Requirements
  1. Natural Science Foundation (4 courses)
  2. Quantitative Assessment (2 courses)
  3. Decision-making Foundation (3 courses)
  4. Natural Science Elective (1 course)
  5. Social Science Elective (1 course)
  6. Junior Research (1 course)
  7. Senior Research/Thesis (2 courses)
For details, see Major Requirements Worksheet below.


Advice
 Students interested in majoring in Environmental Policy should contact one of the following advisers: Stephanie Pfirman (Environmental Science), Kimberly Marten (Political Science), Paige West (Anthropology), Alan Dye (Economics) or David Weiman (Urban Studies) to discuss the program and major requirements and current offerings.

Students who elect a major in Environmental Policy will have a major adviser in Environmental Science and an associated department. Although one member of the faculty will serve as the primary adviser, requests to substitute courses from Columbia or other institutions must be approved by both major advisers.

Internships or some type of work or field experience are extremely valuable in preparing students for careers in Environmental Science. Go to Research Opportunities for listings. Studies have shown that students who have had related work experience are more attractive to employers and graduate schools. Students might want to consider a semester or summer program at might want to consider a semester or summer program at the SEE-U, SEA Semester at Woods Hole,the School for Field Studies, the Organization for Tropical Studies, or some other field or internship program. In addition, we recommend that those students planning to go abroad in the junior year elect to do so in the Fall Semester rather than the Spring Semester in order to take best advantage of senior seminar research planning and programming.

Students should check the catalogue and the department for additional information on the major and courses offered by Barnard and Columbia. Classes with grades less than C- or taken pass/fail can not be counted towards the major.

See also Senior Research Seminar for information on senior thesis requirements completed in Environmental Science Department.


Major Requirements Worksheet
(Printer-friendly Worksheet)

Part A-1, Natural Science Foundation (3 courses) Term/Year
Earth's Environmental Systems: Climate + Lab EESC V2100x, y  
General Chemistry I + lab CHEM BC2001x  

Introduction to Organismal and Evolutionary Biology (was BIOL BC2002x)

 BIOL BC1500x  

+ Introductory Lab in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology (was BIOL BC2003x)

 BIOL BC1501x
  
or Environmental Biology II + Lab BIOL W2002y  
or Earth's Environmental Systems: Life + Lab EESC V2300y  
or Columbia's SEE-U summer program***    
Part A-2, Additional Science Foundation Course (1 course)  
Organic Chemistry† CHEM BC3230y  
or General Chemistry II + Lab** CHEM BC2002y  
or Earth's Environmental Systems: Solid Earth + Lab EESC V2200x  
or Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (was BIOL BC2001y) BIOL BC1502y  
+ Biological Exp. Laboratory (was BIOL BC2004y)
 BIOL BC1503y  
or Introduction to Environmental Science I or II + Labs (if taken before Earth's Environmental Systems, V2100, V2200, or V2300)
 EESC BC1001x or 1002y

  
†for students who intend to pursue advanced coursework in natural sciences.
**for students who prefer a general introduction to chemistry and do not intend to pursue advanced coursework in natural sciences.
***students who enroll in the SEE-U program may not complement it with EESC BC1001, but may complement it with EESC BC1002.
Part B, Quantitative Assessment (1 from each grouping, 2 courses total)  
1) Data/Statistics:    
Data Analysis EESC BC3017x  
2) Analysis:    

GIS Applications to Environmental Problems

 EAEE E4009x  

or Environmental Measurements (counts only for Part B or D)

 EESC BC3016x  

or Global Assessment and Monitoring Using Remote Systems

 EESC W4050x  
or GIS Methods and Case Studies URBS V3200x, y  

Part C, Decision-making Foundation (1 course from each grouping, 3 courses total)

  

