Environmental Studies (BA)

Department Website
On This Page

Program Description

The Department of Environmental Studies aims to provide students with the breadth of understanding and skills necessary for resolving environmental questions and creating a sustainable future on scales ranging from local to global. It does so through integrated, problem-oriented study and a broad range of courses across disciplines and schools. The major and minor draw on NYU’s strong faculty base in Arts and Science (FAS), the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science (CAOS, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences/FAS), the Center on Environmental and Land Use Law (School of Law), the MA Program in Bioethics (Faculty of Health), and the Environmental Conservation Education program (Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development), as well as in the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the Stern School of Business, the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and the School of Medicine.

The department offers opportunities to develop interests in a number of areas, including environmental science; environmental values, policy, and law; earth system science; public health; urban environmental problems; climate change; energy systems; environmental justice; and our complex relations with both domesticated and wild nature.

Major/Minor Declaration

Please review the Major/Minor requirements before submitting a declaration request. For questions about the Environmental Studies major or minor, please contact environmental.studies.advising@nyu.edu. CAS students can declare the Environmental Studies major or minor by visiting the department's website and filling out the form listed under the Declaring a Major or Minor section. Non-CAS students wishing to declare the Environmental Studies major or minor must do the following: 

  • Non-CAS students must review their eligibility for a major in Environmental Studies with their Advisor. If approved, please request a Declaration of Secondary/Non-Primary Major Declaration and email it to arb653@nyu.edu.
  • Non-CAS students must declare the minor through the "Application for Cross-School Minor" form found on the "Academics" tab in Albert. The "host school" for the minor is CAS, and the "home school" is the school in which you are matriculated as a full-time student. The minor declaration request will then be processed by your home school. 

Honors Program

Students who maintain a GPA over 3.65 (both in the major and overall) and complete the ENVST-UA 950 Honors Seminar in Environmental Studies are eligible for departmental honors. Consult the department for more information.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU.  For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.