Minor in Environmental Studies

Students who minor in Environmental Studies join our vibrant community to develop innovative solutions that help bring about a more equitable and sustainable world.

By pairing the minor with a major in the sciences, social sciences, humanities or a professional field, students will acquire an understanding of how to effectively address environmental challenges and opportunities. They bring this knowledge and experience to their work in the public or private sectors, STEM fields, graduate programs and more.

Minor Requirements

The Environmental Studies minor requires 30 credits total, with at least 15 of those credits at the 300- or 400- level. A minimum 2.0 grade is required in each course applied to the minor.

Foundations

5 credits (required)

ENVIR 100: Introduction to Environmental Studies (NSc or SSc, DIV)

5 credits (pick one)

Any 200- level ENVIR course:

ENVIR 201: Climate Governance (NSc or SSc, DIV)
ENVIR 211: Environmental Justice (SSc, DIV)
ENVIR 221: U.S. Environmental History (SSc)
ENVIR 235: Introduction to Environmental Economics (NSc or SSc)
ENVIR 239: Sustainability: Personal Choices, Broad Impacts (NSc or SSc)
ENVIR 240: The Urban Farm (NSc)
ENVIR 243: Environmental Ethics (A&H or SSc)
ENVIR 280: Natural History of the Puget Sound Region (NSc)

Integrating Disciplines

Students must complete a minimum of 20 credits of Integrating Disciplines courses, with at least one course from each of the 4 Integrating Disciplines categories listed below. Courses may be listed in multiple categories, however, any individual course is not allowed to meet more than one category requirement.

PDF OF SUMMER 2025 Courses

PDF OF AUTUMN 2025 Courses

Analytical Methods, Biological Systems, & Earth Systems Literacy

Prefix (dept)	Course Title	Gen Ed Req	Credits
ARCHY 208	Introduction to Archaeological Data Science	NSc	5
ATM S 211	Climate and Climate Change	NSc or SSc	5
ATM S 350	Ecological Climatology	NSc	3
BIOL 180	Introductory Biology	NSc	5
BIOL 315	Biological Impacts of Climate Change	NSc	3
CHEM 120	Principles of Chemistry I	NSc, RSN	5
ENVIR 240	The Urban Farm	NSc	5
ENVIR 280	Natural History of the Puget Sound Region	NSc	5
ENVIR 310	Data Analysis in Environmental Studies	NSc, RSN	5
ENVIR/ESRM 362	Introduction to Restoration Ecology	NSc or SSc	5
ESRM 250	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems in Forest Resources	NSc, RSN	5
ESRM 304	Environmental and Resource Assessment	NSc, RSN	5
ESRM 350	Wildlife Biology and Conservation	NSc	5
ESRM 458	Management of Endangered, Threatened, and Sensitive Species	NSc	5
ESRM 473	Restoration in North America	NSc	5
ESS 201	Earth’s Climate System	NSc	3
ESS 212	Plate Tectonics and Materials of the Earth	NSc	5
ESS/ENVIR 315/313	Environmental Earth Science	NSc or SSc, DIV	5
ESS 420	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems for the Earth Sciences		5
FHL 275	Natural History of the Salish Sea	NSc	5
FISH 200	Freshwater Ecology and Conservation	NSc	3/5
FISH 323	Conservation and Management of Aquatic Resources	NSc	5
FISH/OCEAN/BIOL 250	Marine Biology	NSc	5
FISH/OCEAN 452	Marine Geospatial Information Science	NSc	3
GEOG 205	Our Global Environment: Physical and Human Dimensions	NSc	5
GEOG 258	Digital Geographies	SSc	5
GEOG 326	Quantitative Methods In Geography	SSc, RSN	5
GEOG 360	GIS and Mapping	SSc, RSN	5
OCEAN 200	Introduction to Oceanography	NSc	3
OCEAN 450	Climatic Extremes	NSc	4
Q SCI 381	Introduction to Probability and Statistics	NSc, RSN	5
STAT 220	Statistical Reasoning	NSc, RSN	5
STAT/CS&SS/SOC 221	Statistical Concepts and Methods for the Social Sciences	NSc, RSN	5

