Environmental Studies Course Offerings
Course offerings may be subject to change. Please be sure to check the grid schedule of classes on BU Brain for up-to-date course information.
Fall 2026
ENVI 101 - Humans & Ecological Environment
The first 40 percent of course covers major principles of ecology, including food-chain relationships, material cycling, community structure, population regulation and ecological succession. Following this are population, agriculture, nutrition, forestry and wildlife. Concludes with a consideration of policy, economic and ethical concerns. Required of all environmental studies majors. Format: Lecture with discussions and a few field trips in nature preserve to illustrate facets of course material; grade based on three examinations, a final and discussion grade. Offered regularly. 4 credits. No seniors.
Counts towards the 'Humans & Ecological Environment' requirement for all majors
ENVI 149 - Environmental Ethics
This course is an introduction to some philosophical aspects of contemporary environmental issues. Topics to be covered will include the relationship between material consumption and quality of life, the nature and relevance of collective action problems, the moral standing of future generations, the justifiability of decision procedures like cost-benefit analysis and the precautionary principle, the just distribution of environmental burdens, and whether non-human beings deserve moral consideration. Simultaneously taught: PHIL 149*/ ENVI 149 (*denotes primary course)
Counts towards the 'Introductory Environmental Policy' requirement for all majors
ENVI 170 - Environmental Geology
Scientific examination of important environmental issues through investigation of Earth's atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. Topics include environmentally relevant problems such as global warming predictions and their accuracy, acid rain--is the problem solved?, groundwater / soil / water pollution on local and global scales, sea level rise and impacts on coastlines, and global climate change in the past as a model for the future. Offered regularly. 4 credits.
Counts towards the 'Lower-Level Course Related to Environmental Science' requirement for all majors
ENVI 181A - Climate Justice
This course explores the fraught politics of the climate crisis with an emphasis on issues of justice. Course materials weave together the past, present, and future of life on earth, highlighting the connections between climate justice and the regeneration of democratic institutions, the repair of historical injustices, the rebuilding of international solidarity, and the reimagination of global governance.
Counts towards the 'Introductory Environmental Policy' requirement for all majors
ENVI 201 - Humans & Physical Environment
Interdisciplinary approach to the study of how humans interact with their environment, emphasizing environmental geology and environmental chemistry. Topics include human use of energy: sources, environmental consequences (including air pollution), socio-economic aspects; use of water, including its contamination and disposal of wastes; natural hazards and their impact on human activities; introduction to land use; and environmental planning. Offered regularly. 4 credits.
Counts towards the 'Humans & Physical Environment' requirement for all majors
ENVI 220 - Researching Sust & the Environ
To solve sustainability and environmental problems, you must first understand them. In this course, you will be explore and gain hands-on experience with a range of research methods used by natural and social scientists as well as professional to explore our planet and its challenges. You will learn to form research questions, gather real data around campus and the community, organize and analyze that data in a variety of ways, and present it. This course helps you build a research foundation for future natural and social science courses in the Environmental Studies major.
Counts towards the 'Introductory Methods Course' requirement for all majors
ENVI 225 - International Environ Policy
Environmental problems do not respect national borders. Governments and other stakeholders must work together to address issues. This course explores how stakeholders govern natural resources and manage shared environmental challenges. Through lectures and case studies we will seek to understand the emergence of global policies, explore tradeoffs among local and global approaches, highlight environmental justice implications of past environmental regimes, and assess the effectiveness of policies seeking to address problems. Students will articulate how and why existing environmental governance systems develop, how effective they are, how equitably costs and benefits are distributed, and what future policies might address ongoing challenges. Offered fall only. 4 credits.
Counts towards the 'Introductory Environmental Policy' requirement for all majors
ENVI 239 - Enviornmental Planning/Policy
Introduction to environmental management and planning processes as they are addressed in public policy, with an emphasis on factors that influence decision-making, including politics, economics, public interest and legal requirements. Focus on difficulties associated with defining goals, with uncertainty in environmental impacts and with the balance between qualitative and quantitative factors in decision-making. Role playing simulation throughout semester used to illustrate issues and alternatives.
