About Our Program
Here in the Environmental Studies Program at WashU, we are dedicated to developing and training socially conscious, civically engaged student leaders who will be ready to tackle wicked environmental challenges. We emphasize an interdisciplinary, applied, experiential, project-based, and community-engaged approach to learning, offering courses that allow students to develop skills necessary for addressing the pressing, systemic environmental challenges of today and tomorrow. Students gain foundational knowledge across various disciplines, apply analytical and communication skills to real-world problems, and integrate diverse insights to design and evaluate solutions.
Explore our Vision, Mission, and Learning Objectives
Our Offerings
We offer a major and minor, as well as two first-year Ampersand Programs. We teach skills in analysis, communication, and applied work and specialize in interdisciplinary courses that are experiential, collaborative, project-based and community-engaged. Our coursework spans themes with emphasis in environmental health to cities and sustainability to climate change and energy. In addition to coursework, we encourage students to engage in independent research by working closely with experienced faculty mentors in the field and in the lab. We encourage students to broaden their training through study abroad experiences. We also offer a variety of interdisciplinary project-based, community-engaged learning experiences through our capstone courses and paid internships with community partners. Many of our students jointly pursue interests in business, sustainability, ecology & conservation, pre-health, environmental health, law, and engineering.
Explore our Undergraduate programming
Your Future
Our students have a broad array of interests but they all share a passion for environmental issues, an interest in interdisciplinary study, and a desire to make a tangible impact on climate change and conservation. Many are drawn to our major’s flexibility and its ability to combine scientific understanding with social and humanities perspectives, preparing them for a variety of environmental careers. Our students are preparing for complex challenges and an evolving job market, particularly in the context of climate change.
Experiential Learning
Our capstone courses are a special feature of our programming. They integrate diverse disciplinary knowledge into a cohesive framework and offer students the chance to engage in collaborative, project-based learning on real world problems. By emphasizing integration across disciplines, students gain a holistic understanding that prepares them for real-world challenges. These courses also emphasize learning how to learn, equipping students with lifelong skills for continuous personal and professional growth. Moreover, capstones facilitate the application of foundational knowledge to practical situations, ensuring that theoretical learning translates into practical outcomes. Additionally, capstones incorporate a human dimension, fostering empathy and ethical considerations in problem-solving.
Pictured: Students in our RESET: Decarbonizing the Grid course toured a campus solar installation in 2019. RESET students analyze the engineering, financial and regulatory factors of a different renewable energy project with a St. Louis partner each year. (Photo: Sid Hastings/Washington University)
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