<p>Can anyone offer any suggestions of liberal arts colleges with this major? If it's a coordinate major, I'd like to combine it with economics.</p>
<p>I've already looked into the following colleges and I was wondering if anyone could tell me a bit of insider information about them as well as recommend others.</p>
<p>Whitman
Bowdoin
Pomona
Macalester
Reed
Vassar</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Check out Grinnell. Outstanding sciences (a including an observatory and a prairie ecology center), a huge endowment which translates into excellent new science and other facilities, money for student research and activities, merit aid, and the smallest class size of any LAC, esp. in the intro science courses. A strong reputation for future Phd. Also no distribution requirements and superb faculty mentoring.</p>
<p>We’re not insiders, and it’s not ‘insider information’ but we were especially impressed with Bowdoin’s ecology program, which had breadth and depth, including marine and arctic studies centers. We visited the marine studies center which is small but looked like a great place to do research.</p>
<p>Poor wording on my part, I meant if anyone has any interesting little-known information or personal opinions on programs.</p>
<p>Location makes a big difference when you’re talking about Environmental Studies/Science, perhaps all the more so when you’re talking small colleges. Grinnell has its prairie ecology center as M’s Mom mentioned. St. Mary’s College of MD is a public LAC that takes advantage of its waterfront location where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay. Connecticut College has a strong botany program but also leverages its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound. My son’s school, Colorado College, is well-positioned for students of geology or Rocky Mountain ecosystems. Other schools (like Duke, but presumably also some smaller schools in the SE) take advantage of nearby forest habitat and related local industry interests (lumber, paper). </p>
<p>So at any school that interests you, I suggest you pay attention to the regional setting, how that affects the focus of the school’s programs, and whether that aligns with your interests. Not only your academic interests, but also your extracurricular ones. Does the school attract many outdoorsy students who spend a lot of their free time skiing, hiking, rock climbing, or sailing? Do you do any of these things? If not, would you like to learn? Or are you more of a homebody who would prefer on-campus activities? Do you see yourself as more of an outdoorsy environmentalist, or as more of a policy wonk? Think about the whole person you want to become and how your ES interest fits into that psychological and social “ecosystem”.</p>
<p>Bowdoin, Middlebury, Colorado College, and Whitman are examples of schools that fall into the outdoorsy camp. Middlebury in particular is one I recommend if your qualifications are high enough. Next year they’ll become the first small college to participate in the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon project.
[Solar</a> Decathlon | Middlebury](<a href=“Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest | Middlebury”>Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest | Middlebury)</p>
<p>If you’re more the policy wonk type, maybe focus on urban/suburban schools (such as Macalester, Reed, and Pomona).</p>
<p>Look into Whitman’s “semester in the West”</p>
<p>[Semester</a> in the West](<a href=“http://www.semesterinthewest.org/]Semester”>http://www.semesterinthewest.org/)</p>
<p>I would recommend Ripon College in Wisconsin. It’s a small university of approx. 1000 students with a 15:1 student teacher ratio. Their Environmental Studies program has an emphasis on biology, chemisty, philosphy and economics but students then are encouraged to add electives in art, anthropology, history, math and politics. It has some interesting programs available including tropical studies in Costa Rica, a Tanzania program and other programs in Wales, Washington DC and the Boundary Waters in MN.</p>
<p>They also have the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy.</p>
<p>[Ripon</a> College : Environmental Studies](<a href=“http://www.ripon.edu/academics/envirostudies/index.html]Ripon”>http://www.ripon.edu/academics/envirostudies/index.html)</p>
<p>I’d agree with tk21769’s argument that location matters. I’d add Carleton College to your list. </p>
<p>Carleton adjoins a 1,000 acre arboretum and environmental activism is a dominant force on campus. It sports the first college based industrial grade wind turbine, new LEED certified green dorms, tons of environmental volunteer organizations on campus/in town, a Farm House (complete with farm), WHOA (Wellstone House of Organization and Activism for those who don’t take to manure), etc, etc, etc.</p>
<p>[Carleton</a> College: Environmental Studies](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/ents/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/ents/)
[US</a> States Sign Global Warming Pact - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1684745,00.html]US”>http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1684745,00.html)
[Carleton</a> College - Green Report Card 2009](<a href=“http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2009/schools/carleton-college]Carleton”>http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2009/schools/carleton-college)
[Carleton</a> College: Environmental Studies: Environmental Organizations](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/ents/resources/orgs/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/ents/resources/orgs/)</p>
<p>Whitman IS the place for environmental studies (combo with econ if you want) - semester in the west, wilderness campus, interesting eastern WA environment (water/land issues to study), really fantastic geology program (if you want to go into business geo), live in an environmental studies interest house, very outdoorsy student body (great outdoor program - or OP). Very popular major on campus - lots of kids have majors like environmental studies-geology, -biology, -politics, -sociology, environmental humanities (unique major, deals with nature writing and philosophy).</p>
