In a small pond beside a building, one person digs and others tend to plants.
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

440-775-8747

Why Study Environmental Studies at Oberlin?

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Study Away Programs
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Associated Faculty
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Research Opportunities
One student cuts another's hair with electric trimmers
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.

Sample Courses

  • ENVS 230 - Environmental Justice and Local Knowledge 4 credits
  • ENVS 323 - Seminar: Global Environmental Politics 4 credits
  • ENVS 340 - Systems Modeling: Systems Thinking 4 credits
  • ENVS 390 - Sustainable Cities 4 credits
View course catalog for requirements

Environmental Studies Faculty

Our faculty are both scholars and teachers who are engaged in research, writing, and teaching. Their subject matters run the gamut: from climate change, systems ecology, and natural resources and conflict, to indigenous environmental issues, environmental justice, and urban sustainability. Committed to undergraduate education, they teach everything from introductory courses to advanced seminars.

Explore Faculty within Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies Faculty

Environmental Studies News

View all Environmental Studies news