The human presence within the natural world is both full of promise and fraught with peril. The Environmental Studies Program equips students with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand the multiple dimensions of today’s daunting environmental problems. We thus empower new leaders to envision and enact sustainable forms of human-nature relations, not only for the benefit of our own species but also for the millions of other species with which we share the earth. We value and nurture as well the prospects for greater human meaning and purpose afforded by such optimal relations with nature, and we promote a concern for social and environmental justice in accord with the Jesuit-Catholic mission of the university. The program is “ecological” in orientation with regard to both subject matter and intellectual style, instilling an understanding of relationships within and between ecosystems and human systems while cultivating a critical capacity for interdisciplinary thinking. Students acquire a broad foundation by taking environmental courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and gain a more focused depth of knowledge and expertise by completing a specialization in a chosen area.

In addition to learning in the classroom, students engage in a variety of field studies through which they develop observational skills, methods of ecological inquiry, and firsthand knowledge of local and regional habitats. Opportunities for education abroad extend these experiences into ecosystems and social systems in other countries. Students also complete an internship with an environmental agency or organization in order to gain pre-professional experience in the dynamics of environmental policies, problem solving, research, education, and advocacy. A major in environmental studies provides a firm foundation for graduate education in many related fields and prepares students for rewarding careers with municipal, state, or federal environmental agencies, with a wide range of environmental nonprofits, and with businesses and industries.