Environmental Studies at Sweet Briar

Sweet Briar's Environmental Studies major is designed for maximum flexibility around a solid, multidisciplinary core, allowing students great control in the development of their course of study. The core is designed to give you a strong foundation in science, and then develop your understanding of how economic, social, and legal forces affect the human behavior that leads to environmental damage and the overexploitation of natural resources.

With that small but critical core in place, you will complete a personalized program designed with your advisor to suit your particular goals. Each student chooses a concentration in environmental policy, global environmental issues or biodiversity conservation and completes their degree by selecting from a wide variety of courses in fields such as anthropology, economics, government, law, philosophy, sociology, biology and chemistry. Many students elect to minor in another field such as economics, government, sociology or biology, while others design a program to suit their own particular interests.

In Environmental Studies, we're looking for students looking to be active. We don't just talk about environmental problems, we teach you the skills you need to do something about them. In your course work, you study emerging paradigms in environmental thought and learn a wide variety of analytical tools such as benefit-cost analysis, policy analysis, applied logic, ecological modeling, and geographic information systems. You have the opportunity to conduct meaningful research and make a difference in the world even before you graduate.

By the time you graduate, you have developed a broad understanding of both science and social science concepts, and are uniquely qualified to address complex issues arising from the conflict between human development and environmental sustainability.

Careers

The interdisciplinary, yet rigorous, nature of Sweet Briar's environmental programs provides opportunities for employment in the private or public sector as well as preparing our graduates for professional or graduate study. Opportunities exist for employment in corporate technical positions, environmental consulting firms, non-governmental organizations, or in the public sector at the federal, state, and local levels. In the last few years, nearly 100% of our graduates have been successfully placed in environmental careers or are in graduate or professional school! If you would like to contact some of our alumnae to get their view of how our programs prepared them for life, just let us know and we'll put you in touch.

Research and Internships

All Environmental Studies and Environmental Science students are required to conduct research for at least one semester or participate in an internship. Selected students are invited to participate in faculty research; all faculty have from one to three research students each semester.

Sweet Briar students conduct environmentally relevant research and often present their data at scientific meetings during the academic year. Recent students have attended meetings at such locations as Baltimore, Washington, Memphis, and Boone, NC. These students have found such high level of activity to be extremely valuable. Research and faculty interaction are among the advantages of Sweet Briar! See our Research page for more details on the type of research Environmental Studies and Environmental Science students are doing at Sweet Briar. If you plan to attend graduate school, we recommend you choose the research option.

Recent student internships have included work with the National Audubon Society, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Robert E. Lee Soil and Water Conservation District, the Sierra Club, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The faculty strongly believe that internships enhance the marketability of our graduates as well as their educational experience. If you plan to go to work after graduation, we recommend you choose the internship option.

Environmental Junior Year/Semester

The Environmental Junior Year enables rising juniors to expand their study of environmental problems by spending all or part of their junior year at one of several universities in different regions of the country. These include the University of California at Santa Barbara; Texas A&M; American University in Washington, D.C.; the University of Washington; Florida State University; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; and Duke University's Marine Laboratory in Beaufort. Other students spend a semester or year overseas with costs partially defrayed by the department. Recent countries hosting our students include Australia, Tanzania, Mongolia, Kenya, and Costa Rica. We encourage such extended interaction at other institutions, and our programs are designed to make it easy for you to take advantage of these opportunities.

Program Requirements

B.A. in Environmental Studies (52-53 semester hours)

Minor in Environmental Studies (18 semester hours)