Environmental Studies
About Environmental Studies
Our Program & Courses
If there is a particular area of environmental studies that most fascinates you, you can craft a specialization within the major. While this is not required, you can choose to specialize in environmental policy and law, environmental justice, biodiversity conservation, food and agriculture, climate change, environmental economics and business, or environment and society. You can further customize your degree by adding a second major in earth and environmental science, which is designed to complement the environmental studies major.
By the time you graduate, you will:
- Have developed an understanding of and broad ability to explain the relationship between humans and the environment and how that association connects to policy, ethics, natural science, history, philosophy, literature, and arts
- Have cultivated an ability to analyze and articulate various environmental challenges and opportunities, such as climate change, environmental governance, wilderness, biodiversity, land ethics, natural resource use and management, and environmental justice
- Be able to evaluate real-world applications of socio-environmental analysis, including understanding policy responses and the historical and cultural dimensions of social and ecological systems
Learning Outside the Classroom
In the Field
F&M’s location provides the perfect landscape for studying the environment. Lancaster County’s flourishing agricultural industry, the nearby Susquehanna River, and F&M’s Spalding Nature Conservancy provide exciting learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Environmental studies students also pursue internships with environmental nonprofits, government agencies, and local organizations. Many of our students intern with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which includes a competitive application process.Research Opportunities
If there’s an environmental studies area or idea you’re eager to explore, you won’t have to wait until graduate school to launch your investigation. Every student at F&M has extraordinary opportunities to work closely with professors in faculty-led research or engage in an independent research project.Explore research at F&M
Center for the Sustainable Environment
Many of our students get involved with F&M’s Center for the Sustainable Environment
(CSE), our hub for global environmental stewardship and sustainability on campus.
The CSE is home to a seminar room, a field-work laboratory space, a meeting space
for sustainable clubs on campus, and more. Many students work in the CSE or participate
in its extracurricular activities, food composting workshops, wild food tastings,
and guest speaker presentations.
Explore the CSE
Keck Consortium
The Keck Geology Consortium consists of twelve liberal arts colleges focused on enriching undergraduate education through the development of high-quality research experiences. Each summer, with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Consortium offers a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program to engage undergraduate students in four- to five-week field and laboratory research projects in the earth sciences. Advanced students continue their summer research projects during the following academic year using cutting-edge laboratory techniques. All students are encouraged to participate in a professional conference. The Keck Geology Consortium is currently administered through Macalester College.Off-Campus Study
Off-campus study, in the U.S. and internationally, is encouraged. Environmental studies students have studied abroad in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and have even spent a semester at sea.Explore off-campus study at F&M
Entrepreneurship at F&M
In the spirit of living up to Benjamin Franklin’s legacy of creating solutions in the service of the public good, Entrepreneurship at F&M is a program that offers exciting opportunities for all students to explore and develop entrepreneurial skills. Environmental studies students have used their education to develop entrepreneurial opportunities in groundwater exploration; environmental consulting, carbon capture and sequestration; and natural resource management.Explore entrepreneurship at F&M
Chesapeake Watershed Leadership Fellows
Preserving the Chesapeake Bay begins here.
Global water and food security begin and end with human connections to local waterways
and landscapes. The Chesapeake Watershed Leadership Fellows program is designed for students with
an interest in Earth and Environmental Sciences and allied social science disciplines, including Economics, Business, and Public Policy, to engage in field and laboratory research within the local Conestoga River watershed,
a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, in southeastern Pennsylvania.
New ways to restore streams, wetlands, and floodplains have been pioneered within
this watershed by F&M faculty, with numerous innovative restoration sites adjacent
to the F&M College campus providing you and your fellows with direct access to a wide
range of learning opportunities. The Chesapeake Bay is the third-largest estuary in
the world, and the largest in the United States, but local watersheds like the Conestoga
play a major role in the health and well-being of the Bay itself.
As a Fellow, you will gain fundamental knowledge about critical water and landscape
systems, and partner with local to federal organizations and environmental engineering
firms to improve the health and security of these waterways by:
- working alongside experienced F&M faculty in Earth and Environmental Science and social science disciplines — including Economics, Business, and Public Policy — to improve restoration effectiveness and economic benefits
- participating in original, action-oriented research in local watersheds, with the goal of improving stream and groundwater quality and aquatic ecosystem health
- conducting research that will have immediate impacts on advancing primary academic knowledge across many disciplines
- providing critical data and information to the local, state, and federal agencies that decide restoration policies and actions
- broadening educational opportunities, enhancing public communications, and facilitating community outreach through this research
Faculty Mentors: Dorothy Merritts, Bob Walter, Patrick Fleming, and Chris Williams
Dual Degree Programs
Earn Master of Forestry (M.F.) or Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.)
In partnership with Duke University, F&M enables you to earn a bachelor’s degree from F&M and a master’s degree from Duke in a total of five or six years.
M.E.M. and M.F. Professional Master’s Degrees
The Duke Professional Master’s program is a two-year, course-based, non-thesis professional degree program similar to law or business school in its applied focus. In fact, the degree will actually be an M.E.M. (Master of Environmental Management) or M.F. (Master of Forestry), depending on the path you choose. This is not the same as applying to graduate school in the college of arts and sciences, where you might earn a broader, less applied M.S. (master of science) degree in a discipline like zoology or biochemistry.