1) Introduction to Economic Reasoning

 ECON BC1003x, y  
or Principles of Economics ECON W1105x, y  
2) Environmental Politics (Spring '10) POLS V3212y  
or International Politics POLS V1601x, y  
or Comparative Politics POLS V1501y  
or International Relations of the Environment POLS W3616y/ INAF U6243y  
or Urban Planning Problems in Developing Countries URBS V3565x  
or *Politics of the American Environment HIST W3424x  
3) Interpretation of Culture ANTH V1002x, y  

+ Discussion Section

 ANTH V1112x, y
  

or Human Species-Place in Nature (previously ANTH, now EEEB)

 EEEB V1010x  
or *Introduction to Environmental Anthropology (course no longer offered) ANTH V3004  

or Challenges to Sustainable Development

 SDEV W3300x  
Part D, Natural Science Elective (1 course)  
Upper level elective in the natural sciences selected from the following:

*Alternative Energy Resources

INAF U4729y  
or Science for Sustainable Development EESC W2330y  
or Environmental Measurements (counts only for Part B or D) EESC BC3016y  
or *Energy Resources EESC BC3019x  
or Weapons of Mass Destruction EESC W3018y  

or *Hydrology

 EESC BC3025y  
or Case Studies in Land-use Dynamics EESC BC3026y  

or *Agricultural and Urban Land Use

 EESC BC3032y  

or *Waste Management

 EESC BC3033x  
or *Forests and Environmental Change EESC BC3021x  

or Ecotoxicology

 EESC BC3200x  
or A Better Planet by Design EAEE E1100y  
or Applied Industrial Ecology EAEE E4001x  

or Restoration and Urban Ecology

 EEEB G4130x  
Part E, Social Science Elective (1 course)  
Upper level elective in the social sciences selected from the following:
Anthropology of Disaster ANTH V3924y  
or Anthropology of Consumption ANTH V3950  

or Environment and Cultural Behavior

 ANTH V3971x  
or The Global Economy ECON W2257  

or International Relations of the Environment (was previously listed also as POLS W3616)

 INAF U6243y  

or Environmental Politics/ Policy Management (as E or F)

 INAF U4727y  

or *Environmental Law

 EESC BC3040y  
or *Environmental Sociology SOCN W3290  

or *Americans in the Natural World

 HIST W4400y  

or *Making of the Modern American Landscape

 HIST W3441y  

or *Looking at Nature in the US 1835 to Present

 HIST W4582  

or 20th Century Urbanization in Comparative Perspectives

 URBS V3525y/ HIST BC3525y  

or Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

 ECON BC3039  
Part F, Junior Research (1 course)
  
Junior research colloquium or other research experience in the social sciences (building on Decision-making Foundationand Social Science Elective) selected from the following:

Political Ecology

 ANTH W4022  
or Environment and Development ANTH V3973y  
or Ethnographic Field Work ANTH BC3868  
or *Bodies and Machines HIST BC3305y  
or *History of Environmental Thought HIST BC4909y  

or *Colloquium on American Political Decision-making

 POLS BC3331y  

or *Colloquium on International Political Economy

 POLS BC3800y  

or *International Organizations

 POLS BC3805y  
or American Politics Seminar:  Executive Leadership (Spring ’09) POLS W3922y  
or International Politics Seminar:  National Security Policy POLS W3961x  
or Environmental Politics/Policy Management INAF U4727y  
or Urban Planning Problems in Developing Countries (as F or C) URBS V3565y  
or Urban Studies Junior Colloquia: Contemporary Urban Issues URBS V3546y  
or Urban Studies Junior Colloquia: Shaping Up the Modern City URBS V3546y  
Part G, Senior Research/ Thesis
Title:
Senior Research Seminar (taken in the fall then spring, or the spring then fall) EESC BC3800x, 3801y  
Recommended as preparation for combined theses:
Economics focus: ECON BC1002 or 1003, ECON BC3039
Anthropology focus: ANTH BC3868, ANTH V3971.
* course taught alternate years