Environmental issues call upon people, organizations, and governments to grasp complex scientific concepts, address conflicting human values, and make difficult economic, political and ethical choices. The curricular options in Environmental Studies—the major in Environmental Studies and the concentration in Environmental Studies—are designed to prepare students to effectively address these issues by integrating perspectives and methodologies from the natural sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
Here is a comparison between the major and concentration.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Environmental Studies Program at Williams College offers a major in Environmental Studies and a concentration in Environmental Studies. The major and the concentration prepare students to understand and address the critical environmental issues of our times. The curriculum integrates perspectives and methodologies from the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities to ask: How do societies shape the environment? How do we design environmental solutions that are just, equitable, and sustainable? How do we transform the systems and ways of life that have created the global environmental crisis? And how do we explain the values and ideas that people have used to make that crisis comprehensible? Answering these questions requires studying complex scientific problems and conflicting values and making difficult economic, political and ethical choices.
PLANNING FOR A POSSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES MAJOR OR CONCENTRATION
Incoming students with an interest in Environmental Studies should consider taking ENVI 101: Nature and Society during their first year at Williams. This gateway course, offered in fall and spring, is required for the major and the concentration and provides an intellectual framework for critical, interdisciplinary environmental inquiry in the social sciences and humanities while surveying the most pressing environmental problems of our time. In the spring, many first-year students take ENVI 102: Introduction to Environmental Science, which provides an overview of the global earth system: the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. In this class, students are introduced to scientific methods from physics, chemistry, geology, and biology that are used to examine real-world case studies at global and local scales.
ENVI 101 or ENVI 102 are recommended starting points for the major. While some other ENVI courses have no prerequisites, some require ENVI 101 and/or 102; on the other hand, some ENVI courses have prerequisites that do not count toward the major or concentration. For example, ENVI/ECON 213 (Introduction to Environmental and Natural Resource Economics) has a prerequisite of ECON 110 (Principles of Microeconomics). We strongly suggest that you do advance planning to ensure you can take all relevant courses.
CREDIT FOR AP, IB, A-LEVELS AND OTHER PRE-WILLIAMS COURSES
Students cannot place out of ENVI 101. Students with a score of 5 on the AP Environmental Science exam may take a 200-level environmental science lab course (carrying an ENVI prefix) in lieu of ENVI 102. If you hope to place out of ENVI 102, please email the Chair of Environmental Studies.
ADVISING
Students interested in the Environmental Studies major or concentration are encouraged to consult with members of the Environmental Studies Program, including the Chair of Environmental Studies, regularly as they plan their course of study. When students declare their major or concentration in the spring of their sophomore year, they will be assigned a faculty advisor in the program.
PREPARATION FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL
We advise students who are considering pursuing a Ph.D. to meet with members of the Environmental Studies program to plan for specialized training. Some graduate programs in Environmental Studies expect prior coursework in statistics, GIS, or advanced humanities, social science, or science courses. The particular set of necessary courses will depend on the field in which a student wants to specialize.
THE DEGREE WITH HONORS IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
A student pursuing either the major or concentration in Environmental Studies can pursue an honors thesis, which is a year-long independent research project under the supervision of a faculty member, conducted over the fall semester (as ENVI 493), Winter Study (as ENVI 31), and spring semester (as ENVI 494) of the senior year. Given the breadth of environmental studies, a thesis may follow a variety of formats. In general, it is a good idea for the thesis to build upon prior coursework and/or prior research or internship experience, and many students launch their thesis research during the summer before senior year. Students completing an Environmental Studies thesis may count one semester of the thesis (ENVI 493 or 494) as their senior seminar or an elective. Interested students may talk to Environmental Studies faculty about project ideas at any time, but should start planning by January of the junior year. See the Environmental Studies website or contact the Environmental Studies Chair for detailed instructions and application timeline.
For more information, see our page on Honors Thesis Program and Guidelines.
STUDY AWAY
Many study away options are available to students in Environmental Studies, including the Williams-Mystic Coastal and Oceanic Studies Program. Students considering either a semester or year away who intend to major in Environmental Studies should consult the Chair of Environmental Studies and the College Study Away office as early as possible to discuss their options. Students may take up to two courses outside of Williams toward their major, but must have approval in advance in writing from the Chair of Environmental Studies.
For more information, see our page on Study Away.