Welcome to Environmental Studies

Home of Environmental Studies & Geology
Tied integrally to the mission of Green Mountain College, the environmental studies department is one of the largest and most diverse programs at the school. E.S. majors have gone on to work in a variety of fields such as environmental journalism, advocacy, and environmental law. Other career examples include everything from working as tour guides and educators with parks and nonprofit organizations to constructing windmills and studying other forms of alternative energy.

Students in the environmental studies department are challenged to examine their views on how humans interact with their natural and social environments, and as they progress through the program develop the ability to effectively address the complexities of environmental problems. Taught by nationally prominent environmental philosophers, writers, and policy makers, the E.S. program grants students access to the scholars who are shaping environmental thought today.

Vermont's environment also provides laboratories for the natural science courses, and local issues engage students in ethics and policy classes. With diverse ecosystems close to campus, rich opportunities exist for field study and outdoor adventure. Off-campus field courses broaden students' perspectives, and a variety of courses address the global dimensions of environmental problems, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, and habitat degradation.

In addition to unique opportunities for study and travel through the Eco League consortium of environmentally-themed colleges, the Green Mountain College Recreation and Leisure Studies Program adds a dimension to our environmental studies major that is often lacking at other institutions. As a result of people's increased appreciation of wild places, a recreation profession has arisen to provides services for those in search of relaxation and renewal in nature.

By the fall semester of their junior year, environmental studies students choose one of six concentrations in the major: 1. Environmental Education, 2. Fine Arts and the Environment, 3. Human Sciences, Policy & the Environment, 4. Natural Sciences and the Environment, 5. Recreation and the Environment, or 6. Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production.

Program goals include:

• Graduates of this program will have strong research and hands-on problem solving skills, which will prepare them for professions in environmental fields and for graduate school.
  
  
• Graduates will be empowered to be active citizens in their communities. They will have the reflective and communications skills to listen and respond to diverse perspectives, and they will be skilled in resolving conflicts.
  
  
• Graduates will demonstrate critical comprehension of alternative global perspectives and frameworks in a way that is richly responsible to cultural traditions and political complexities.
  
  
• Graduates will be environmentally, geographically, and historically literate: locally, regionally, and globally.
  
  
• Graduates will have strong scientific reasoning skills, particularly in ecosystemic thinking.
  
  
• Graduates will have strong analytical, critical thinking, reading, and writing skills.
  
  
• Graduates will have reflected on multiple perspectives regarding the appropriate ethical relationship between humans and nonhuman nature.