Environmental Studies

The central mission of Carleton's Environmental Studies Program is to educate the next generation of environmental scholars and professionals in the fundamental scientific, ecological, social, ethical, political, and economic forces that govern environmental issues and the long-term quality and viability of society. The complexities of environmental problems dictate that study of the environment be based in multiple disciplines to provide students with skill sets and knowledge bases in the following areas: scientific principles as applied to the environment, the political, economic, social and cultural dimensions of environmental problems, the historical and ethical context for environmental problems and policy, and literary and artistic explorations of the environment. Students who major in Environmental Studies can gain a broad knowledge base in the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities, which is intended to help them understand the complex environmental issues faced by societies around the world.

The major is designed to help students make connections across these key knowledge bases, while also allowing students to focus their studies within specific interdisciplinary content areas supported by the curriculum. Currently those focus areas include: Conservation and Development, Food and Agriculture, Energy and Climate, Environmental Justice, Landscapes and Perception, and Water Resources.

The Environmental Studies major prepares students for meaningful involvement in a wide array of environmental and governmental organizations, as well as for graduate study in many environmental fields, law, public policy, and other areas of inquiry.

Requirements for the Environmental Studies Major

In most cases, majors must complete 78 credits in the course categories listed below, which includes nine credits devoted to a group-based comprehensive exercise. This comprehensive exercise is described in detail on the Environmental Studies website. In exceptional circumstances, majors may do an individual comprehensive exercise for six credits, in which case they must complete 75 credits for the major.

I. Introductory Courses (12 credits):

  • Introductory Lab Science Course (6 credits): Pick any one of the following:
    • BIOL 126 Energy Flow in Biological Systems and Lab
    • CHEM 128 Principles of Environmental Chemistry and Lab (not offered in 2023-24)
    • GEOL 110 Introduction to Geology and Lab
    • GEOL 115 Climate Change in Geology and Lab (not offered in 2023-24)
    • GEOL 120 Introduction to Environmental Geology & Lab (not offered in 2023-24)
    • GEOL 125 Introduction to Field Geology and Lab
    • GEOL 130 Geology of National Parks
    • GEOL 135 Introduction to Climate Science (not offered in 2023-24)
    • PHYS 131 Introduction to Physics: Newtonian Mechanics and Lab
    • PHYS 152 Introduction to Physics: Environmental Physics and Lab
    and one of its prerequisites (Physics 131, 132, 141, 142, 143 or 145)
  • Introductory Economics (6 credits)
    • ECON 111 Principles of Microeconomics. This requirement may be waived with an Economics AP score of 5.

II. Quantitative Methods (12 credits):

  • Take ENTS 120 Introduction to Geospatial Analysis

and one of the following:

  • STAT 120 Introduction to Statistics or
  • STAT 230 Applied Regression Analysis or
  • MATH 240 Probability or
  • STAT 250 Introduction to Statistical Inference (6 credits).
  • This requirement may be waived with a MATH Stats AP Score of 4 or 5, and with the completion of a higher level STAT course.

III. Research Design and Methods (3 credits)

IV. Core Courses (18 credits): Take all of the following:

  • BIOL 210 Global Change Biology
  • ECON 271 Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment
  • HIST 205 American Environmental History

V. Electives (24 credits):

Twelve credits should consist of Society, Culture, Policy electives and twelve credits should consist of Environmental Science electives. Any one of these elective courses may be used to satisfy the 300-level topical seminar requirement in section VI, below.

In addition, students will work with their adviser to develop an interdisciplinary focus within environmental studies, such as food and agriculture, conservation and development, energy and climate, landscapes and perception, environmental justice, or water resources. This focus will be exhibited and explained in an e-portfolio (the “ENTS Profile”), to be completed by the end of Fall term senior year.  Electives should be chosen to reflect this focus.

