Cornell University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

This interdisciplinary and integrated major seeks to advance students’ critical abilities to solve real-world environmental problems, manage social-ecological systems in a sustainable manner, and affect decisions involving environmental policy, resource management, and biodiversity conservation. The curriculum comprises an intensive foundation in the biological sciences, physical-chemical sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, as well as the integration of these areas of study. Concentrations include: (1) Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology, (2) Environmental Policy and Governance, (3) Environmental Economics, (4) Land, Air and Water Resources, (5) An individualized concentration that is student-designed

The Environmental Engineering major is structured to provide students with appropriate background in the physical, chemical and biological sciences together with the mathematical, planning, analysis and design tools necessary to address complex environmental engineering problems. The Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) of the Environmental Engineering Major are to: (1) Produce graduates who demonstrate in their professional practice strong technical abilities and advance in careers in Environmental Engineering and related disciplines; (2) Produce graduates who will complete advanced degrees in engineering and related professional fields; (3) Produce graduates who assume leadership positions, and contribute to understanding environmental problems and the design, construction, and operation of solutions of societal problems involving environmental systems.

The Science of Earth Systems major is an undergraduate program offered by the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences to students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Engineering. The Science of Earth Systems program is unique in that it incorporates fundamentals of earth science with the emergence of a new and more complete approach, encompassing all components of the earth system—air, life, rock, and water—to gain a comprehensive understanding of the world as we know it. Students may choose to focus on one of a number of disciplinary specialties such as geophysics or tectonics, or develop the broad expertise needed to understand the interactions between the diverse elements of earth and life in the past, present, and future. Sciences of Earth Systems graduates will be able to seek careers dealing with energy, mineral and water resources, natural hazards, weather and climate forecasting, ocean resources, and a host of environmental issues through employment in academia, government and the private sector. The major also prepares students for careers in environmental management and policy, law or medicine, science journalism and K-12 science education.

The Atkinson Center provides links to other undergraduate degree programs related to sustainability: http://www.sustainablefuture.cornell.edu/education/majors.php.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and dozens of courses at Cornell explore the many facets of a warming world – from impacts on farming and food, to the causes of climate change, the potential of sustainable energy to replace fossil fuels, to the slow response of governments worldwide. Now a new climate change minor, which launched in September of 2012, gives undergraduates the opportunity to explore climate change from varied disciplinary perspectives, while getting a firm grounding in the basic physical, ecological and social science as well as its interactions with history, philosophy and the arts. Based in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the minor is available to all Cornell undergraduates.

Providing affordable energy to meet the demands of both developed and developing nations without further damaging the natural environment and the Earth’s climate system is a Grand Challenge for the 21st century. Our quality of life and the stability of nations ultimately depend on having accessible energy resources and an equitable and sustainable energy supply and distribution system. Achievement of thes goals requires the participation, ingenuity, and hard work of people with a range of specialized backgrounds, working collaboratively. The minor is intended to emphasize the importance of viewing the challenge of meeting the world’s energy needs as a system of interacting themes. The requirements of the minor are designed to provide breadth across a range of energy resource types and conversion, transmission and storage technologies along with coverage of the environmental, economic, political, and social consequences of various options.

A minor in Soil Science prepares students for work on agricultural and natural ecosystems by learning to identify, understand and manage soils in agriculture and forestry in an environmentally responsible way.

