Projected Courses

Tentative curriculum projection for upcoming semesters. Courses are subject to change.

SPRING 2025

Category II: Natural Sciences

BIO 102 Evolution, Organisms, and Ecology
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the principles and practice of evolutionary biology, population genetics, and ecology. Students will examine topics in natural selection, the modern synthesis, speciation, phylogeny, primary productivity and ecological efficiency.

GEOS 110 Earth and the Environment
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the materials that make up the earth and the interplay between constructive and destructive processes that shape the earth, including plate tectonics. Laboratories include mineral and rock identification, field trips, and topographic map interpretation.

Seminars

HONR 122 Rethinking the Environment (available to first-years only)
What constitutes an 'environmental' problem? Which environmental problems are most urgent? Urgent for whom, and who decides? Environmental issues, it turns out, are always about more than the natural world. In order to understand environmental problems, we also need to understand human societies and the diverse ways that people cause, are affected by, and seek to solve these problems. Using case studies, students will learn to recognize the complex ways that environmental issues such as pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss intersect with social justice issues such as poverty, racism, and gender inequality. This course aims to develop students' cultural competence, information literacy, and critical thinking skills in preparation for more advanced environmental coursework across a range of academic disciplines. 

HONR 422 Environmental Fellows Senior Seminar
An interdisciplinary capstone course for Environmental Fellows. Students draw on field experience, leadership projects, and coursework in the program, across the curriculum and in their majors as they analyze environmental issues from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of environmental complexity by discussion of, for example, ethics, science, art, culture, economics and policy.

Fall 2025

Category II: Natural Sciences

BIO 102 Evolution, Organisms, and Ecology
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the principles and practice of evolutionary biology, population genetics, and ecology. Students will examine topics in natural selection, the modern synthesis, speciation, phylogeny, primary productivity and ecological efficiency.

GEOS 110 Earth and the Environment
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the materials that make up the earth and the interplay between constructive and destructive processes that shape the earth, including plate tectonics. Laboratories include mineral and rock identification, field trips, and topographic map interpretation.

GEOS 125 Introduction to Environmental Science
An introduction to the study of environmental science. Topics include matter, energy, ecosystems, human populations, natural resources, and the impact of human activity on the natural environment. Special attention is given to current environmental problems including air and water pollution, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change, deforestation, and species extinctions. 

Seminars

GEOS 197 First-Year Seminar: Campus Sustainability 101

SPRING 2026

Category II: Natural Sciences

BIO 102 Evolution, Organisms, and Ecology
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the principles and practice of evolutionary biology, population genetics, and ecology. Students will examine topics in natural selection, the modern synthesis, speciation, phylogeny, primary productivity and ecological efficiency.

GEOS 110 Earth and the Environment
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the materials that make up the earth and the interplay between constructive and destructive processes that shape the earth, including plate tectonics. Laboratories include mineral and rock identification, field trips, and topographic map interpretation.

GEOS 190 Energy, Environment, and Climate 
An introduction to energy resources and the environmental impacts of their use.  The importance of nonrenewable fossil fuels in modern industrialized societies is examined and the effects of changing rates and costs of energy production on modern lifestyles are explored.  The potential economic costs and societal impacts of transitioning to renewable and sustainable sources of energy are discussed. 

GEOS 370 Hydrogeology

Seminars

HONR 122 Rethinking the Environment (available to first-years only)
What constitutes an 'environmental' problem? Which environmental problems are most urgent? Urgent for whom, and who decides? Environmental issues, it turns out, are always about more than the natural world. In order to understand environmental problems, we also need to understand human societies and the diverse ways that people cause, are affected by, and seek to solve these problems. Using case studies, students will learn to recognize the complex ways that environmental issues such as pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss intersect with social justice issues such as poverty, racism, and gender inequality. This course aims to develop students' cultural competence, information literacy, and critical thinking skills in preparation for more advanced environmental coursework across a range of academic disciplines. 

HONR 422 Environmental Fellows Senior Seminar
An interdisciplinary capstone course for Environmental Fellows. Students draw on field experience, leadership projects, and coursework in the program, across the curriculum and in their majors as they analyze environmental issues from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of environmental complexity by discussion of, for example, ethics, science, art, culture, economics and policy.

FALL 2026

BIO 102 Evolution, Organisms, and Ecology
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the principles and practice of evolutionary biology, population genetics, and ecology. Students will examine topics in natural selection, the modern synthesis, speciation, phylogeny, primary productivity and ecological efficiency.

GEOS 110 Earth and the Environment
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the materials that make up the earth and the interplay between constructive and destructive processes that shape the earth, including plate tectonics. Laboratories include mineral and rock identification, field trips, and topographic map interpretation.

GEOS 117 Weather, Climate, and Climate Change
An introduction to the Earth's atmosphere through the study of weather, climate and climate change. Topics covered include atmospheric composition, structure and function, weather phenomena and climate, and natural and human-induced climate change. Global societal responses to rapid climate change are also discussed.

GEOS 125 Introduction to Environmental Science
An introduction to the study of environmental science. Topics include matter, energy, ecosystems, human populations, natural resources, and the impact of human activity on the natural environment. Special attention is given to current environmental problems including air and water pollution, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change, deforestation, and species extinctions. 

Seminars

GEOS 197 First-Year Seminar: Campus Sustainability 101

SPRING 2027

BIO 102 Evolution, Organisms, and Ecology
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the principles and practice of evolutionary biology, population genetics, and ecology. Students will examine topics in natural selection, the modern synthesis, speciation, phylogeny, primary productivity and ecological efficiency.

GEOS 110 Earth and the Environment
Includes laboratory. An introduction to the materials that make up the earth and the interplay between constructive and destructive processes that shape the earth, including plate tectonics. Laboratories include mineral and rock identification, field trips, and topographic map interpretation.

GEOS 230 Problems in Environmental Geology

GEOS 370 Hydrogeology

Seminars

HONR 122 Rethinking the Environment (available to first-years only)
What constitutes an 'environmental' problem? Which environmental problems are most urgent? Urgent for whom, and who decides? Environmental issues, it turns out, are always about more than the natural world. In order to understand environmental problems, we also need to understand human societies and the diverse ways that people cause, are affected by, and seek to solve these problems. Using case studies, students will learn to recognize the complex ways that environmental issues such as pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss intersect with social justice issues such as poverty, racism, and gender inequality. This course aims to develop students' cultural competence, information literacy, and critical thinking skills in preparation for more advanced environmental coursework across a range of academic disciplines. 

HONR 422 Environmental Fellows Senior Seminar
An interdisciplinary capstone course for Environmental Fellows. Students draw on field experience, leadership projects, and coursework in the program, across the curriculum and in their majors as they analyze environmental issues from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of environmental complexity by discussion of, for example, ethics, science, art, culture, economics and policy.