  • Society, Culture and Policy: Take 12 credits from the following list:
    • AMST 287 California Program: California Art and Visual Culture (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ARTH 267 Gardens in China and Japan
    • ARTS 113 Field Drawing
    • ARTS 212 Studio Art Seminar in the South Pacific: Mixed-Media Drawing (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ARTS 275 Studio Art Program: The Physical and Cultural Environment (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ECON 240 Microeconomics of Development
    • ECON 268 Economics of Cost Benefit Analysis (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ECON 269 Economics of Climate Change
    • ECON 273 Water and Western Economic Development
    • ENGL 236 American Nature Writing
    • ENGL 247 The American West (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENGL 248 Visions of California (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENGL 288 California Program: The Literature of California (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 210 Environmental Justice
    • ENTS 215 Environmental Ethics
    • ENTS 244 Biodiversity Conservation and Development (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 248 Environmental Memoir
    • ENTS 249 Troubled Waters
    • ENTS 250 Food, Forests & Resilience (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 251 Field Study in Sustainability in Oaxaca (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 275 The Arts and Environmental Justice (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 307 Wilderness Field Studies: Grand Canyon
    • ENTS 310 Topics in Environmental Law and Policy (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 318 Trees, Forests, and Climate Justice
    • HIST 286 Ecology and Society in African History
    • HIST 306 American Wilderness
    • HIST 308 American Cities and Nature (not offered in 2023-24)
    • LTAM 220 Eating the Americas: 5,000 Years of Food
    • POSC 268 Global Environmental Politics and Policy
    • POSC 274 Covid-19 and Globalization
    • POSC 333 Global Social Changes and Sustainability (not offered in 2023-24)
    • POSC 335 Navigating Environmental Complexity—Challenges to Democratic Governance and Political Communication (not offered in 2023-24)
    • RELG 239 Religion & American Landscape
    • RELG 243 Native American Religious Freedom (not offered in 2023-24)
    • RELG 257 Asian Religions and Ecology (not offered in 2023-24)
    • SOAN 203 Anthropology of Good Intentions
    • SOAN 233 Anthropology of Food (not offered in 2023-24)
    • SOAN 323 Mother Earth: Women, Development and the Environment (not offered in 2023-24)
    • SOAN 333 Environmental Anthropology (not offered in 2023-24)
  • Environmental Science: Take 12 credits from the following list:
    • BIOL 215 Agroecology (not offered in 2023-24)
    • BIOL 216 Agroecology Lab (not offered in 2023-24)
    • BIOL 224 Landscape Ecology (not offered in 2023-24)
    • BIOL 225 Landscape Ecology Laboratory (not offered in 2023-24)
    • BIOL 238 Entomology (not offered in 2023-24)
    • BIOL 248 Behavioral Ecology
    • BIOL 262 Ecological Physiology
    • BIOL 321 Ecosystem Ecology
    • BIOL 350 Evolution
    • BIOL 352 Population Ecology
    • BIOL 363 Seminar: Ecomechanics
    • BIOL 374 Seminar: Grassland Ecology (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 225 Carbon and Climate
    • ENTS 254 Topics in Landscape Ecology (not offered in 2023-24)
    • ENTS 288 Abrupt Climate Change
    • ENTS 289 Climate Change and Human Health (not offered in 2023-24)
    • GEOL 210 Geomorphology and Lab
    • GEOL 258 Geology of Soils and Lab (not offered in 2023-24)
    • GEOL 340 Hydrogeology: Groundwater
    • GEOL 370 Geochemistry of Natural Waters (not offered in 2023-24)

VI. Topical Seminar (6 credits):

All students must take one 300-level seminar that includes an individual research paper. This course may also count as an elective. Courses that fulfill this requirement are:

  • BIOL 321 Ecosystem Ecology
  • BIOL 355 Seminar: The Plant-Animal Interface (not offered in 2023-24)
  • BIOL 363 Seminar: Ecomechanics
  • BIOL 374 Seminar: Grassland Ecology (not offered in 2023-24)
  • ENTS 307 Wilderness Field Studies: Grand Canyon
  • ENTS 310 Topics in Environmental Law and Policy (not offered in 2023-24)
  • GEOL 340 Hydrogeology: Groundwater
  • HIST 306 American Wilderness
  • HIST 308 American Cities and Nature (not offered in 2023-24)
  • POSC 333 Global Social Changes and Sustainability (not offered in 2023-24)
  • POSC 335 Navigating Environmental Complexity—Challenges to Democratic Governance and Political Communication (not offered in 2023-24)
  • SOAN 323 Mother Earth: Women, Development and the Environment (not offered in 2023-24)

VII. Senior Seminar/Comprehensive Exercise (9 credits): Most students will take a 3-credit senior seminar, which is normally offered fall term, and then pursue a 6-credit group-based comprehensive exercise the following term. In exceptional circumstances, students may pursue an individual comprehensive exercise.

