Academic Program

The program in environmental studies (ES) is intended for students who wish to combine study in biology, chemistry, economics, history, or political science with interdisciplinary work on environmental themes across the natural sciences, history, and social sciences. Five courses of study are available, each concentrating in a home department with an environmental emphasis, augmented with cross-disciplinary requirements in ES. ES majors will be identified with their home department as ES–biology, ES–chemistry, ES–economics, ES–history, or ES–political science.

Admission to the Major

To be admitted to the ES program, students must obtain signatures of their academic adviser and the chair of the Environmental Studies Committee. Students should use this opportunity to discuss their proposed course of study with an Environmental Studies Committee member, ensuring that ES courses will be offered in the semesters proposed and that all of the major requirements will be met.

Dual Degree Program

You may also be intersted to learn more about the 3:2 Dual Degree Program in Forestry- Environmental Sciences, an arrangement with the Nicholas School of the Environment of Duke University, in which a student may obtain a bachelor of arts degree at Reed and a professional master’s degree from Duke (master of forestry or master of environmental management).

Requirements

A. Common ES Core Requirements and Home Department Requirements

Students must fulfill the following course requirements for their respective home departments (home department courses may be fulfilled by ES core requirements):

B. Junior Qualifying Examination

The Environmental Studies Junior Seminar serves as the qualifying exam in Environmental Studies. ES students are also required to pass the junior qualifying exam in their home department.

C. Thesis

Students must complete a thesis with an environmental focus.

Sample Course Plans

For examples of how one might fulfill the Environmental Studies requirements, please see the following.

The Registrar's Office has prepared major planners for each Environmental Studies major.

For examples of how one might fulfill the Environmental Studies requirements and study abroad, see the example study plans on the International Programs Office website.