Counts towards the 'Introductory Environmental Policy' requirement for all majors
ENVI 280C - Nature, Aesthetics, Thought
How have understandings of nature shaped art and philosophy in modern times, and how have art and philosophy shaped our ideas about nature? This course examines the role of nature as both a subject and an object of artistic and philosophical production in European culture from roughly 1800 to the present. Focusing primarily on material from the German-speaking world, but also drawing upon other cultural and linguistic contexts, the class will explore how the natural world is something that has not only been represented and thought about, but that has also actively shaped these processes of representation and theorization. Materials will include works by figures such as: Plato, Aristotle, Goethe, Schiller, Lessing, Coleridge, Hegel, Emerson, Nietzsche, Kandinsky, and Rilke.
ENVI 303 - Environmental Health
This course introduces students to environmental and occupational health, one of the five core areas of global public health (biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health systems & policy, and social & behavioral sciences). Students will learn how humans' relationship to their environment and the characteristics and hazards present in that environment, affect disease risk, and how the field of public health works to prevent injury and illness from exposures to hazards in our environments. Offered regularly. 4 credits.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Ecosystems BA (363), Ecosystems BS (865), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 327 - N'Tl Hist of Nature Preserve
Outdoor class taught mainly in the Nature Preserve, rain or shine excepting extreme storm conditions. Students will learn specific features, such as flora, fauna and land-use history of the Binghamton University Nature Preserve and then participate in guiding Nature Preserve educational hikes for community and school groups. Some classroom discussion with guest speakers in education and/or life science fields. This is a front-loaded course with the course meeting more hours early in the semester, but less hours by mid-November. Each student will guide at least one visiting group through the preserve. Format: Grading based on participation in discussions and guiding as well as two written exams Prerequisite: ENVI 101 and BIOL 117. Offered Fall only. 4 credits.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Ecosystems BA (363), Ecosystems BS (865), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 332 - Waters, Rivers, and Society
Water is essential for life and used for a variety of endeavors. All areas inhabited by humans must include adaptations for water use and consumption. This course will examine water issues with case studies from around the world with a focus on rivers and topics such as fisheries and their connection to society. A basic overview of the hydrologic cycle and the ecological functions of water will also be included. We will also discuss conflicts over water, drought, water pollution, and catastrophic floods. Students will learn about strategies for mitigating such conflicts for a more sustainable future.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Ecosystems BA (363), Ecosystems BS (865), Earth Systems BA (465), Earth Systems BS (868), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 338 - Food Policy: Health & Security
What types of policies oversee the complexity of our food system? What are the effects? This course will explore the political debates, policy tools and agencies addressing issues of food safety, public health and food security across different scales with particular focus in the U.S. We will discuss problems that arise in our modern agricultural system and if/how U.S. policies attempt to address and alleviate these problems, including food-borne disease outbreaks, the "My Plate" dietary guidelines, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Students will work with food security organizations in Binghamton to understand these issues at the local scale.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Ecosystems BA (363), Ecosystems BS (865), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 343 - Nonrenewable Natural Resources
Nonrenewable Natural Resources examines the geologic occurrence, extraction and processing methods, and environmental impacts of ore deposits such as those that provide industrial metals such as Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn; those that provide precious metals such as Au, Ag, Pt, and Pd; those that provide high-tech metals such as Nb, Ta, Zr, REEs, and U; and those that provide bulk materials such as Iron, Aluminum, Cement, Plaster, and Fossil Fuels. The uses, supply, demand, cost, and replacement alternatives of natural resources. as well as the geopolitical implications of natural resource distributions are considered. Prerequisite: one four-credit 100-level geology course, or ENVI 201, or one of ENVI 206, ENVI 234, or GEOL 234. Offered fall only. 4 credits.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Earth Systems BA (465), Earth Systems BS (868), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 345 - U.S. Energy Policies
This course approaches energy transitions from multiple perspectives to investigate the opportunities and barriers of different transition strategies. Students will learn the history of past transitions, and the fundamentals technical, economic, and policy aspects governing the current needs for transitioning to a resilient energy system. The course will cover multiple energy technologies, including those directly related to the transmission of electricity, and the implications for just and sustainable regional development and workforce preparation.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Earth Systems BA (465), Earth Systems BS (868), Economic Systems BA (665), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 363 - Measuring the Natural World
This integrated lecture and field course provides hands-on experience in experimental design and measuring ecological data across organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems. We focus on developing basic skills needed for many careers, including data management and visualization, wetland delineation, and field-surveying for plants or other organisms. Classwork will be done in groups to mimic the real world work environment. A final project will allow students to design a research proposal for potential future investigation as an undergraduate, a graduate student, or simply a curious citizen. Students will regularly travel between campus and Nuthatch Hollow.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Ecosystems BA (363), Ecosystems BS (865), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 382F - Environmental Activism
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 397 - Independent Study - variable credits
Independent study under guidance of faculty member. Prior to registration, student must consult with the faculty supervisor and receive approval of problem to be studied and amount of credit to be received.
