New York University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Department of Environmental Studies aims to provide students with the breadth of understanding and skills necessary for resolving environmental questions and creating a sustainable future on scales ranging from local to global. It does so through integrated, problem-oriented study and a broad range of courses across disciplines and schools. The major and minor draw on NYU’s strong faculty base in the College of Arts and Science (FAS), the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science (CAOS, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences/FAS), the Center on Environmental and Land Use Law (School of Law), the M.A. Program in Bioethics: Life, Health, and Environment (Faculty of Health), and the Environmental Conservation Education program (Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development), as well as in the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the Stern School of Business, the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and the School of Medicine. The department offers opportunities to develop interests in a number of areas, including environmental science; environmental values, policy, and law; earth system science; public health; urban environmental problems; climate change; energy systems; environmental justice; and our complex relations with both domesticated and wild nature.

The major in environmental studies (ES) requires nine 4-point courses (36 points).

The requirements of the ES major are as follows. Students should note that courses in other departments may carry prerequisites.

(1) Three 4-point ES core courses (12 points):

• Environmental Systems Science (ENVST-UA 100)
  
• Environment and Society (ENVST-UA 101 or SOCS-UA 135)
  
• Environmental Studies Senior Seminar (ENVST-UA 900)
  

(2) One "methods of inquiry" course (4 points), chosen from:

• Introduction to Environmental Modeling (ENVST-UA 305)
  
• Environmental Quantitative Methods (ENVST-UA 310)
  
• Introduction Conservation Analysis (ENVST-UA 320)
  
• Energy and the Environment (ENVST-UA 350)
  
• Fundamental Dynamics of Earth's Atmosphere and Climate (ENVST-UA 360)
  
• Geographic Information Systems for Ecology (ENVST-UA 372. Identical to BIOL-UA 64)
  
• Environmental Qualitative Methods (ENVST-UA 424)
  
• Biostatistics (BIOL-UA 42)
  
• Quantitative Reasoning: Elementary Statistics (CORE-UA 105)
  
• Quantitative Reasoning: Problems, Statistics, and Decision-Making (CORE-UA 107)
  
• Quantitative Methods in Political Science (POL-UA 800)
  
• Statistical Reasoning for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10)
  
• Research Methods in Sociology (SOC-UA 301)
  
• Quantitative Analysis for Public Policy (UPADM-GP 111)
  

(3) One "governance" course (4 points), chosen from these CAS courses (or from a fuller list including courses in other NYU schools and at NYU study away sites, available from the department):

• Introduction to Marine Ecology and Conservation (ENVST-UA 323)
  
• Climate Politics: When Policy meets Reality (ENVST-UA 407)
  
• Environmental Economics (ENVST-UA 410)
• Science in Environmental Policy (ENVST-UA 422)
• History of United States Environmental Policy (ENVST-UA 423)
  
• Environmental Governance (ENVST-UA 435)
  
• Global Environmental Politics (ENVST-UA 445)
  
• Environmental Activism (ENVST-UA 485)
  
• Economics of Energy and the Environment (ECON-UA 326)
  
• Public Economics (ECON-UA 353)
  
• Public Policy (POL-UA 306)
  
• Controversies in Public Policy: Logic and Evidence (POL-UA 315)
  
• Private Influence in Public Policy (POL-UA 341)
  
• Bureaucracy and Public Policy Politics (POL-UA 350)
  
• International Politics (POL-UA 700)
  
• Diplomacy and Negotiation (POL-UA 720)
  
• International Organization (POL-UA 730)
  
• Political Engineering: The Design of Institutions (POL-UA 810)
  

(4) Four 4-point elective courses (16 points), chosen in consultation with a departmental adviser. Internship in Environmental Studies (ENVST-UA 800) may count as one of the four electives.
Please note that elective courses are not necessarily offered every year and may carry prerequisites. Some ENVST-UA courses are cross-listed and originate in other departments. Below is a partial list of acceptable electives in CAS; for a full list that includes courses in the other divisions of NYU (both undergraduate and graduate), contact the department.

The categories below are designed to support concentrations that students may be interested in to help build out their schedules. Electives do not need to be restricted to any one category.

