Environmental Studies at Yale University

Environmental Studies offers the opportunity to examine human relations with their environments from diverse perspectives. The major encourages interdisciplinary study in (1) social sciences, including anthropology, political science, law, economics, and ethics; (2) humanities, to include history, literature, religion, and the arts; and (3) natural sciences, such as biology, ecology, human health, geology, and chemistry. Students work with faculty advisers and the director of undergraduate studies (DUS) to concentrate on some of the most pressing environmental and sustainability problems of our time: energy and climate change, food and agriculture, urbanism, biodiversity and conservation, human health, sustainable natural resource management, justice, markets, and governance. 

Students may pursue either a B.A. or a B.S. degree within Environmental Studies. The B.A. program is intended for students who wish to concentrate in the social sciences and humanities. The B.S. program encourages students to focus in the natural sciences, especially fields such as environmental health and medicine, ecology, and energy and climate change. Both degree programs culminate in a senior essay project that is commonly preceded by independent summer research.