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 |