Environmental Studies

Environmental studies is a major at the interface of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities which has been designed to address the societal causes and effects of, and policy solutions to, environmental problems such as climate change and prepare students for rewarding environmental careers in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.

The major offers a rigorous academic degree in environmental studies with specialized Concentration Career Tracks, involving electives, professional internships, study abroad, thesis research, and our Alumni Career Advisory Board. Areas of study include:

• Environmental Law
• Conservation Biology
• Environmental Economics and Sustainable Business
• Environmental Politics and Government
• Green Architecture and Urban Planning
• Environmental Journalism
• Environmental Education K-12
• Public Health and the Environment
• Organic Agriculture and Food Security
• Parks and Recreation
• Environmental Organizations
• Environmental Philosophy, Religion and Ethics
• Environmental History and American Studies
• Environmental Art and Literature

Alumni have been accepted to prestigious graduate programs at Yale, Columbia, and London School of Economics, and environmental law programs at Pace, Fordham, and Vermont. They have successfully found employment in the government, private and nonprofit sectors. The program typically has 80-90 majors enrolled and graduates 20 students per year.

Located in York City—one of the most vibrant centers of environmental education and urban ecology in the world—our program allows students to gain professional internship experience and academic credits in environmental organizations such as Bronx River Alliance (New York City Dept. of Parks), Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo), New York Botanical Garden, American Museum of Natural History, and Environmental Consortium of Hudson River Colleges and Universities, as well as in study abroad and summer programs, from the Caribbean to Africa.

Our program reflects Fordham University’s mission of “men and women for others” and “respect for the environment” in that students have the opportunity to serve the greater good in the areas of environmental literacy, stewardship, sustainable development, and environmental justice, effecting positive change as citizens in a world characterized by complex scientific, economic, political and ethical interactions, and processes.

We invite you to join our program and find your educational and career path.

Students should officially declare the major in the freshman year and contact the program director for advising about required freshman and sophomore courses. The major can also be declared in the sophomore or junior year.

Program Activities

The following curricular and extracurricular activities are enjoyed by students.

• Lecture series
• Alumni Career Advisory Board providing professional advice to current students
• Undergraduate Research program
• Sponsorship of the club Students for Environmental Justice and Awareness
• Sponsorship of St. Rose’s Garden, an organic vegetable garden on the Rose Hill Campus
• Membership in the Fordham University Sustainability Program
• Membership in the Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities
• Cooperative internship program with the Bronx River Alliance (New York City Department of Parks), NYC Botanical Garden, and Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo)
• Summer internship program in the United States and abroad
• Study Abroad program in Central America, Africa, Australia, Europe, and Southeast Asia
• Scholarship program

Note: This major changed its name from Environmental Policy to Environmental Studies in Fall 2013. 

For more information

Visit the Environmental Studies program web page.

Our Courses

Courses in Other Areas

The following courses offered in other departments have the ENST attribute and count toward the Environmental Studies major and minor: