Environmental Science

The Department of the Geophysical Sciences offers a bachelor of science degree in Environmental Science. The program is designed to prepare students to enter a variety of interdisciplinary fields in the environmental sciences, including the interface of environmental science and public policy. Students are given the opportunity to study topics such as the chemistry and dynamics of the ocean and atmosphere, climate change, biogeochemical cycles, ecology, conservation, and environmentally relevant aspects of economics and policy. Undergraduate research is strongly encouraged.

The department typically sponsors several trips each year that range in length from one day to five weeks. Destinations of trips have included areas as far afield as Newfoundland; the Canadian Rockies; Baja, California; the Caribbean; Italy; and Iceland. The shorter trips are mostly scheduled in connection with undergraduate and graduate lecture courses. However, the trips are open to all students if space permits. The longer trips are designed as undergraduate field courses.

The requirements for the BS degree in Environmental Science involve completion of:

• six required courses that fulfill general education requirements for the physical sciences, biological sciences, and mathematics
• seven required science or mathematics courses
• eleven elective courses pertinent to the major from the electives lists below, which must include
  • four courses designated ENSC or GEOS
  • one course in Statistics, and two more in any of Mathematics, Statistics, or Computing
  • one to three courses in Social Science/Public Policy

Candidates for the BS in Environmental Science complete a year of chemistry, a year of mathematics (including Calculus I-II), and a year of biology (ENSC 24400 Ecology and Conservation, GEOS 27300 Biological Evolution, and BIOS 20198 Biodiversity), as well as PHYS 13100 Mechanics or the equivalent. (Note that some advanced chemistry courses require further physics as a prerequisite.)

Students are encouraged to begin discipline-specific courses as early as possible. Required disciplinary courses include ENSC 13300 The Atmosphere, ENSC 23800 Global Biogeochemical Cycles, and ENSC 23900 Environmental Chemistry. (Note that ENSC 23800 Global Biogeochemical Cycles is typically offered every other year.) Of ENSC/GEOS science electives, one can be a field course, and one may be ENSC 29700 Reading and Research in Environmental Science. Students participating in the Semester in Environmental Science receive credit for four courses in environmental science, two of which can be used to substitute for ENSC 24400 Ecology and Conservation and ENSC 23900 Environmental Chemistry.

The major is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate students whose primary interests cover various aspects of environmental science. Sample course schedules below give examples of course plans appropriate to students focusing on climatology, conservation, and biogeochemistry. Students with a focus on policy questions may take up to three courses in social science/public policy. These courses are available through undergraduate programs in Economics, Public Policy Studies, and Environmental Studies, or through the Harris School of Public Policy.

Because analysis of data and mathematical modeling are fundamental to environmental science, the major requires six courses in quantitative methods: a year of mathematics, one course in statistics, and two additional courses in mathematics, statistics, or computing.

Note that while students taking calculus through the more introductory MATH 13000s sequence are encouraged to complete the third quarter of calculus, MATH 13300 Elementary Functions and Calculus III, in the higher tracks Calculus III (e.g., MATH 15300 Calculus III) is not specifically required or recommended, as the first two courses offer a sufficiently comprehensive calculus training for students to move on to other courses. Depending on the choice of electives, students may credit as many as nine Mathematics/Statistics/Computing courses toward the major.

Summary of Requirements for the BS in Environmental Science

Lists of Elective Courses

List E-1: Physical and Biological Sciences

Environmental Science

Semester in Environmental Science/MBL

The following courses are the College designations for the Semester in Environmental Science that is taught at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. One quarter at MBL counts for four courses: ENSC 23820, ENSC 24100, ENSC 29800, and an elective of ENSC 24200, ENSC 24300, or ENSC 28100. Admission to the Semester in Environmental Science program is by application, which must be received by the MBL generally in March of the year preceding the start of the semester. Admissions decisions will generally be sent in April. Note that these courses start at the beginning of September, typically four weeks prior to the start of the College’s Autumn Quarter and are completed by the end of Autumn Quarter. More information on the course content and the application process, and deadlines can be found at https://college.uchicago.edu/academics/semester-environmental-science-ses. Students participating in the Semester in Environmental Science receive credit for four courses in environmental science, two of which can be used to substitute for ENSC 24400 Ecology and Conservation and ENSC 23900 Environmental Chemistry.

Field Courses in Environmental Science

The department sponsors field trips that range in length from one day to several weeks. Shorter field trips typically form part of lecture-based courses and are offered each year. (The trips are open to all students and faculty if space permits.) Longer trips are designed as undergraduate field courses, and one such course may be used as an elective science course for the major. Destinations of field courses have recently included Baja California and the Bahamas.

Geophysical Sciences

Chemistry

Biology and Ecology***

Physics

List E-2: Social Sciences

Microeconomics foundations

Other social science electives

(Note that many courses below require microeconomics as a prerequisite)

List E-3: Computational Sciences

Mathematics

Physics

Statistics

Computing

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