Environment & Sustainability (BS)

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Program Website

Program Description

The Environment & Sustainability (E&S) major is available in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences. The E&S major spans perspectives needed to build a world with more socially just and sustainable conditions for biodiversity and human prosperity. E&S provides students with a basis for understanding the structure and functioning of the earth's environment, and critically analyzing the sustainability of social-ecological systems. How do we as humans value, use, benefit from, and protect the environment? What is sustainability and how should it be measured? Students take courses in environmental natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and examine how sustainability challenges are multidisciplinary and require integrative solutions.

The E&S curriculum relies upon a core foundation in biology, physical and social science, humanities, economics, and statistics, supplemented by coursework and experiences integrating these topics of study. In addition, E&S focused electives allow students to pursue greater depth in specific disciplines encompassing environment and sustainability issues, taking advantage of a diverse range of courses in two colleges.

Requirements for the E&S major are the same in both colleges, but distinct college requirements will result in students taking different overall courses to complete their degrees. All students complete a set of foundation courses (core curriculum) after which students tailor their upper-division courses by selecting one of six focused electives: Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology (EBAE), Environmental Humanities (EH), Environmental Policy and Governance (EPG), Land, Air and Water Resources (LAWR), Sustainable Business and Environmental Economics (SBEE), or a Student-Designed Focused Elective (SD).

E&S requirements leave room for students to study abroad, engage in research and pursue other opportunities offered by Cornell. More information on the E&S Research Honors Program can be found on the E&S program page.  Prospective students are encouraged to explore the learning outcomes, curriculum requirements,  and career paths pursued by recent graduates.

The E&S Program Office is located in 117 Kennedy Hall on the Cornell Ithaca campus. Instruction mode is in-person for courses in the E&S curriculum unless otherwise noted. For any questions, please email environment@cornell.edu.