Local Schools

The Boston metropolitan area is a rich area in which to pursue environmental studies, in part because there are so many colleges and universities undertaking activities related to the environment.

Wellesley students can take advantage of the college's cross-enrollment program with several institutions: MIT, Olin College, Babson College, and Brandeis University.  Courses taken at these schools may be counted as credit for your Wellesley College ES major. Be sure to consult with your advisor or the ES director before enrollment to determine how courses at these schools will fit in with your Wellesley College degree. Wellesley operates a regular shuttle to MIT, Olin, and Babson. Students must provide their own transportation to Brandeis. Click on each local school for details on cross-registration at Wellesley.

Wellesley, Olin, and Babson Colleges now offer a new tri-campus Sustainability Certificate Program . The program integrates business, engineering, and liberal arts in the service of the environment and sustainability, and is open to undergraduate students enrolled at any of the three colleges. Students complete the program alongside the degree programs they are following on their respective campuses.

MIT: ES students have taken a wide-range of courses at MIT, such as green architecture, environmental politics, atmospheric physics and chemistry. Relevant programs at MIT include Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; Architecture; Biology; and Political Science.
 
Olin College: Located in the neighboring town of Needham, the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering has strong offerings in science, technology, and engineering - including courses such as Design Nature and Sustainable Design - which complement Wellesley's curriculum. Olin was founded in 2002, and Wellesley and Olin students have begun cross-registering for courses with greater frequency. 

Brandeis College: Wellesley students can also take advantage of Brandeis College's strong environmental studies program. This includes their new Environmental Field Semester. In order to receive Wellesley credit, courses taken at Brandeis must be approved prior to enrollment by the environmental studies program. Students are responsible for their own transportation to Brandeis.

Babson College: Neighboring Babson College offers a variety of environmental courses with a unique business and liberal arts focus, which are available to Wellesley students. Courses include Economic Botany; Biodiversity and the Environment; and Environmental Technology.

Marine Studies Consortium: The Marine Studies Consortium offers courses focusing on a variety of marine topics. Some of these courses may be counted towards an Environmental Studies major. These courses are taught at neighboring institutions and are open to a limited number of Wellesley students by permission of the consortium representative, Marianne Moore, Biological Sciences Department.