The importance of environmental science is made plain every day. The changing climate, polluted air and water, loss of biodiversity, a growing population, and food insecurity are just a few examples of our planet under pressure. It needs protection. At Clark, you’ll explore these and other pressing issues affecting our home — the Earth.
Why study environmental science at Clark?
- Learn from world-class faculty who conduct field exploration, both in New England and on all seven continents, and who address sustainability challenges by analyzing problems and identifying solutions.
- Examine environmental challenges from all academic perspectives — sciences, social sciences, humanities — and from the perspective of action and change.
- Align the major with your personal interests by choosing from three broad areas of specialization: environmental science and policy, earth system science, and environmental and conservation biology.
- Gain experience with leading-edge methods of analysis including geospatial informatics, big data analytics, decision methods, and community engagement.
- Participate in high-impact research in our Lasry Center for Bioscience laboratories, with the Human-Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) Program, and through our world-renowned Graduate School of Geography’s connections with international governments, science organizations, NGOs, and businesses.
4 + 1—An advanced degree within reach
The 4+1 Accelerated Master’s provides an opportunity to earn a pathway to a master’s degree — with one year of additional study and available tuition scholarships. Consider the following option for this major:
- Apply
- Request Info
Are you ready to take the first step?
Featured Courses
Climate Change, Energy and Development
In this course you’ll investigate the science of climate change and the complexities of translating it into effective policy, the uneven impact of climate change around the world, and ways to reduce that impact.
Problems & Practices in Environmental Stewardship
Explore how changes in the cryosphere (glaciers, sea ice, snow, and permafrost) play a critical role in many complex earth processes, and learn how satellite technology can help us measure those changes.
Environmental Pollution Policy
Examine the role of science and the trade-offs inherent in crafting pollution policy in the U.S., how businesses perceive environmental policy and risks, and ways individuals can be motivated to minimize pollution.
The environmental science major requires the completion of 17 to 18 courses, depending on the track selected. You’ll complete three core courses — Earth System Science, Environmental Science and Policy: Introductory Case Studies, and Introduction to Biology I, each of which provides an overview of one of three areas of focus in environmental science — and choose one area to pursue in-depth. (Learn more below.)
Curriculum update
Effective fall 2025, Clark offers new majors a B.S. in Environmental Science instead of a B.A. Contact your advisor for details.
Career Communities are industry-focused groups designed to support your professional exploration and narrow down your career interests within specific fields. You’ll connect to opportunities, professionals, and information that will support your career development.
The following communities may be of interest:
Non-Profit, Human Services, and Education
Sustainability, Climate and Global Change
Junior Environmental Analyst
SRA International
Associate Project Manager
New York State Energy Research & Development Authority
Environmental health and Safety Director
Danaher Corporation
Conservation Consultant
Town of North Andover, Mass.
Ecologist/Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Alaska
The Clark Experience
The Clark Experience brings together the exceptional education you’ll receive in the classroom and so much more. Through focus and flexibility, it ensures you’ll leave Clark with the creativity, confidence, and resilience to succeed and lead a life of meaning and consequence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do with a major in environmental science?
The environmental science major provides training for those who want to continue on to graduate school or establish management, fieldwork, or laboratory careers in areas as diverse as ecology; conservation biology; teaching; environmental planning, protection, or regulation; water or air monitoring; and policy development.
What environmental science tracks are available?
Earth system science: Earth system scientists examine the structure and function of the parts of the earth’s lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, and how these systems interact with one another. This integrated science, which focuses on connections between these earth system components, is at the heart of some of our most pressing physical science and nature-societal issues, including global climate change, water availability, and the loss of biological diversity. The track emphasizes the patterns and processes across the Earth’s surface (both land and ocean), serving as an introduction to earth sciences or geosciences. Intensive field study, satellite remote sensing analysis, geographical information science (GISci), and computer simulation are all tools for understanding, monitoring, and predicting earth system behavior. The ESS track of the environmental science major trains graduates for a wide range of professional endeavors as well as more advanced studies involving physical geography, including landscape ecology, land-atmosphere interactions, hydrology, biogeochemistry, remote sensing, and GISci.
Environmental and conservation biology: Environmental biologists explore the ways in which organisms evolve and interact with one another and their environments. Levels of exploration can range from molecular evolution and genomics to ecosystem level function. Conservation biology makes up one component of this field, focusing on the biological knowledge necessary to preserve biodiversity. Because the loss of biodiversity has reached crisis levels, we offer a focused curriculum that lets you bring appropriate biological tools and knowledge to efforts to develop conservation strategies and policies.
Environmental engineering: This track is designed for students intending to pursue the 3-2 Program in Engineering. With pressures from population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and associated demands for materials and goods, environmental engineers find ways to anticipate and monitor natural resource shocks and natural disasters, track pollutants and reduce and manage wastes to improve environmental quality and provide clean air and water, develop safe and sustainable built environments and industries. Students will gain a solid foundation in mathematics and sciences with an orientation toward the environment, preparing them to continue with more advanced and focused studies within Columbia University’s engineering school.
Environmental science and policy: This track will prepare you to deal with the complexities of environmental issues in a societal context. You’ll gain an in-depth understanding of how human activity impacts the natural environment, along with scientific, social science, and policy perspectives on how these impacts can be managed and mitigated. The track’s strong emphasis on the natural sciences ensures that you will understand the technical, as well as the social, aspects of the world’s most pressing environmental issues.
What skills will I learn as I study environmental science?
- Design a hypothesis, and collect and interpret relevant data
- Communicate scientific information orally and in writing
- Work as part of a team
Are there academic achievement awards in environmental science?
Environmental Science Academic Excellence Award
This award is given to a graduating senior Environmental Science major in recognition of outstanding academic achievement. Awards are given based on academic excellence, commitment to breadth and depth in the field, and involvement in intellectual life outside of the classroom.
Environmental Science Research Excellence Award
This award is given to a graduating senior Environmental Science major who has delivered excellent research within the field of environmental sciences during the course of their undergraduate study. Awards are given based on research excellence, exceptional interest and ability in scientific inquiry, and commitment to pursue scientific research and applications.
Environmental Science Excellence in Practice Award
This award is given to a graduating senior Environmental Science major in recognition of distinguished effort to improve the way humans interact with the environment, natural or built. The recipient will have worked in close concert with an outside organization (e.g. government agency, NGO, etc.) putting her/his academic preparation into practice to address a real-world issue in environmental science.
What facilities and labs does Clark have?
Special facilities available to you include the Jeanne X. Kasperson Research Library at the George Perkins Marsh Institute, the Guy H. Burnham Map and Aerial Photograph Library, Clark Labs, and earth system science teaching and research laboratories in polar science, forest ecology, and terrestrial ecosystem physiology. Learn more.
Is there an honors program for environmental science majors?
During your junior year, you might be accepted into the environmental science honors program. Joining the program means you’ll work closely with a professor to create a thesis on a topic of your choice. Examples of recent honors thesis topics are:
- Food Security and Sustainability for At-Risk Youth in Main South Neighborhood, Worcester, Mass.
- Regeneration of Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forests After Spruce Beetle Outbreaks in the Context of a Changed Climate
- Profiling Pollution at a Combustion Research Center in Holliston, Mass. to Explore Public Health Implications
- Limiting Leopard Predation on Livestock: Protective Cattle Enclosures as a Strategy for Human-Leopard Conflict Mitigation Around Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
Be a force for change.
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