Environmental Studies Courses

ENTS 110 Environment and Society This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to a number of the pressing environmental changes currently facing human societies around the world. We will seek to understand and integrate the social, economic, scientific and political dimensions of these challenges. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the complexity of environmental issues and the interdisciplinary nature of the search for appropriate solutions. Topics will include global warming, population pressures, energy use, industrial waste and pollution, biological diversity, and sustainable agriculture. 6 credits; SI; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 120 Introduction to Geospatial Analysis & Lab Spatial data analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, global positioning, and related technologies are increasingly important for understanding and analyzing a wide range of biophysical, social, and economic phenomena. This course serves as an overview and introduction to the concepts, algorithms, issues, and methods in describing, analyzing, and modeling geospatial data over a range of application areas. 6 credits; QRE, SI; Fall, Spring; Tsegaye H Nega, John L Berini
ENTS 210 Environmental Justice The environmental justice movement seeks greater participation by marginalized communities in environmental policy, and equity in the distribution of environmental harms and benefits. This course will examine the meaning of "environmental justice," the history of the movement, the empirical foundation for the movement's claims, and specific policy questions. Our focus is the United States, but students will have the opportunity to research environmental justice in other countries. 6 credits; SI, QRE, IDS; Winter; Colleen M Carpenter
ENTS 212 Global Food Systems The course offers a survey of the world's food systems--and its critics--from the initial domestication of plants and animals to our day. We will begin by examining the critical theoretical and foundational issues on the subject, and then turn to a series of case studies that illuminate major themes around the world. Topics will include land and animal husbandry, the problem of food security, food politics, the Green Revolution, biotechnology, and the implications of global climate change. Throughout the course, students will assess and seek to integrate differing disciplinary and methodological approaches. The class will include field experiences. 6 credits; SI, QRE, IS; Spring; Tsegaye H Nega
ENTS 215 Environmental Ethics This course is an introduction to the central ethical debates in environmental policy and practice, as well as some of the major traditions of environmental thought. It investigates such questions as whether we can have moral duties towards animals, ecosystems, or future generations; what is the ethical basis for wilderness preservation; and what is the relationship between environmentalism and social justice. The Academic Civic Engagement aspect of the course for Spring 2024 will involve beaver monitoring in the Arb and participation in planning the BeaverFest campus and community event in May. 6 credits; HI; Fall, Spring; Colleen M Carpenter
ENTS 225 Carbon and Climate This course will focus on the interconnections between the Earth’s carbon cycle and climate system. Particular interest will be given to how Earth system processes involved in the carbon cycle operate on geologic timescales and how these systems are responding to anthropogenic emissions. Required weekly laboratories will explore carbon cycle processes in local environments and will include outdoor field work, lab analyses, and computer modeling. Prerequisite: One lab science course. 6 credits; LS, QRE; Fall; Dan P Maxbauer
ENTS 232 Research Methods in Environmental Studies This course covers various methodologies that are used to prosecute interdisciplinary academic research relating to the environment. Among the topics covered are: identification of a research question, methods of analysis, hypothesis testing, and effective rhetorical methods, both oral and written. 3 credits; FSR, QRE; Fall; Tsegaye H Nega
ENTS 244 Biodiversity Conservation and Development How can the need for intensive human social and economic development be reconciled with the conservation of biodiversity? This course explores the wide range of actions that people take at a local, national, and international level to address this question. We will use political ecology and conservation biology as theoretical frameworks to examine the role of traditional and indigenous approaches to biodiversity conservation as well as contemporary debates about integrated conservation development across a spectrum of cultures in North America, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. 6 credits; SI, QRE, IS; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 248 Environmental Memoir Through close readings of contemporary and classic environmental memoirs, this course explores the connections between nature and identity; race, belonging, and landscape; and memory, justice, and hope. Issues of environmental justice and injustice will serve as a key interpretive lens for approaching the texts. Authors include Robin Wall Kimmerer, Aldo Leopold, Terry Tempest Williams, and J. Drew Lanham. 6 credits; LA, WR2, IDS; Fall; Colleen M Carpenter
ENTS 249 Troubled Waters This course considers the contrast between the ways various religions conceive of water as sacred, and the fact that today’s intersecting environmental crises mean that drought, flooding, sea level rise, and lack of access to clean water and safe sanitation have made the human relationship with water more fraught and complex than ever before. We will look at specific situations of environmental injustice (including Flint, Michigan; Jackson, Mississippi; and the protests at Standing Rock) as well as reading more theoretical and theological takes on water, water justice, and water activism. 6 credits; HI, IDS; Spring; Colleen M Carpenter
