School of Arts and Sciences
Environmental Studies Program

Track I: Environmental Science

Environmental Science is an applied interdisciplinary field that integrates physical and biological sciences. Environmental science focuses on the science and tools to detect, evaluate, and solve environmental problems.

At Tufts University, the goal of the Environmental Science Track is to provide students with breadth and depth in environmental sciences. The requirements below will give students both critical skills, such as GIS (geographic information systems), as well as foundational knowledge in relevant fields. For example, a student in this track might take GIS and Remote Sensing as skill-based courses, and Introduction to Oceanography, Marine Biology, and a seminar to build foundational knowledge in marine environmental science. We recognize that most students in this track are already majoring in one of the sciences, so Environmental Science Track courses are intended to build on and complement the knowledge base from their other major.

View sample paths for Track I: Environmental Science

Students focusing on the Environmental Science Track must take the following track courses in addition to other general requirements:

Applied Environmental Studies Stand-alone Majors:

  • Four elective courses

Environmental Studies Co-Majors:

  • Five courses as follows:
    • One Introductory GIS course
    • One Statistics Methods/Research course 
      Note: We recommend that if your other major is in one of the departments listed here, that you take a statistics course from that department. Please be advised that some courses have "recommendations". A higher level statistics course can substitute one of these introductory courses.
    • Three elective courses 
      Note: Courses must come from at least two different departments and include one seminar (*)

Unlisted courses that are environmentally-themed might be requested to count toward specific requirements (introductory, research/methods, and advanced courses/seminars). Examples might include Experimental College classes or Advanced Independent Research courses offered by different departments. In order to have an unlisted course added to a track, you must complete a Course Petition form and submit it to environmentalstudies@tufts.edu.

Attention: This list is a general guide. Some courses might not be taught every year. Please double-check the current semester course listing and/or SIS.

Introductory (only for Co-majors)

  • ENV 107/GIS 101/INTR 81 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (Fall, Spring)
  • ECS 104 Geological Applications of Geographic Information Systems (Spring)
  • NUTR 231 Fundamentals of GIS for Food, Agriculture, and Environmental applications (Fall, Spring)
  • CEE 187 Geographic Information Systems (Fall)
  • UEP 232/ENV193 Intro to GIS (Fall, Spring)

Statistic Methods/Research (only for Co-majors)

  • BIO 055 Microbiome Research Lab (Fall)
  • BIO 132 Biostatistics (Fall)
  • BIO 133 Ecological Models and Data (Spring)
  • CEE 006 Principles of Biostatistics (Spring)
  • CEE 154 Principles of Epidemiology (Fall, Spring)
  • CH 031 Introduction to Statistics for Health Applications (only Community Health/ENVS majors allowed) (Fall)
  • EC 013 Statistics (Fall, Spring)
  • EC 015 Basic Econometrics (Fall, Spring)
  • ENV 120 Intro to Environmental Fieldwork: From Class to Community (Fall, Spring)
  • ENV 170 Environmental Data Visualization (Pre-req: Intro-level stats) (Fall)
  • ES 056 Probability and Statistics (Fall, Spring)
  • ES 152 Engineering Systems: Stochastic Models (Variable)
  • MATH 021 Introductory Statistics (AP credit only accepted for Class of 2028 and before) (Fall, Spring) 
  • PS 103 Political Science Research Methods (Fall, Spring)
  • PSY 031 Stats for Behavioral Science (Fall, Spring)
  • SOC 101 Quantitative Research Methods (Fall, Spring)

Electives

  • ANTH 044/BIO 044 Primate Social Behavior (Spring)
  • ANTH 177 Chimpanzee Behavioral Ecology (Fall)
  • BIO 051 Experiments in Ecology (Fall)
  • BIO 106 Microbiology w/Lab (Spring)
  • BIO 130/ENV 130 Animal Behavior (Spring)
  • BIO 142 Population and Community Ecology (Fall)
  • BIO 143/ENV 143 Evolutionary Biology (Spring)
  • BIO 144 Principles of Conservation Biology (Fall)
  • BIO 164/ENV 164 Marine Biology (Spring)
  • BIO 179 Seminar in Marine Biology * (Fall - odd years)
  • BIO 180 Seminar in Conservation Biology * (Spring - odd years)
  • BIO 181 Tropical Ecology and Conservation * (Spring - odd years)
  • BIO 183 Seminar in Darwinian Medicine * (Fall)
  • BIO 185 Food for All: Ecology, Biotechnology and Sustainability * (Fall, Summer)
  • CEE 154 Principles of Epidemiology (Fall, Spring)
  • CEE 032 Engineering for a Sustainable and Resilient Society (Fall)
  • CEE 034 Pollutant Fate and Transport
  • CEE 052 Public Health Engineering (Spring)
  • CEE 111/ENV 112 Hydrology of the Built Environment (Fall)
  • CEE 112/ENV 131 River Hydraulics and Stream Restoration (Spring)
  • CEE 157/ENV 167 Environmental Toxicology (Spring)
  • CEE 158 Occupational and Environmental Health * (Spring)
  • CEE 189 Introduction to Remote Sensing (Spring)
  • CHEM 008 Environmental Chemistry (Spring even years)
  • CHEM 042 Quantitative analysis (Spring)
  • CLS 185 Pestilence in Antiquity: Ecology of Infectious Disease in the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean (Fall)
  • EC 030/ENV 030 Environmental Economics (Fall, Spring) – only accepted if taken in Spring 2023 or before.
  • ENV 105 Flowers of the Alps (Summer)
  • ENV 121 Drones for Data Collection, Mapping & Analysis (Fall)
  • ENV 153 Deep History of Climate Adaptation * (Spring)
  • ENV 162 Global Water Systems: Science & Policy * (Spring)
  • ENV 170 Environmental Data Visualization (Pre-req: Intro-level stats) (Fall)
  • ENV 184 Environmental Health and Justice * (Fall)
  • ECS 001 Introduction to the Dynamic Earth (Fall)
  • ECS 005 Introduction to Oceanography (Fall)
  • ECS 032 Geomorphology with Lab (Fall)
  • ECS 042 Sediments and Stratigraphy (Spring)
  • ECS 052 Paleoclimate * (Spring)
  • ECS 056 Physical Oceanography (Spring)
  • GIS 102/ENV 197 Advanced Geographic Information Systems (Fall, Spring)
  • NUTR 346 Agricultural and Environmental Modeling (Fall)
  • PHIL 033 Logic (Fall, Spring)
  • PHIL 038 Rational Choice (Fall)
  • PHY 0008 Energy for a Sustainable Future (Variable) – Can’t be taken for credit if PHY 0028 already taken
  • PHY 0028 Energy in Science and Society * (Pre-req: PHY 12) (Variable) – Can’t be taken for credit if PHY 0008 already taken
  • PHY 042 Electricity and Magnetism I (Fall)
  • PHY 043 Electricity and Magnetism II (Spring)