctions (BIOL 484)
• Biological Implications of Climate Change (BIOL 487)

 Group 2: Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences

• Topics: Chicago Parks and the Politics of Landscape (AMER 200)
• American Environmental Literature (ENGL 206)
• Terrorism and the Environment (ES 209)
• Environmental Ethics (ES 210)
• Environmental Psychology (PSYC 215)
• Society, Climate Change, and the Enivronment (ES 217)
• American Geographies (ES 218)
• History and Literature of the Great Lakes (ES 221)
• Philosophy of Science (PHIL 225)
• Art and Environment: Exploring Landscapes and Sustainability (ART 229)
• Drawing from Nature (ES 232)
• Religious Perspectives on Environmental Issues (ES 240)
• United States Environmental History (ES 260)
• US Cities (ES 263)
• Landscape and Representation (ES 320)
• Black Environmental Culture (ES 323)
• Medieval Disasters & Climate Change (ES 324)
• Economics of Land (ES 325)
• Interrogating the Ecology of Place: From Generative AI to Regenerative Neighborhood Development (ES 326)
• Environmental Justice (ES 335)
• Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (ES 340)
• U.S. Environmental Culture in the Great Depression (ES 358)
• Environmental Law (ES 361)
• Environmental Apocalypse (ES 363)
• Poetry and Nature (ES 365)
• Environmental Writing (ES 367)
• Endangered Species & Languages (ES 368)
• The Political Ecology of Infectious Diseases (ES 382)
• Who Speaks for Animals? (ES 387)
• Botanical Imperialism (ES 388)

Students are urged to consult with their advisors to design a program of study that best meets their interests and needs. Students electing to major in environmental studies must choose a member of the Environmental Studies Program Committee as an academic advisor.

Students are also encouraged to consider a research project, off-campus program, or internship as a way to further their studies. An internship cannot replace an elective course, but is in many cases an excellent complement to the student’s coursework.   

Requirements for the Minor:

The interdisciplinary minor in Environmental Studies is designed for students who have a strong interest in environmental issues but do not wish to complete a major at the undergraduate level.  This minor may be of particular interest to students who are considering careers or graduate programs in diverse subjects such as renewable energy technology, non-profit management, education, ecosystems, energy and environmental policy. Moreover, it will complement any student’s liberal arts education. This minor may also interest students who wish to teach abroad following graduation, as well as students who wish to engage in cross-curricular research projects.

Requirements:

Students must take six courses to complete the minor, one of which must be at the 300 level or above.

1. Introduction to Environment and Society (ES 110)
2. Introduction to Environmental Sciences (ES 120)
3. Two environmental sciences courses: Evolution, Ecology, and Environment (ES 220)  or Evolution and Ecology (BIOL 220) or any Group 1 (Environmental Sciences) electives
4. Two environmental humanities and social sciences courses: Environmental Ethics (ES 210)  or Environmental Politics and Policy (ES 236) or Religious Perspectives on Environmental Issues (ES 240)  or Endangered Species and Endangered Languages (ES 368)  or Who Speaks for Animals? (ES 387) or any Group 2 ( Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences) electives