Economics/Business & Policy/Governance

Prefix (dept)	Course Title	Gen Ed Req	Credits
AES/ANTH 487	Cultures and Politics of Environmental Justice	SSc, DIV	5
ARCTIC 200	Indigenous Diplomacies and International Relations in the Arctic	SSc	5
ARCTIC 400	Integrating Policy and Science in Arctic Studies	NSc or SSc	3
CM 335	Sustainable Construction		3
ECON 200	Introduction to Microeconomics	SSn, RSN	5
ENV H 473	Environmental Health Policy and Practice	SSc	4
ENVIR 430	Environmental Issues: Regional Perspectives	SSc	5
ENVIR/ESRM 460	Power, Privilege, and Preservation	SSc or DIV	5
ESRM 320	Marketing and Management from a Sustainability Perspective	NSc or SSc	5
ESRM 321	Finance and Accounting from a Sustainability Perspective	NSc or SSc	5
ESRM 400	Natural Resource Conflict Management	NSc or SSc	3
ESRM 403	Forest and Economic Development in the Developing World	NSc	4
ESRM 461	Forest Management and Economics	NSc or SSc	5
ESRM 465	Economics of Conservation	NSc or SSc	3
ESRM 470	Natural Resource Policy and Planning	NSc or SSc	5
ESRM/ENVIR/ECON 235	Introduction to Environmental Economics	NSc or SSc	5
FISH 323	Conservation and Management of Aquatic Resources	NSc	5
FISH/ECON 230	Economics of Fisheries and Oceans	NSc or SSc	5
G H/ENV H 418	Understanding and Managing the Health Risks of Climate Change	SSc	3
JSIS B 352	Sustainability and Global Business: Leading in a Changing World	SSc	5
JSIS B 455	International Environmental Policy	SSc	5
JSIS B/SCAND 350, ENVIR 360	Environmental Norms in International Politics	SSc	5
POL S/ENVIR 384	Global Environmental Politics	SSc	5
PUBPOL 201	Introduction to Public Policy & Governance	SSc	5
SMEA/ENVIR 201	Climate Governance	NSc or SSc, DIV	5

Environmental Justice & Sustainability

Prefix (dept)	Course Title	Gen Ed Req	Credits
AES/ANTH 487	Cultures and Politics of Environmental Justice	SSc, DIV	5
AIS 380	Indigenous Food Sovereignty	SSc, DIV	5
AIS 385	Indigenous Ecology & Climate	SSc, DIV	5
ANTH/CHSTU 325/322	Indigenous Knowledge and Public Health in Mexican and Latinx Origin Communities	SSc, DIV	5
ANTH/AES/ENVIR 211	Environmental Justice	SSc, DIV	5
ENGL 265	Introduction to Environmental Humanities	A&H or SSc, DIV	5
ENV H 306	Health and Sustainability	NSc or SSc, DIV	3
ENVIR 239	Sustainability: Personal Choices, Broad Impacts	NSc or SSc	5
ENVIR 315	Environmental Pedagogy	NSc or SSc, DIV	5
ENVIR 380	Wilderness in the Anthropocene	SSc or DIV	5
ENVIR 420	People, Planet, and Profit in Sustainable Cannabis Production	SSc	5
ENVIR 439	Attaining a Sustainable Society	NSc or SSc, DIV	5
ENVIR 480	Sustainability Consulting Practicum	NSc or SSc, DIV	5
ENVIR/ESRM 460	Power, Privilege, and Preservation	SSc, DIV	5
ESRM/PSYCH/ENVIR 431	Ecopsychology	SSc	5
FISH/BIOL/ENVIR 478	Topics in Sustainable Fisheries	NSc or SSc	3
G H/ENV H 220	Global Environmental Change and Public Health	SSc	3
GEOG 272	Geographies of Environmental Justice	SSc, DIV	5
GEOG 473	Geographies of Energy and Sustainability	SSc	5
HSTAA/ENVIR 221	U.S. Environmental History: Ecology, Culture, Justice	SSc	5
JSIS B 352	Sustainability and Global Business: Leading in a Changing World	SSc	5
NUTR/ENVIR 312	Food System Sustainability and Resilience	NSc or SSc	3
PHIL/ENVIR 243	Environmental Ethics	A&H, SSc	5

Values & Cultures

Prefix (dept)	Course Title	Gen Ed Req	Credits
AIS 307	Indigenous Literature and the Environment	A&H, DIV	5
ANTH 210	Introduction to Environmental Anthropology	NSc or SSc	5
ANTH 458	Ethnobiology: Plants, Animals, and People	SSc	5
ENGL 265	Introduction to Environmental Humanities	A&H or SSc, DIV	5
ENGL 365	Literature and Discourse on the Environment	A&H, DIV	5
ENVIR 315	Environmental Pedagogy	NSc or SSc, DIV	5
ENVIR/SOC 379, ESRM 371	Environmental Sociology	NSc or SSc	5
ENVIR 400	Professional Environmental Communication	SSc	5
ENVIR 430	Environmental Issues: Regional Perspectives	SSc	5
HSTAA/ENVIR 221	US Environmental History: Ecology, Culture, Justice	SSc	5
HSTAS/JSIS A 440	Japanese History in Ecological Perspective	SSc	5
JSIS B 351	The Global Environment	SSc	5
JSIS B/ARCTIC 391	Climate Change: An international perspective: Science, Art, and Activism	A&H or SSc	5
PHIL/ENVIR 243	Environmental Ethics	A&H or SSc	5

Declaring the Minor

Any student with at least sophomore standing or 45 credits completed who is declared in a major may declare a minor. Students need to work with their major advisor to declare a minor to ensure students meet satisfactory progress requirements. If you have specific questions about the Environmental Studies minor, please email enviradv@uw.edu.

For students who declared the minor prior to Autumn 2023, please visit the prior minor requirements page.

Program on the Environment