Welcome to Swarthmore College's Environmental Studies (ENVS) program. Begun in 1992 due to student demand as a concentration (minor), ENVS expanded to a Tri-College minor in 2012, then added a major in 2016 and an honors major in 2018. Environmental Studies is inherently interdisciplinary, and brings together the humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and the social sciences to tackle environmental issues of great complexity and socio-political importance. In relation to climate change, for instance, natural scientists provide data to understand the scope of the problem and the processes that result in global warming, while social scientists seek to understand and craft policies informed by the social structures and relations of power and the human behaviors that cause climate change. Humanistic scholars, among their other contributions, help provide analyses of the moral, ethical, aesthetic, and historical frameworks shaping human/nature relationships and draw on the power of image and story for understanding right relations and interdependencies between humankind and otherkind. Among the environmental values that our students seek to study are those that relate to people's relationships with the land, with the natural and built environment, and with each other.
Bachelor of Environmental Studies at Swarthmore College
The Environmental Studies at Swarthmore College is a Full Time Bachelor program offered at the university's main campus in Aberdeen, United States of America. The program is delivered on campus in English and can be completed in 4 years. Students develop academic knowledge and practical skills that prepare them for future careers in this field. The next available intake starts on September 5, 2026.
About Bachelor of Environmental Studies
Requirements and Admission Criteria for Bachelor of Environmental Studies at Swarthmore College
Entry Requirements
- Common Application or QuestBridge Application
- Swarthmore College Short Answer
- As part of the Common Application, you will be asked to submit no more than 250 words in response to a short answer question (QuestBridge applicants are asked the same question on our Swarthmore-QuestBridge Intent to Apply form). For the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, students will be asked to choose one of the following three questions:
- Swarthmore students’ worldviews are often forged by their prior experiences and exposure to ideas and values. Our students are often mentored, supported, and developed by their immediate context—in their neighborhoods, communities of faith, families, and classrooms. Reflect on what elements of your home, school, or community have shaped you or positively impacted you. How have you grown or changed because of the influence of your community?
- We are inspired by students who are flexible in their approach to learning, who are comfortable with experimentation, and who are willing to take intellectual risks that move them out of their comfort zone. Reflect on a time that you were intellectually challenged, inspired, or took an intellectual risk—inside or outside of the classroom. How has that experience shaped you, and what questions still linger?
- Why are you interested in applying to and attending Swarthmore?
- As part of the Common Application, you will be asked to submit no more than 250 words in response to a short answer question (QuestBridge applicants are asked the same question on our Swarthmore-QuestBridge Intent to Apply form). For the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, students will be asked to choose one of the following three questions:
- $60 application fee or fee waiver*
- School report
- School counselor recommendation
- High school transcript
- Midyear grades: If your school does not have midyear grades, please provide a midyear progress report from your teachers.
- Two academic-subject teacher recommendations/evaluations
Fee Information
How to Apply
Applying via the Common Application
You can easily add Swarthmore to your list of colleges in the Common Application.
In addition to the Common Application's personal statement (you can choose one of seven essay prompts), we ask you to submit no more than 250 words in response to a short answer question. For the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, students will be asked to choose one of the following three questions:
- Swarthmore students’ worldviews are often forged by their prior experiences and exposure to ideas and values. Our students are often mentored, supported, and developed by their immediate context—in their neighborhoods, communities of faith, families, and classrooms. Reflect on what elements of your home, school, or community have shaped you or positively impacted you. How have you grown or changed because of the influence of your community?
- We are inspired by students who are flexible in their approach to learning, who are comfortable with experimentation, and who are willing to take intellectual risks that move them out of their comfort zone. Reflect on a time that you were intellectually challenged, inspired, or took an intellectual risk—inside or outside of the classroom. How has that experience shaped you, and what questions still linger?
- Why are you interested in applying to and attending Swarthmore?
United States of America, Aberdeen