Overview
Environmental and sustainability concerns are increasingly part of numerous professions outside of environmental science. Businesses go green, governments integrate sustainability in their operations, and individual people are looking to eco-friendly technology like electric cars, renewable energy and organic food.
The Environmental Systems and Society minor gives students in any major a leg up on these realities. It augments their study with courses that address the relationships between environmental sciences and social and political issues. The minor gives students a deeper understanding of environmental systems related to air, land, water and biological resources—providing them with a foundation for sound decision-making as a professional and a citizen.
To complete the minor, students choose seven out of more than 40 available classes, with topics such as:
- Major events in the history of life
- Air pollution
- Conservation of biodiversity
- Environmental politics
- Water management
- Business and the natural environment
- Environmental justice
- Good food for everyone
Environment Course Schedule 2026-27
| FALL 2026 | Course | Environ Systems & Society Minor |
| M30 | Environmental Literature and Culture (Heise) | LD Elective |
| 140 | Foundations of Environmental Policy and Regulation (Boyd) | Elective |
| 155 | Energy and Society in a Time of Climate Change (Pincetl) | Elective |
| C159 | Life Cycle Assessment (Rajagopal) | Elective |
| 188A | Urban Ecology (Kleinhesselink) | Elective |
| WINTER 2027 | Course | Environ Systems & Society Minor |
| 10 | Introduction to Environmental Science (Garrison/Harrigan) | Lower Div Elective |
| M102 | Soils and Environment (Okin) | Elective |
| 116 | Science, Impacts, and Management of Wildland Fires and Smoke (Saide) | Elective |
| 157 | Energy, Environment, and Development (Rajagopal) | Elective |
| M167 | Environmental Justice through Multiple Lenses (Koslov) | Elective |
| 175 | Programming with Big Environmental Datasets (Barreca) | Elective |
| 185B/C | Sustainability Action Research / Leaders | Elective |
| SPRING 2027 | Course | Environ Systems & Society Minor |
| 134 | Environmental Economics (Takatsuka) | Elective |
| 150 | Environmental Journalism & Communications (Christensen) | Elective |
| M169 | Race Nature and the City (Montgomery) | Elective |
| 175 | Programming with Big Environmental Datasets (Barreca) | Elective |
| 185B/C | Sustainability Action Research / Leaders | Elective |