(4A) Environmental sciences:

• Evolution of the Earth (ENVST-UA 210)
  
• Climate Change (ENVST-UA 226. Identical to ENVST-UA 9226)
  
• Topics in Environmental Science (ENVST-UA 250)
  
• Metapatterns from Quarks to Culture (ENVST-UA 254)
  
• Where the City Meets the Sea (ENVST-UA 275)
  
• Advanced Topics in Environmental Science (ENVST-UA 300)
  
• Environmental and Molecular Analysis of a Disease (ENVST-UA 315)
  
• Introduction to Marine Ecology and Conservation (ENVST-UA 323)
  
• Fundamentals of Ecology (ENVST-UA 325)
  
• New York Underground (ENVST-UA 327)
  
• Food Production and Climate Change (ENVST-UA 331)
  
• Current Topics in Earth System Science: Mass Extinctions, Geologic Processes, and Evolution (ENVST-UA 332)
  
• Limits of the Earth: Issues in Human Ecology (ENVST-UA 333)
  
• Earth System Science (ENVST-UA 340)
  
• The Global Carbon Cycle (ENVST-UA 345)
  
• Energy and the Environment (ENVST-UA 350)
  
• Biogeochemistry of Global Change (ENVST-UA 370)
  
• Geographic Information Systems for Ecology (ENVST-UA 372)
  
• Special Topics: Introduction to Fluid Dynamics (ENVST-UA 380)
  
• Climate and Life (ENVST-UA 385)
  
• Urban Ecology (ENVST-UA 390)
  
• Field Laboratory in Ecology (BIOL-UA 16)
  
• Introduction to Ecology (BIOL-UA 63)
  
• Physical Science: Energy and the Environment (CORE-UA 203)
  
• Life Science: Lessons from the Biosphere (CORE-UA 311)
  

(4B) Environmental values and society (ethics, history, politics):
Ethics and the Environment (ENVST-UA 400)

• Climate Change and Environmental Justice (ENVST-UA 405)
  
• Environmental Economics (ENVST-UA 410)
  
• Environmental History of the Early Modern World (ENVST-U 415)
  
• Environmental History of New York City (ENVST-UA 420)
  
• Science in Environmental Policy (ENVST-UA 422)
  
• History of American United States Environmental Policy (ENVST-UA 423)
  
• Environmental Governance (ENVST-UA 435)
  
• Food, Animals, and the Environment (ENVST-UA 440)
  
• Global Environmental Politics (ENVST-UA 445)
  
• Topics in Environmental Values and Society (ENVST-UA 450)
  
• Business and the Environment (ENVST-UA 465)
  
• Climate and Society (ENVST-UA 470)
  
• Topics in Environmental Values and Society (ENVST-UA 475)
  
• Environmental Justice and Inequality (ENVST-UA 480)
  
• Urban Political Ecology (ENVST-UA 490)<
  
• Journalism and Society: Covering the Earth (ENVST-UA 503)
  
• Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Eco Criticism (ENVST-UA 510)
  
• Making Art in the Anthropocene: Project on Ecology, Species, and Vibrant Matter (ENVST-UA 593)
  
• Animals and Society (ENVST-UA 610)
  
• Animals and Public Policy (ENVST-UA 630)
  
• Literature and the Environment (ENVST-UA 675)
  
• Internship in Environmental Studies (ENVST-UA 800)
  
• Economics of Energy (ECON-UA 326)
  
• Cultures of Energy and the End of Fossil Fuels (IDSEM-UG 2123)
  
• Environmental Racism and Injustice: Rights, Citizenship and Activism (IDSEM-UG 2114)
  
• NYC Coastlines: Past, Present, and Future (IDSEM-UG 2004)
  
• History of Environmental Sciences (IDSEM-UG 1892)
  
• Green Design from Geddes to Gore (IDSEM-UG 1627)
  
• Think Big: Global Issues and Ecological Solutions (IDSEM-UG 1628)
  
• History of European Environmental Sciences (IDSEM-UG 1566)
  

(4C) Planning, cities, and transportation:

• Urban Greening Lab: New York (ENVST-UA 495)
  
• Urban Environmentalism (ENVST-UA 431)
  
• Environmental Design: Issues and Methods (ARTH-UA 672)
  
• Cities in a Global Context (SCA-UA 602)

Sustainability, Health, and the Environment (SHE) integrates the humanities and sciences to study human and environmental impacts on the planet's resources and populations. Our species has impacted the Earth to such an unprecedented extent that a new geologic epoch has been proposed: the Anthropocene, or Age of Humans. Current environmental crises underscore the pressing need for sustainability, an interdisciplinary approach for meeting the needs of current generations without compromising those of future generations, that incorporates wildlife, ecosystem functionality, and organismal health.

