Environmental Studies- The Major

the major

The major is designed to provide all students with a set of core knowledge, exposure to a breadth of approaches and ideas important to environmental studies, and an opportunity to tailor the major to meet your own interests — whether they are climate change and environmental politics, conservation policy for endangered species, or, even green architecture.

There are three components to the 10-course major:

Three core courses:

ES 101: Introduction to ES: Methods and Analysis
ES 102: Introduction to ES: Issues and Concepts
ES 300: Environmental Decisionmaking

One course in each of these categories provides breadth:

Science: ES 201 or BISC 201
Social Science: ES 214 or ECON 228 (which requires ECON 101 as a prerequisite)
Humanities: ES 203 or ES 299 or PHIL 233

Four electives from ES courses and the list of Related Courses:
- At least two courses must be at the 300 level
- Note that ES 201, ES 214, BISC 201, ECON 228 and PHIL 233 can be taken as electives (but no single course can fulfill two requirements for the major)
- A student may petition the advisory faculty for permission to count a course not listed in the Related Courses list.

Students who entered Wellesley prior to 2007 may choose to fulfill the old version of the major:

Core:
1. ES 100 or ES 101
Five courses in one of three concentrations

Environmental Justice and Philosophy
Environmental Policy and Economics
Environmental Science

Four courses from outside the area of concentration

These should ideally be chosen from current list of ES courses and Related Courses in conjunction with the major (who must be from the area of concentration), but courses previously listed under the old version of the major are accepted.