M.E.M. Specializations
The M.E.M. degree is structured around environment and management concentrations. Students select one from each of the following groups of possibilities, to gain depth of knowledge in a topical area (environment) and to build the skills (management) to put this knowledge into practice:
Environment concentrations:
- Coastal and marine systems
- Ecotoxicology and environmental health
- Energy and environment
- Terrestrial and freshwater environments
Management concentrations:
- Business and the environment
- Environmental analytics and modeling
- Environmental economics and policy
- Community engagement and environmental justice
You may spend either three or four years at F&M, during which time you’ll complete all requirements for your chosen major, and all F&M general education requirements. You will then transfer to Duke for two years of additional study.
Please consult this document for more details about this program and instructions for participation. Contact Professor Elizabeth De Santo at edesanto@fandm.edu with any questions related to this program.
Success Beyond F&M
Graduate School
A liberal arts background in environmental studies prepares our graduates to go on to excellent graduate programs after F&M. Many pursue advanced degrees in government, law, sustainability, environmental and energy management, and environmental science.Fellowships
Environmental studies graduates often pursue teaching and public service fellowships with organizations such as Teach for America and Americorps. They also go on to complete fellowships overseas with the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, for which F&M is recognized as a top-producing institution.Learn more about fellowships
Career Paths
Environmental studies graduates are prepared to embark on a wide range of career paths, including positions in government, business, nonprofits, and research. They hold positions such as:- Environmental, Health, and Safety Specialist
- Environmental Lawyer
- Head of Sustainability
- Vice President, Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG)
- Forestry Coordinator
- Urban Planner
- Public Health Specialist
- Project Manager
- Associate Director
- Senior Research Associate
- Policy Analyst
- Prospective Gifts Manager
- Senior Consultant
- Director of Communications and Community Engagement
- Manager, Government Relations
F&M's Department of Earth & Environment offers laboratory facilities open to F&M faculty,
staff, and students, as well as colleagues from other institutions for their teaching
and research. We have ongoing relationships with F&M's Departments of Chemistry, Physics
and Biology, Millersville University, colleges in the Keck Geology Consortium, NASA,
the U.S. Geological Survey, and Armstrong World Industries. Explore critical environmental issues of today through a scientific lens. By studying
earth and environmental science at F&M, you will build the necessary biological, chemical,
and geological foundation you need to study the earth and understand the dynamics
between humans and our environment. Become an expert in a vital field that consistently ranks among the best undergraduate
programs in the country. By studying geosciences at F&M, you’ll examine and understand
the dynamic processes that shape our planet, the minerals and rocks that comprise
it, and the features and processes of the Earth’s surfaces and interior. Sustainability planning is an increasing need in the marketplace. F&M’s sustainability
planning certificate provides the glue that bonds biology; earth and environment;
and business, organizations and society to prepare students interested in careers
in sustainable practices.Student Spotlight
“My environmental studies minor thoroughly prepared me for this experience.”
Grace Uwezukwe ’26, an environmental studies minor, spent several weeks interning
with Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (LSRA). Uwezukwe collected water samples
at 22 sites along the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, prepared and incubated
the samples before testing them under UV light to analyze bacteria levels, and participated
in riverside cleanups, macroinvertebrate studies and community kayaking trips.
“My environmental studies minor thoroughly prepared me for this experience,” Uwezukwe
said. “Courses such as ‘Environment and Human Values’ helped me build a solid foundation
in environmental sustainability and the public health hazards posed by bacterial pollution
in streams. Lab-based training helped me learn lab safety, bacterial testing methodologies
and responsible management of environmental data.”
Read More »Alumni Spotlight
Owen Sobel '24 Protects Wildlife in Hawaiian Sanctuary
Sobel — who was a joint major in environmental studies and economics and a midfielder
for Diplomat men’s soccer — is a U.S. Fish & Wildlife biological technician at Midway
Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for
migratory birds, monk seals, sea turtles and other wildlife.
“This is an incredible opportunity to contribute to conservation efforts in one of
the most unique and ecologically significant places in the world,” Sobel said. “My
time at F&M gave me the baseline skills in environmental fieldwork and data collection
through different labs and hands-on experiences in the classroom. These experiences,
along with a well-rounded education outside of my major, gave me the confidence and
skills that directly transferred into the field, and allowed me to immediately pursue
jobs that interested me.”
Read More »Research Spotlight
Amplifying Local Grower Voices Amid Climate Change
Read More »Earth and Environment Laboratory Facilities
Related Fields of Study
Earth and Environmental Science
Geosciences
Sustainability Planning Certificate
Environmental Studies in Action
September 29, 2025
Students Make Waves as Susquehanna River Watchdogs
Roselyn Ovalles ’26 and Grace Uwezukwe ’26 spent the summer monitoring the Susquehanna River and its many local tributaries as interns with the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.
August 21, 2025
Darij Kulchyckyj ’24 Maps Blueprint for Success
Darij Kulchyckyj ’24 wanted to merge his passions for math, music and the environment. F&M’s liberal arts approach helped him do just that. Now an environmental consultant at an engineering firm, Kulchyckyj also hit a major milestone in his music career thanks to a grant from F&M.
July 24, 2025
Field Research Leads F&M Grad to Hawaiian Wildlife Refuge
Owen Sobel ’24 swapped soccer cleats for hiking boots to pursue a rewarding career in environmental field research and conservation. A former Diplomat midfielder, Sobel is now a U.S. Fish & Wildlife biological technician at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.