Areas of Study:

• Agriculture and food studies 
  
• Arts and literature of the environment 
  
• Bioethics 
  
• Biodiversity and conservation 
  
• Climate change
  
• Climate and ecological footprints
  
• Climate justice 
  
• Creativity, Art, and the Natural World
  
• Demography and population ecology 
  
• Discard studies 
  
• Ecofeminism
  
• Ecological justice
  
• Energy justice
  
• Environmental justice 
  
• Food justice
  
• Global environmental policy 
  
• People, values, and environmental conservation
  
• Politics of Sustainability
  
• Public health and disease 
  
• Sustainable development and energy 
  
• Sustainable fashion
  
• Sustainable Human Rights
  
• The intersection of gender, sustainability, health, and the environment
  
• Urban health and the built environment 
  
• Waste management
  
• Water resources
  

The Ecology track provides students with the broad background in modern biology, but with a focus on ecological concepts, approaches, and analytical methods.

The ecology track of the biology major requires 16 courses (69 points), as follows.

Ecology core courses (four courses/16 points):

• Principles of Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 11, 12)
  NOTE: Biology majors are not required to register for the 1-credit Principles of Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 123). It is intended for prehealth students not majoring in biology.
  
• Molecular and Cell Biology I (BIOL-UA 21)
  NOTE: Students may also register for the optional 1-credit Molecular and Cell Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 223) concurrently with MCB I (BIOL-UA 21).
  
• Fundamentals of Ecology (BIOL-UA 63)

Five upper-level biology courses (five courses/20 points):

• Biology majors must complete five additional 4-point upper-level biology courses. In consultation with their adviser or with the director of undergraduate studies, students select at least one course from each of the following three skill categories, plus two additional electives:
  • Laboratory skill courses: "At the Bench" or research courses
  • Quantitative skill courses: math, computational, and modeling courses
  • Reasoning skill courses: reading-intensive courses

The two additional upper-level electives may be satisfied either by taking advanced biology courses (electives covering key areas of biology) or by taking additional reasoning, quantitative, or laboratory skills courses. A current list of advanced biology courses and of courses satisfying each category above is maintained on the official website of the Department of Biology. Note that the set of courses that may be used as electives for the ecology track is not identical to the set that may be used for the standard biology track.

Additional courses required for ecology track majors (seven courses/34 points):

• Chemistry (four courses/20 points):
  • General Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 125, 126)
  • Organic Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 225, 226)
    
• Physics (one course/5 points):
  • General Physics I (PHYS-UA 11)
• Mathematics (two courses/8 points):
  • Calculus I (MATH-UA 121)
  • Calculus II (MATH-UA 122) or Linear Algebra (MATH-UA 140)

The Department of Environmental Studies aims to provide students with the breadth of understanding and skills necessary for resolving environmental questions and creating a sustainable future on scales ranging from local to global. It does so through integrated, problem-oriented study and a broad range of courses across disciplines and schools. The major and minor draw on NYU’s strong faculty base in the College of Arts and Science (FAS), the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science (CAOS, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences/FAS), the Center on Environmental and Land Use Law (School of Law), the M.A. Program in Bioethics: Life, Health, and Environment (Faculty of Health), and the Environmental Conservation Education program (Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development), as well as in the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the Stern School of Business, the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and the School of Medicine. The department offers opportunities to develop interests in a number of areas, including environmental science; environmental values, policy, and law; earth system science; public health; urban environmental problems; climate change; energy systems; environmental justice; and our complex relations with both domesticated and wild nature.

The minor in environmental studies requires five 4-point courses (20 points):

• Environmental Systems Science (ENVST-UA 100)
• Environment and Society (ENVST-UA 101 or SOCS-UA 135)
• Three courses from the list of ES major electives.

At a time of indisputable societal and environmental change, concentrating in Sustainable Business will examine the unique role of the private sector and gain a broad understanding of how embedding sustainability into core business strategy benefits financial performance and management practices.