Counts towards the 'Upper-level research, teaching, and/or applied courses' requirement for all majors
ENVI 413 - Environmental Studies Capstone
Senior capstone course for Environmental Sciences and Environmental Studies majors. Students work in teams to design and implement local development projects that consider the practical and regulatory requirements of environmental impact assessment. Students will generate information and plans to guide local agents/agencies and assist in the development of sustainable communities. Students will work with organizations across the campus and throughout the greater Binghamton area to identify needs and communicate outcomes. Through these projects students gain real-world experience in the application of environmental analysis.
Counts towards the 'Upper-level Capstone Course' requirement for all majors
ENVI 415/515 - Environmental Planning
This course will provide students with an in-depth overview of the field of environmental planning from an interdisciplinary perspective. By the end of the course students should be able to grasp the role and limitations of government in the planning process, understand a variety of complex environmental issues that confront urban planners and learn how to apply components of sustainability to local planning. Course topics will be supplemented by case studies and readings. Students will also participate in a semester long group project on an environmental issue in the Greater Binghamton region.Prerequisites: ENVI 101, 201, one of 149 or 230 or 239, one of ECON 160 or 162. Restricted to senior Environmental Studies majors and minors. Offered regularly. 4 credits.
Counts as either an 'Upper-level elective' or as an 'Upper-level applied course' in Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 453/553 - Cider & Wine Vineyard to Glass
Viticulture and cider making are specialized forms of agricultural production that are popular and important to the economics of New York. Building upon the instructor's expertise in wine and social science, this course will examine wine and cider globally with a focus on local producers. We will take an interdisciplinary approach, studying the history of production, the biological and ecological components, the embedded social and cultural meanings, and climate change's local impacts on the present and future of wine in particular as New York adapts with new grape cultivars and migration of winemakers from other regions.
Counts as an 'Upper-level credit' towards the Ecosystems BA (363), Ecosystems BS (865), or Sustainable Systems BA (565) majors
ENVI 465/565 - Earth Justice
The course explores the role of justice and social inequality in global environmental politics to explain how "first world" politics influences the "third world" politics. One prominent theme running through the course is that of environmental injustices associated with climate change.
Counts as either an 'Upper-level elective,' 'Upper-level Environ Public Policy course,' or as an 'Upper-level applied course' in the Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 481C - Contemporary Ecologies
“Contemporary Ecologies” offers an introduction to, and a hands-on experience of, ecological aesthetics. Drawing from African and Asian diasporic literatures, theorizing, and art, and the feminist, queer, urban, and virtual ecological perspectives that they engender, the class will bring critical analysis and imagination to bear on recent events: earthquakes and floods, rising sea levels, tsunami; the coral reefs; green revolutions that seek alternate sources of energy and the production of ‘natural’ lingerie, yet render barren once verdant islands; rapidly expanding cityscapes such as Nairobi, Mumbai, Ujung Pandang, and Beijing. “There will be fish falling from the sky, just like rain,” Haruki Murakami’s tale of two thousand sardines and a few mackerel that plunged from the clouds to the road in front of the shopping mall, still with the smell of the sea about them, fuses art, science, and everyday observation with the unexpected . . .. The class will consider the ‘unexpected’ by working with proverbs, artworks, logics, and tales, song, marine science, and local wisdom, that inhabit openings between worlds. Simultaneously taught: AFST463*, PHIL480S, AAAS480K, COLI480S, WGSS481A,ENVI481C (*denotes primary course)
Counts as an 'Upper-level elective' in the Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 481E - Adv Environmental Economics
Economic analysis of environmental pollution, management of natural resources and
sustainable development. Concept of market failure and ways to address it including
pollution taxes and tradeable pollution permits; environmental valuation and management
of renewable and non-renewable resources. Rigorous economic models of environmental
problems, supplemented with economic intuition and graphical analysis. In-depth discussion
of at least one contemporary environmental policy issue. Format: Discussions and lectures,
2 midterm papers, final project
(Pre-requisites: undergraduate courses: college level stats and calculus).