(1) Atmospheric Science: Before we can improve the quality of life of everyone on this planet, we must first understand how this very complicated natural system operates, and how human behavior is now perturbing the natural balance. The Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell embraces this mission through teaching, world class research, and service and outreach (http://ccams.eas.cornell.edu/index.php?page=minor) (2) Biological Engineering - Bioenvironmental Engineering Concentration: This minor is an opportunity for students to further their understanding of living systems and to increase their knowledge of the basic transport processes that occur within these systems. Courses in the minor provide opportunities to analyze, design, and manipulate living systems at the molecular, cellular, and system levels (https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/academics/undergraduate/curriculum/handbook/2010/minors/be.cfm) (3) Crop Management: The minor enables students with majors in fields such as applied economics and management, communication, ESS, IARD and sociology to gain technical and scientific knowledge for careers in areas such as food production systems, evaluating effects of climate change on food security, and policy related to agricultural sustainability (http://scs.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate/minors) (4) Entomology: Be able to identify the potential impact of different insect species on agriculture, human health, and society in general; to be knowledgeable about potential control strategies (https://entomology.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate/courses/requirements-minor-entomology) (5) Design & Environmental Analysis: The curriculum is organized around the following three primary research themes: Design Strategy, Sustainable Futures, Health and Well-Being (http://www.human.cornell.edu/dea/undergrad/minor.cfm) (6) Fungal Biology: Fungi are important in making our planet work. They have profound impacts on biological systems as recyclers, nutrient prospectors, symbionts, pathogens, spoilage organisms, and sources of pharmaceuticals and other useful biochemicals. Cornell has no undergraduate major focusing entirely on mycology, but students in diverse fields can add a Minor in Fungal Biology that provides a deep knowledge of fungi and expands their versatility in the workplace (https://pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate/minors/fungal-biology-minor) (7) Environmental and Sustainability Sciences: Students seeking a minor in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences will customize a course of study that will allow them to develop a basic knowledge of biological, physical and social scientific perspectives on environment (http://admissions.cals.cornell.edu/academics/minors/environmental-science-and-sustainability) (8) Environmental Engineering: This minor encourages engineering students to learn about the scientific, engineering, and economic foundations of environmental engineering so that they are better able to address environmental management issues (https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/academics/undergraduate/curriculum/handbook/2010/minors/ee.cfm) (9) Horticulture: The Minor Program of Study in Horticulture aims to increase students’ knowledge and skills for managing fruits, vegetables and landscape plants for the purpose of improving the quality of life for individuals and communities (https://hort.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate/minor-horticulture) (10) Environmental & Resource Economics: apply practical, applied economics and management tools on every continent to solve the world's most significant business and social issues. (http://dyson.cornell.edu/undergraduate/minors/aem-minors#environmental) (11) Infectious Disease Biology: The Infectious Disease Biology Minor provides students with a broad perspective on health and disease, the dynamic nature of host-associated microbes, an in-depth understanding of the origins and dynamics of infectious diseases, and contemporary thought about the nature of health, disease, and disease management (https://pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate/minors/infectious-disease-biology-minor) (12) Global Health: The Division of Nutritional Sciences offers a minor in global health. The Global Health minor is intended to complement any academic major offered at the University and to provide students with basic knowledge about global health as well as the necessary skills and experience to begin to build their own unique global health career (http://www.human.cornell.edu/DNS/globalhealth/undergraduate/index.cfm) (13) International Development Studies: This minor is designed to enrich student preparation for leadership and future employment in an increasingly interconnected and dynamic world through design of a suitable complementary set of international development courses to match their own major (http://ip.cals.cornell.edu/undergrad/iard-minor) (14) International Trade & Development: apply practical, applied economics and management tools on every continent to solve the world's most significant business and social issues (http://dyson.cornell.edu/undergraduate/minors/aem-minors#international) (15) Inequality Studies: The Minor in Inequality Studies exposes students to inequality through a breadth of approaches, methods, and topics while allowing them to tailor the program to their particular interests (http://inequality.cornell.edu/minor/) (16) Landscape Studies: A variety of courses consider the cultural landscape as an object, something to be studied for its own sake, and as a subject, as a means to understand society’s relationship to natural systems (https://landscape.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate/minor) (17) Marine Biology: Students who choose the Minor in Marine Biology will learn about the biology, evolution and ecology of organisms that inhabit these environments and the ecological processes linking them (http://marinebiology.cornell.edu/programs/minor.html) (18) Science of Earth Systems: This minor will prepare engineering students to understand the natural operating systems of Earth and the tools and techniques used by earth scientists to understand and monitor these solid and fluid systems (https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/academics/undergraduate/curriculum/handbook/2010/minors/earth.cfm) (19) Urban & Regional Studies: encompasses an interdisciplinary, liberal arts course of study focused on the forces that shape the social, economic, and political character and physical form of urban/suburban areas and their surrounding regions (https://aap.cornell.edu/urban-and-regional-studies-minor) (20) Nutrition & Health: integrate knowledge from the physical, biological and social sciences in the four focus areas of molecular, human, international and community nutrition (http://www.human.cornell.edu/dns/academic/minor-in-nutrition.cfm) (21) Plant Breeding: The Minor Program of Study in Plant Breeding provides a basic understanding of crop improvement, a historical perspective of the discipline, and a sense of how plant breeding contributes to modern society’s demands for food, fiber, fuel, and environmental sustainability (https://plbrgen.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate/plant-breeding-minor)