Environmental Studies Major

WHY CHOOSE AN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES MAJOR?

The Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies is one of the worlds leading institutions for environmental studies and is the administrative home for the major. The major offers a robust and interdisciplinary curriculum that spans all contemporary disciplines that touch upon the environment. The curriculum includes biological sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences, as well as humanities, history, health, and modern culture.

The environmental studies major, offered by the College of Letters & Science and administered by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, provides unique opportunities for undergraduate students to broaden their studies through interdisciplinary coursework related to the environment. The major must always be completed in tandem with a second major. This requirement is unique to the environmental studies major and allows undergraduates the opportunity to both broaden and deepen the focus of their other major with a perspective on the environment that spans a wide range of topics, and involves varying depths of application.

The major includes experiential learning opportunities via the capstone course and the field requirement, and encourages global interaction through study or internships abroad. With numerous travel abroad possibilities and ongoing access to a large selection of extracurricular events, graduates have countless combinations available to them. The outcome is a solid academic foundation in the study of the environment and access to a network of multidisciplinary problem-solving colleagues.

In today's world, the program prepares students to address modern challenges using interdisciplinary problem-solving approaches, applying both an understanding of, and practical experience beyond, a single academic discipline. Employers purposefully seek individuals with interdisciplinary and international preparation, and environmental studies students are ready to meet that need.

Click here to see a complete list of faculty and staff affiliated with the Nelson Institute.

The Nelson Institute also offers two undergraduate certificates:

Environmental Studies Certificate
Sustainability Certificate

Note: Students may not pair the environmental studies major with the environmental studies certificate.

1. Explain the social and historical processes that impact our current environments. Interpret the meanings, values, and aesthetics that are created, shaped, and revealed as humans interact with and modify the environments they inhabit.
2. Explain ecological processes and fundamental principles of environmental sciences relating to humanity’s key environmental challenges of the past, present, and future.
3. Apply perspectives and techniques drawn from a coordinate major to develop interdisciplinary responses to environmental questions.
4. Recognize through critical thinking a diversity of viewpoints, ethical commitments, and disciplinary approaches to environmental concerns across various scales from the local to the global.
5. Demonstrate excellent reading, writing, communication, and research skills, both individually and in interdisciplinary teams.

All undergraduate students at UW–Madison must complete the university-wide General Education Requirements, which are designed to convey the essential core of an undergraduate education. This core establishes a foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values, and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world. These requirements provide for breadth across the humanities and arts, social studies, and natural sciences; competence in communication, critical thinking, and analytical skills necessary for success in college and beyond; and investigation of the issues raised by living in a culturally diverse society. This core is intended to provide students with intellectual and practical skills, basic knowledge of human cultures and the physical world, strategies for understanding these topics, and tools intended to contribute to their sense of personal and social responsibility. General Education complements the work students do in their majors and degrees. Together, these requirements help students learn what they need to know not just for making a living, but also for making a life.

Completing the General Education Requirements is an important part of achieving these competencies, and to do so, students choose from many courses in communication, ethnic studies, quantitative reasoning, and breadth of study across disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities, literature, and arts, and social and behavioral sciences.

Completing the General Education Requirements is an important part of achieving these competencies, and to do so, students choose from many courses in communication, ethnic studies, quantitative reasoning, and breadth of study across disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities, literature, and arts, and social and behavioral sciences.

Each school and college may choose to allow General Education courses to count toward other degree and/or major requirements. Students should always check with their advisors to discuss any additional degree requirements and determine if students are required to take specific General Education courses or to complete the requirements in a particular order. Students should review their Degree Audit (DARS) report to see how they are progressing toward fulfilling the General Education requirements. Please refer to.

Environmental studies students are represented in majors all across campus and in most undergraduate schools and colleges. Environmental studies majors should utilize the career office for their home school as appropriate. All students, not just L&S students, can also benefit from SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science.

We encourage our majors to begin working on their career exploration and preparation soon after arriving on campus. We partner with SuccessWorks to help you leverage the academic skills learned in your major and liberal arts degree, explore and try out different career paths, participate in internships, prepare for the job search and/or graduate school applications, and network with professionals in the field (alumni and employers).

Letters & Science graduates are in high demand by employers and graduate programs. It is important to us that our students are career ready at the time of graduation, and we are committed to your success.

L&S career resources

SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science helps students leverage the academic skills learned in their major, certificates, and liberal arts degree; explore and try out different career paths; participate in internships; prepare for the job search and/or graduate school applications; and network with professionals in the field (alumni and employers). In short, SuccessWorks helps students in the College of Letters & Science discover themselves, find opportunities, and develop the skills they need for success after graduation.

SuccessWorks can also assist students in career advising, résumé and cover letter writing, networking opportunities, and interview skills, as well as course offerings for undergraduates to begin their career exploration early in their undergraduate career. 

Students should set up their profiles in Handshake to take care of everything they need to explore career events, manage their campus interviews, and apply to jobs and internships from 200,000+ employers around the country.

• SuccessWorks
• Set up a career advising appointment
• INTER-LS 210 L&S Career Development: Taking Initiative (1 credit, targeted to first- and second-year students)—for more information, see Inter-LS 210: Career Development, Taking Initiative
• INTER-LS 215 Communicating About Careers (3 credits, fulfills Com B General Education Requirement)
• Handshake
• Learn how we’re transforming career preparation: L&S Career Initiative