Environmental Economics Major

Advisers Globus-Harris, Klotz

The environmental economics major program focuses on the relationships between the economic system and the natural environment, including the use of the natural environment as an economic asset and the impact on the natural environment of the economic system. In addition to courses stressing economic analysis, the major program includes a study of the relevant sciences, humanities and other social sciences.

This major is part of the Environmental Studies (ENST) Program and is designed for students who are interested in analyzing environmental issues using the framework of economics. Students take a set of courses in the ENST program as well as economics courses that have an environmental emphasis but also provide breadth in economics. The ENST courses focus on interdisciplinary approaches to ethical, natural scientific, and social scientific aspects of environmental issues.

Major Requirements

The major program consists of the following requirements:

Environmental Studies Courses (seven)

Environmental Science: Challenges and Solutions

• ENST 200 - Environmental Science: Challenges and Solutions

One of the following environmental ethics courses:

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ESEE in the course offerings.

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Community-based Study of Environmental Issues

• ENST 450 - Community-Based Study of Environmental Issues and  

One of the following introductory environmental science courses:

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of EEES in the course offerings.

• CHEM 100 - The Chemistry of Altered and Natural Environments
• CORE S128 - Global Change and You
• ENST 240 - Sustainability: Science and Analysis
• GEOG 231 - Geography of the Physical Environment
• GEOL 102 - Sustainable Earth
• GEOL 135 - Oceanography and the Environment
• GEOL 190 - Evolution of Planet Earth

One of the following environmental justice courses:

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ESEJ in the course offerings.

• ENST 232 - Environmental Justice
• ENST 321 - Global Environmental Justice

Other required courses (two):

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ESAH in the course offerings.

• One course from the  list.

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ESEL in the course offerings.

• One course from the  list.

Economics Courses (seven)

All of the Following

• ECON 151 - Introduction to Economics
• ECON 228 - Environmental Economics
• ECON 251 - Intermediate Microeconomics (with a minimum grade of C)
• ECON 252 - Intermediate Macroeconomics (with a minimum grade of C)
• ECON 375 - Applied Econometrics (with a minimum grade of C)
• ECON 483 - Seminar in Resource and Environmental Economics (or, with permission of the major adviser and program director, another economics seminar with a research project focused on an environmental or resource issue)
• MATH 105 - Introduction to Statistics

Major Declaration

In order to declare an environmental economics major, students must have first earned a grade of C or better in either  or . Students who declare a major while enrolled in one of these courses may file "provisional" major declarations. Students with a grade lower than C in , , or  may not declare an environmental economics until a grade of C or higher is earned.

Honors and High Honors

To qualify for honors or high honors in environmental economics, students must fulfill the requirements for honors or high honors in economics. The major GPA used to determine eligibility is calculated from the seven required environmental studies courses and the six required ECON courses (and excluding Math 105). See the  for specific honors requirements.

Environmental Studies Program

For more information about the department, including Faculty, transfer credit, awards, etc., please visit the  catalog page.