Students plant native species at the Lewis Center’s wetlands. Photo credit: Jennifer Manna
College of Arts and Sciences

Environmental Studies

Program Type:
  • Major
  • Minor
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The Environmental Studies Program seeks to create a learning environment that fosters an understanding of the causes and consequences of our environmental predicaments, as well as help our students develop the creative problem-solving skills to design a more sustainable relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world.

Program Director

Md Rumi Shammin

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Department Affiliation
Environmental Studies
Contact

Rosalind Soltow ’08

Administrative Assistant 440-775-8747

Why Study Environmental Studies at Oberlin?

Study Away Programs
71
Associated Faculty
Special Collections
Several Oberlin students volunteered to have their hair cut in the name of recycling. Hair was donated to Hair for Oil Spills, which uses the hair to make hair booms for oil cleanups Photo credit: Yingran Zhang '16

Ecolympics

Each year in April, residence halls, co-ops, and city K-12 public schools battle it out during Ecolympics to see who can most reduce electricity and water use. This two-week competition and event series raises awareness and prompts action regarding sustainability efforts. 

Adam Joseph Lewis Center

Our Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, which opened in 2000, helped to launch the green building movement of the 21st century. Throughout the building and landscape, 150 sensors monitor everything from electricity usage to soil moisture. A wetland called the Living Machine treats and recycles all wastewater using natural processes.

Environmental Dashboard

The Environmental Dashboard project, also known as the Campus Resource Monitoring System, is an initiative designed to give Oberlin students and the community feedback on their consumption of resources. Stats are displayed on LCD screens, as the dashboard monitors water and electricity consumption in campus buildings, schools, and businesses where the LCD screens are located.

Upcoming Environmental Studies Events

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Sample Courses

  • ECON 331 - Natural Resource Economics 4 credits
  • ENVS 225 - Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change 4 credits
  • ENVS 322 - Energy and Society 4 credits
  • ENVS 342 - Political Ecology 4 credits
View course catalog for requirements

Environmental Studies Faculty

Explore Faculty within Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies News

Kieran Minor '19 wins Truman Scholarship

Kieran Minor ’19 Named 2018 Truman Scholar

April 23, 2018
Kieran Minor ’19 has won the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Awarded to outstanding college juniors who have demonstrated a strong commitment to public service, the $30,000 prize will help fund Minor’s postgraduate studies.
View all Environmental Studies news

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