Counts as an 'Upper-level elective' in the Sustainable Systems BA (565) and Eonomic Systems BA (665) majors
ENVI 481F - Sust. in Film & Fiction
Counts as either an 'Upper-level elective' or as an 'Upper-level applied course' in Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 481G - Imperialism & Racial Ecologies
This seminar considers examples and episodes from the history of the United States to understand the environmental and ecological dimensions of race and empire. Our foundational concept is that race is a historical social formation whose perceived differences explained and justified social inequities. We examine the extension of those dynamics beyond racialized bodies to the places where they lived: their sovereign and territorial status, their built environments, and their natural ecologies. Topics we will cover include: environmental racism and justice; settler colonialism, within the continental United States and in its overseas territories; capitalism and labor migration; gender and reproduction; tourism; militarization; and the biopolitics of national security.
Counts as an 'Upper-level elective' in the Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 481P - Literatures of Sustainability
Trauma, whether experienced in the context of weather disasters due to climate change, familial histories of interpersonal violence, or trauma related to multiple forms of cultural bias, has long-term effects on both our physical and mental health. What does it mean to have a sustainable life? The “five pillars†of sustainability (Human, Social, Economic, Environmental, Cultural) will be linked to recent developments in affective neuroscience to provide a larger understanding of the way chronic stress physiology informs our relationships and ways of being, and how these issues intersect with climate. We will engage these developments alongside cultural texts that represent this kind of experience, including comedy, movies, novels, and documentaries. These will be paired with the most recent work in the neuroscience of trauma that locates mental health practice in an anti-oppression framework and formulates these developments as part of a sustainability strategy that addresses climate anxiety and hopeful directions for the future.
Counts as an 'Upper-level elective' in the Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 481S - Heritage and Communities
In this course, we will explore the concept of heritage as it intersects with contemporary communities (conceived of in a variety of ways, including descendant, local, and diasporic). Anthropologists, and archaeologists in particular, are but one of many individuals and communities engaged in the complex process of defining heritage. Here, we will examine how the work of heritage is carried out and consider its changing role in social relations by critically engaging theory and case studies of real-world heritage empowerment and disempowerment.
Counts as an 'Upper-level elective' in the Sustainable Systems BA (565) major
ENVI 491 - Practicum in College Teaching
Independent study by assisting in the teaching of ENVI courses, particularly ENVI 101 or 201. Assignments include leading discussion sections, maintaining office hours, reading papers. Closely directed by instructor. Generally open only to seniors. Pass/Fail option only. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Counts towards the 'Upper-level research, teaching, and/or applied courses' requirement for all majors
ENVI 495 - Internship in Environmental Studies
Counts towards the 'Upper-level research, teaching, and/or applied courses' requirement for all majors
ENVI 498 - Honors Thesis I
Independent in-depth research under supervision of a faculty member. May be taken as a one-semester project, or as a precursor to the Honors Thesis (ENVI 499). Prerequisite: approval of the faculty supervisor.
Counts towards the 'Upper-level Capstone Course' requirement for all majors
ENVI 499 - Honors Thesis II
Preparation and defense of an honors thesis. Usually an extension of the work undertaken in ENVI 498. Prerequisites: ENVI 498 and approval of faculty supervisor.
Counts towards the 'Upper-level Capstone Course' requirement for all majors