Sustainable Business Concentration Requirements
To declare a concentration in Sustainable Business, you must fill out the concentration declaration form on SternLife.

You are required to complete 12 credits of Sustainable Business courses that consist of:

• Sustainability for Competitive Advantage (BSPA-UB 68)
• Three (3) courses (at least 9 credits), one from each of the following sections: Issue Area, Discipline, and Practicum
  

Approved Issue Area Courses

• Social Entrepreneurship (BSPA-UB 41)
  
• Economic Inequality: Perspectives and Practices (BSPA-UB 43)
  
• Global Business & Human Rights (BSPA-UB 47)
  
• Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Protein (BSPA-UB 50)
  
• Flourishing (BSPA-UB 52) open to sophomores only
  
• Social Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Food Business (BSPA-GB 2306)
  
• Driving Market Solutions for Clean Energy (BSPA-GB 2308)
  
• Business and the Environment (ECON-UB 225)
  
• Business Economy and Policy in Midst of COVID-19 (MULT-UB 24)*
  *This course is no longer offered, however students who took the course previously can still use it to fulfill the "Issue Area" requirement.

Approved Discipline Courses

• Innovations and Strategies for Building a Progressive Social Enterprise (BSPA-UB 44) 
  
• Theory & Practice of Sustainable Investing (BSPA-UB 48) 
  
• Accounting for Sustainability (BSPA-UB 67) two-credit course**
  
• Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicle Industry (ACCT-UB 53) two-credit course**
  
• Global Economic Trends (ECON-UB 240)
  
• Managing Climate, Cyber, Geopolitical and Financial Risk (FINC-GB 6075)
  
• Climate Finance: An Economic and Financial Approach to Climate Change (FINC-UB 77)
  ** These courses are designed to be taken in tandem. Both will be offered starting in spring 2024 - one in the first 7 weeks of the term and the other in the second. Please check Albert for more details.
  

Approved Practicum (P) Courses

• Sustainability Impact Consulting in Costa Rica (BSPA-UB 45)
• Marketing for Impact: Strategies for Sustainable Business (BSPA-UB 51)
• Social Innovation Practicum (BSPA-UB 70)
• Experiential Learning Seminar: Social Impact Consulting (BSPA-UB 103)
• SIV: Social Entrepreneurship in Ghana (BSPA-UB 2000)
• NYU Impact Investment Fund (NIIF) (INTA-GB 3371) This is a year-long 3-credit course that requires special permission for students to enroll.

The Environmental Humanities (EH) minor examines the ways in which human cultures shape and are shaped by the natural world. Combining the interpretive tools of humanistic inquiry with the perspectives of natural and social sciences, the program prepares students to understand and address the environmental challenges of our time.

The EH minor is hosted by Environmental Studies in NYU Arts & Science and is open to all undergraduates. Students will have the opportunity to study nature and the environment through courses in Environmental Studies, Animal Studies, History, Art History, Music, English, Comparative Literature, and a range of foreign language and area studies departments. Courses fulfilling the minor will also be offered by Liberal Studies, Gallatin, Steinhardt, Tisch, Tandon, and NYU Global sites.

The EH minor empowers students to approach environmental questions in diverse and innovative ways, and to contribute meaningfully to fields including community engagement, the arts, law and public policy, journalism and writing, education, non-profit administration, and corporate sustainability.

To complete a minor in Environmental Humanities, students must receive a grade of "C" (2.0) or better in four of the eligible 4-point courses (16 points) from a pre-approved list (see below).

Introductory courses:

• Intro to Environmental Humanities (ENVST-UA 700)
• Environment and Society (ENVST-UA 101)
• Ethics and Animals (ANST-UA 400)
• Animal Minds (ANST-UA 410)
• Texts and Ideas: Topics—Arts of Noticing (CORE-UA 400)
• Ethics and the Environment (ENVST-UA 400/PHIL-UA 53)
• Ecocriticism (ENVST-UA 9510/ENGL-UA 9735)
• Becoming Ecospheric (FYSEM-UA 785)
• Reimagining “Nature” (CCOL-UH 1017)

Advanced courses:

• Food, Animals, and the Environment (ANST-UA 440/ ENVST-UA 440)
• Climate and Society (ENVST-UA 470)