ENTS 250 Food, Forests & Resilience The course will explore how the idea of sustainability is complicated when evaluated through a socio-ecological framework that combines anthropology and ecology. To highlight this complexity, the course is designed to provide a comparative framework to understand and analyze sustainable socio-ecological propositions in Minnesota and Oaxaca. Key conceptual areas explored include: coupled human-natural systems, resilience (ecological and cultural), self-determination, and social justice across stakeholders. The course includes a series of fieldtrips to nearby projects of interest. This course is part of the OCS winter break Oaxaca program, involving two linked courses in fall and winter terms. This class is the first class in the sequence. Prerequisite: One of the following is recommended: Environmental Studies 110, Sociology/Anthropology 110, Sociology/Anthropology 250, Biology 210, History 170 or History 205. 6 credits; SI, IS; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 251 Field Study in Sustainability in Oaxaca A field-based investigation of socio-ecological systems in Oaxaca, Mexico that will allow students to draw comparisons with similar systems in Minnesota. During winter break, we will visit the city of Oaxaca and neighboring villages to document and research systems of agriculture, sustainable forestry, and ecotourism, emphasizing the integration of methodologies in anthropology and ecology. Following the winter break trip, students will complete and present their research projects. This course is the second part of a two term sequence beginning with Environmental Studies 250. Prerequisite: Prior term registration in Environmental Studies 250. At least one term of introductory Spanish (or equivalent proficiency) is required. 6 credits; SI, IS; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 254 Topics in Landscape Ecology Landscape ecology is an interdisciplinary field that combines the spatial approach of the geographer with the functional approach of the ecologist to understand the ways in which landscape composition and structure affects ecological processes, species abundance, and distribution. Topics include collecting and referencing spatial data at broad scales, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), landscape metrics, simulating change in landscape pattern, landscape connectivity and meta-population dynamics, and reserve design. Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126. 6 credits; QRE, SI, IS; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 255 Ecology & Anthropology Tanzania Program: Field Methods in Ecology and Anthropology This course enables students with interests in both Ecology and Anthropology to conduct studies in partnership with Tanzanian host communities. The challenges facing cultural groups and socio-ecological systems in northern Tanzania are inherently multi-disciplinary, and students must be able to bridge disciplines. This Field Methods course provides students with a common set of skills from both the ecological and anthropological disciplines to be applied in their Independent Study projects. Topics covered in the course include: introduction to research ethics; conducting a literature review; design and implementation of data collection protocols and survey questionnaires; summary, analysis and presentation of qualitative and quantitative data. Prerequisite: Participation in Ecology & Anthropology Tanzania Program. 3-4 credits; NE; Fall; Anna B Estes
ENTS 275 The Arts and Environmental Justice How are artists today engaging with climate change, pollution, and other aspects of the planet’s environmental crisis? And are their creative works making any difference? In The Great Derangement, novelist and social anthropologist Amitav Ghosh argues that today’s literary fiction has failed to engage climate change in a meaningful and transformative way: we will read several “climate novels” to test his claim. We will also look at visual arts and music, including work by Maya Lin, Patricia Johanson, and collaborative artist/science/community projects such as those led by CALL, City as Living Laboratory. 6 credits; LA; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 288 Abrupt Climate Change Abrupt climate change is very fast change related to "tipping points" and threshold crossings. Such change is evident in historical climate records going back millions of years. Includes interpretation of historical paleoclimate data and proxy measurement methods, evolving theories for abrupt change, the role of complex earth systems processes, and trends in global climate change today. Link to human concerns will be made by exploring several case studies on past human civilizations affected by abrupt climate change. Includes a final project on the emerging science of abrupt climate change. Prerequisite: Biology 125 or 126, or Chemistry 123 or 128 or any 100-level Geology, or Physics (two five-week courses or one ten week course from 131 through 165). 6 credits; NE, QRE; Spring; Trish A Ferrett
