How do Earth’s systems impact society and vice versa? Can we protect the environment and address climate challenges? Explore how we can better steward its health.
Uncover areas of study that deepen our understanding of the Earth and the environment, spark new ideas, and lead to impactful discoveries.
Earth, Environmental, & Planetary Sciences look at the past, present, and future of Earth and other planets while addressing key questions about society’s connection to the natural world. Learn integrative approaches to environmental issues, such as climate change, energy, air and water pollution, biodiversity, human health, and sustainability.
Environmental Policy & Culture takes an interdisciplinary approach to environmental studies, focusing on human interaction with the environment. This includes the creation and enforcement of environmental regulations and agreements, energy policy, and how different cultures adapt to and view their natural environments.
The Sustainability & Energy Undergraduate Certificate from the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability & Energy allows students to pursue interdisciplinary instruction in the increasingly important areas of sustainability and energy.
Check out some examples of courses that will allow you to dig into the study of our earth and its environment.
As a student, you can delve into the study of the Earth and the environment through interdisciplinary coursework, internships, community projects, and extra-curricular activities. You also can collaborate with faculty on cutting-edge research.
The professors were all so excited about their field and their research that it was easy to be excited as well. On top of all the extra fun facts I know about the Earth, minerals, seismology, our solar system, geology, volcanoes, and of course climate change, I feel like this love of learning more about the planet we call home will carry into other aspects of my life.”
Get to know some of our dedicated professors who are passionate about teaching and nurturing your success as a student.
The Professor of Earth, Environmental, & Planetary Sciences discusses the way geosciences are taught both in and out of the classroom.
The Earth, Environmental,& Planetary Sciences Professor sees strength in her department's many offerings, as well as its combinations with other majors and minors.
The Environmental Policy & Culture professor describes how students thrive with expert mentorship and research opportunities.
Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor Suzan Van der Lee works on earthquakes. She applies data science to millions of records of seismic signals to extract insights into the ongoing dynamics within the Earth’s interior. By studying the Earth’s interior structure, Van der Lee aims to reveal the effects of the geodynamic forces that lead to planetary cooling, plate tectonics, continental rifting, subduction zones, volcanism, mountain building, all types of earthquakes, and more. She has led numerous big-data analyses and seismological data acquisition field experiments in Africa, the Americas, and Europe.
Professor Elsa Anderson and her students worked with The Nature Conservancy and the Nachusa Grasslands, a nature preserve about 100 miles west of Chicago. Students sifted through an imperfect, 12-year-old database of prescribed fires across Illinois to understand big-picture patterns and inform advocacy efforts for prescribed fires as a land management tool.
Explore student clubs, internships, and campus resources.
In Weinberg College's monthly podcast, Weinberg alumni share their career experiences. Listen to what they have to say about fields related to earth sciences, sustainability and the environment.
The increasing worldwide demand for energy presents a number of complex interdisciplinary challenges, from resource depletion to climate change. This class will challenge students to answer the question, How shall we power the world in the 21st century? We will examine the history and geography of energy use; links between energy and climate change; inequities in climate impacts; challenge of sustainability; and the fundamental science of climate change.
This seminar examines Earth's most devastating natural disasters, focusing on the science and human impact of earthquakes and volcanoes. Topics include recent events in Haiti and Spain, the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, and Mount Tambora's 1815 eruption, which inspired Dracula and Frankenstein. Assignments will explore science-related themes, reflecting on disasters’ profound cultural and historical effects.
This course will provide a framework for understanding the role of microbes in natural environments in terms of cell numbers, metabolisms, and interactions with geochemical cycles. We will delve deeply into the interactions between microbial populations, higher organisms, and even our own bodies.
Learn about the syrup industry and its impact on Native American and non-Native communities, while manually tapping and monitoring maple trees throughout tapping season. In addition to recording sap flow, the teams record air and ground temperatures around the trees and look at soil composition via mass spectrometer analysis.
This seminar explores Shakespeare’s plays across genres, focusing on humanity’s fraught relationship with nature and its cosmic place. We’ll examine his shifting views on "Nature," from the restorative "green worlds" of his comedies to the harsher ecologies of his tragedies, assessing how human order contrasts with natural forces. By considering contemporary environmental insights, we’ll uncover how Shakespeare’s vision of human existence reveals enduring questions about what it means to be human.
Our climate is changing rapidly, with rising sea levels, extreme weather, and environmental disasters affecting daily life. This course introduces environmental sociology, exploring the social roots of environmental issues. Topics include sustainable development, the role of corporations, media, and social movements, as well as how gender, race, and socioeconomic factors create unequal environmental risks.
Green chemistry, as defined by the EPA, involves designing chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate hazardous substances and energy consumption. This course explores the economic, health, and regulatory factors behind green chemistry, emphasizing real-world case studies to guide socially conscious decisions. It focuses on the philosophy of chemistry in the 21st century.
This course will explore the ecology of plant-animal interactions. Through the survey of the scientific literature, we will investigate the consequences of mutualistic interactions (pollination and seed dispersal) and antagonistic interactions (herbivory and parasitism) for individual organisms, population dynamics, ecological communities, and entire ecosystems. Finally, we will learn how these various interactions are responding to global change, including habitat destruction and climate change.