ChooseWhy Choose This Program?
Why Study Environmental Studies at Goucher?
As a top-ranked green college, Goucher College recognizes that addressing climate change, urban pollution, food security, environmental racism, and other urgent societal challenges requires a comprehensive approach that draws on diverse fields—from geology and biology to economics and politics.
To find creative and innovative solutions to these problems, Goucher’s Environmental Studies equips you with multi-disciplinary knowledge, action-based strategies, and skills that enable you to unravel complex systems, tackle challenges, cultivate personal agency, optimize solutions, and implement sustainable practices effectively. Equity and justice, as well as experiential learning, are interwoven throughout our courses, research projects, and community-based learning opportunities.
LearnWhat Will You Learn?
What Will You Learn?
Our interdisciplinary curriculum draws on concepts and approaches from the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. Through hands-on work and experiences that rely on our campus and nearby communities, the program allows you to integrate these concepts and approaches. This integration starts by learning about the scientific process and social aspects of resource management across the globe. It continues with theories that explain environmental issues and unravel potential solutions, culminating with an investigation of an environmental issue of your choosing.
The curriculum provides flexibility for you to do a deep dive into specific problems that appeal to you and offers you the breadth necessary to navigate professional careers.
DoWhat Will You Do?
What Will You Do?
The integrative and ethical knowledge gained by our students has propelled them into successful careers, ranging from environmental research, advocacy, consultancy, and policy to urban planning, finance, education, and conservation.
Most of our students conduct internships with organizations like Food & Water Watch, Black Yield Institute, and the National Aquarium, among others.
.
Course Curriculum
Faculty
Environmental Studies Major & Minor Program Chair
Germán Mora, Department Chair, Professor of Environmental Studies: Biogeochemistry, climate change, unequal distribution of
environmental services
Full-Time & Half-Time Faculty
Peggy Eppig, Lecturer in Environmental Studies: Environmental history and sustainable agriculture
Germán Mora, Professor of Environmental Studies: Biogeochemistry, climate change, unequal distribution of environmental services
Akana Noto, Assistant Professor of Biology: Ecology and species interactions
Jennifer da Rosa, Director of M.A. in Environmental Sustainability & Management Program, Assistant Professor: Environmental education, gender discrepancies of environmental outcomes, behavioral economics
Gina Shamshak, Professor of Economics: Applied microeconomics, environmental and natural resource economics
Christopher Torres, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies: environmental philosophy, policy studies, public administration
Ohad Paris, Visiting Assistant Professor in Environmental Studies: Avian behavior and ecology, statistical methods in ecology, spatial analysis of vegetated habitats
Study Abroad
By choosing three-week intensive courses led by Goucher faculty or semester programs suited to their academic plans, environmental studies students gain a global perspective that enhances their course of study.
Explore the study abroad programs on offer:
Veritas University - Environmental Science, Policy, Sustainable Development, Ecotourism, Resource Management, Ecology, Conservation, Eco-Photography
ISEP Direct Summer in Costa Rica - Sustainability & Service-Learning
Opportunities & Internships
Summer Research Program
Environmental science students have the opportunity to participate in the Goucher
College Summer Science Research Program.
Honors & Awards
Departmental honors and awards are given to students who have shown outstanding academic
achievement. Find more information on the Environmental Studies Honors and Awards page.
Internships
Internships help students explore possibilities, apply classroom learning, and gain experience. Explore internships and credit options.
Student Employment
Student employment connects students to both on and off-campus opportunities. The Career Education Office provides resources and support to students with or without Federal Work Study to find jobs, submit applications, and learn more about the job search process. Students have access to Handshake — a website for job postings, events, resumes/cover letters, and career management.
Major & Career Exploration
Exploring career options, choosing a major, and making career decisions is a multi-step process in which all students are encouraged to engage early and often. Goucher students have a variety of resources available through the Majors and Career page to assist them in this process.
Job Search
A Goucher education prepares students for today’s job market and beyond. Students can explore job opportunities and access job search resources through the CEO Job Search page.
Graduate & Professional School
Students access resources for searching and applying to graduate and professional school through the CEO Graduate and Professional School page, through faculty and staff members, or utilizing their own resources, network and tools.
M.A. in Environmental Sustainability & Management
This program is designed for individuals seeking to lead in the fields of environmental management and sustainability. Environmental injustice, species extinction, climate change, and resource depletion are all increasing concerns for humanity. A graduate degree in environmental sustainability & management equips you to tackle these challenges using the tools of science, policy, system dynamics, and environmental management.
Alumni Spotlight
Todd Troester ’15
Environmental studies major
Read My Story“I like being on the ground floor of things and being a trailblazer.”