ENTS 289 Climate Change and Human Health This course will survey the relationship between climate change and human health. The course will begin by exploring the science of the Earth’s climate before turning to an exploration of topics that illuminate the intimate relationship between climate change and human health. These include short-lived climate forcers and the climate and health impact of mitigation measures, extreme heat/drought, mosquito-borne diseases, indoor air pollution/biomass combustion/cookstoves, and biodiversity conservation. Project proposals for the off-campus component will be developed. This course is part of the OCS winter break program involving two linked courses in fall and winter terms. This course is the first in the sequence, students must register for Chemistry 289 winter term. Prerequisite: One introductory course in Biology 125 or 126, Chemistry 123 or 128, any 100-level Geology, or Physics (two five-week courses or one ten week course from 131-165). 6 credits; SI, QRE; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 307 Wilderness Field Studies: Grand Canyon This course is the second half of a two-course sequence focused on the study of wilderness in American society and culture. The course will begin with an Off-Campus Studies program at Grand Canyon National Park, where we will learn about the natural and human history of the Grand Canyon region, examine contemporary issues facing the park, meet with officials from the National Park Service and other local experts, conduct research, and experience the park through hiking and camping. The course will culminate in spring term with the completion and presentation of a major research project. Prerequisite: History 306 and Acceptance in Wilderness Studies at the Grand Canyon OCS program. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Spring; George H Vrtis
ENTS 310 Topics in Environmental Law and Policy This seminar will examine topical issues in domestic and international environmental law and policy. We will aim to understand how environmental laws work to achieve policy objectives, with attention also to debates about the role of markets and community-based environmental management. The specific topics may change from year to year, but may include approaches to sustainable development, sustainable agriculture, protection of endangered species, and conservation and management of water resources. This course has no prerequisites and is suitable for students of environmental studies, political science, international relations and political economy. 6 credits; SI; Not offered 2023-24
ENTS 318 Trees, Forests, and Climate Justice Will planting one trillion trees save us from climate change? Will deforestation and wildfires doom us? This course will examine the ways that contemporary worries, hopes, and dreams about forests and the ways their fate is entangled with that of humanity are rooted not only in science and practical policy choices, but in the folklore, sacred stories, and great literature that have long shaped our engagement with “the deep dark woods.” The course is constructed as a multi-disciplinary approach to forests in the Anthropocene; each student will pursue an original, interdisciplinary research project leading to a ca. 25-page research paper. 6 credits; HI, QRE, IS; Winter; Colleen M Carpenter
ENTS 355 Ecology & Anthropology Tanzania Program: Ecology and Conservation of Savanna Ecosystems in Northern Tanzania This course focuses on the foundational principles necessary to understand the ecology and conservation of savanna ecosystems in northern Tanzania, and the important roles that people and protected areas play within them. The course is based on the premise that a thorough understanding of Tanzania’s ecosystems and the challenges facing them cannot be achieved without understanding the human and political contexts in which they exist. The course incorporates primary literature, frequent guest lecturers, stakeholder interactions and student-facilitated discussions. The experiential, site-based approach allows students to gain insight into the practical application of ecological concepts in monitoring and maintaining savanna ecosystems. Prerequisite: One Anthropology, Biology or Environmental Studies course or instructor consent. 7-8 credits; NE; Fall; Anna B Estes
ENTS 392 Ecology & Anthropology Tanzania Program: Independent Research Students spend three weeks of the program working on a field research project with a small team of other students. The research projects are designed to be carried out in collaboration with local communities, NGOs or regional research organizations. The multi-disciplinary nature of the projects encourages students to identify roles on the team which align with their academic interests and abilities. Projects may be carried out over a number of years, giving each year’s students the opportunity to build on the research carried out in the previous year. Students present their research at the end of the ISP. Prerequisite: Environmental & Technology Studies 255. 3-4 credits; NE; Fall; Anna B Estes
ENTS 395 Senior Seminar This seminar will focus on preparing Environmental Studies majors to undertake the senior comprehensive exercise. The seminar will be organized around a topic to-be-determined and will involve intensive discussion and the preparation of a detailed research proposal for the comps experience. The course is required for all Environmental Studies majors choosing the group comps option. Prerequisite: Completion of all other Environmental Studies core courses except comps. 3 credits; SI; Fall; Tsegaye H Nega
ENTS 400 Integrative Exercise In this course, ENTS majors complete a group-based comprehensive exercise. Each group is expected to research and execute a group project on the topic chosen by the group, under the guidance of an ENTS faculty member. Toward the end of winter term, all groups present their research at a symposium sponsored by ENTS. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 395. 6 credits; S/NC; Winter; Aaron M Swoboda