<p>
Eh, location can be worked around. Field trips are quite common in geology and ecology thanks to breaks. Courses at Duke with field trips include volcanology (Hawaii), paleontology (Yellowstone), marine geology (Florida), coastal geology (NC/VA coast), etc. If you spend the semester at the marine lab, you have the option of studying urban ecology in Singapore, marine ecology in France or San Francisco, sea turtle biology in Bermuda and Puerto Rico, etc. One of my friends just got back from studying with a group of other students in Iceland over the summer.</p>
<p>It’s true, though, that a nearby resource - marine lab, academic farm, ecological preserve, etc. - is an invaluable resource.</p>
<p>
Note that there is a difference between environmental science (usually a BS) and environmental studies (usually a BA). The former focuses on hydrology, forestry, biogeochemistry, limnology, etc. The latter focuses on environmental policy, coastal management, etc. Which is more of interest to you?</p>
<p>For environmental studies with a combination with econ, Claremont McKenna would be an excellent option.</p>
<p>[Environment</a>, Economics, and Politics major (EEP)](<a href=“http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/eep/eepmajor.asp]Environment”>http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/eep/eepmajor.asp)</p>
<p>Davidson, Conn College, Allegheny, Colgate, Skidmore, Colby, Bates, Oberlin, Wesleyan, and Dension would also be well worth a look.</p>
<p>Bowdoin is my personal favorite on your list. It’s especially strong for marine science and arctic studies, but it’s excellent all around and has a great quality of life.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks very much everyone! For clarification, I would much prefer Environmental Studies to Environmental Science.</p>
<p>I had seen Whitman’s Semester in the West program and was amazed by it! I love the state of Washington; in fact, I would want to live there. But yes, thanks to all.</p>
<p>I had thought about Carleton and Grinnell, perhaps I should look into them more!</p>
<p>As for outdoorsy vs policy wonk, I could personally see myself doing both! I love natural beauty so Maine and Washington appeal greatly to me.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d give this a bit of a bump in case anyone had any more suggestions!</p>
<p>Do some informational interviewing with people already working in the field. My impression (I am no expert) from talking to friends in the field is that an undergraduate degree in the physical sciences with graduate work in either the sciences or policy, is a much stronger base to build on than an undergraduate degree in policy, if you plan to have a career where your expertise is the basis for your credibility. Again, this is the kind of information that you will get by talking to experts in the field, including faculty in these areas.</p>
<p>So rather than a degree in Environmental Studies or Policy, you think it would be better to do Environmental Science? I’m not positive what I want to do quite yet, but I think urban/environmental planning is my field of interest.</p>
<p>I recently visited Connecticut College, and I had the impression that Environmental studies are pretty big there.</p>
<p>I googled Urban Planning, found numerous web sites with job listings for urban planners. Here’s an example of what a mid-level urban planning position asked for:</p>
<p>“Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university in Planning, Geography, Geology, Environmental Science or related major; and a minimum of five (5) years related experience and/or training; or Master’s degree in same disciplines; and three (3) years related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.”</p>
<p>Do yourself a favor and check a few other position descriptions to see what kind of education and training are most sought after in your field(s) of interest. You may well change your major or career goals (several times even) once you are in school and more deeply into your subjects, but if you have chosen a school that provides a solid foundation in a wide range of areas, you will have more flexibility than if you chose a school based on one particular major with narrow application, and then discover it was not the right choice after all.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice. I intend to get a masters in planning, but aren’t most of these colleges good for more than one thing, considering what they are (LACs)?</p>
<p>SgtDonut:</p>
<p>I’d agree with warblersrule that there’s a difference between Environmental Studies and Environmental Science. But having said that, understand that Environmental Science remains a pretty fuzzy, soft “science.” It’s multidisciplinary by it’s nature and often leads to “a little of this, a little of that” in coursework. You can come out a jack of many trades, master of none. I’d agree that if one is science inclined, a geology or bio-chem-physics/astronomy major may make more sense with additional coursework in the relevent social sciences thrown in. </p>
<p>But you shouldn’t worry about your more social than science interests. Most Environmental Studies majors are, in fact, a lot like you - more interested in the applied than the basic. With political science, economics, history, etc. all adding to the mix along with the science, you’d probably find a fit that’s right for you at most schools offering the major (not all colleges do, by the way. At some it remains a concentration requiring a separate major). Should your interests change, given the multidisciplinary nature of the major, it’d be pretty easy to change course mid-college stream and pursue another related course of study with little difficulty.</p>
<p>Yes, the social sciences interest me far more than topics such as biology, chemistry, etc. Thank you very much to everyone! You’ve been wildly helpful. Now I just need to get into Bowdoin…</p>