The Environmental Studies (ENST) minor provide students with a cross-disciplinary holistic understanding of the challenges and solutions for creating a sustainable world. The program offers students a broad range of academic resources in the social, cultural, and scientific topics of environmental issues.

Students will learn to develop and assess environmental solutions in an informed and logical manner, and convey their knowledge and insights through various formats. Students completing the minor will be able to synthesize frameworks, tools, and perspectives from multiple disciplines; master sustainability terminology; and understand major environmental issues from multiple perspectives. The specific learning outcomes of the Environmental Studies minor are as follows. 

• Scientific Environmental Literacy.  Students will demonstrate a working knowledge of basic concepts and facts in the fields of earth science and/or ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation biology; students will be introduced to key environmental issues; students will demonstrate the ability to apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to evaluate scientific research; and students will demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method.
• Social and Cultural Environmental Literacy.  Students will learn to utilize terms, theories, and concepts from the humanities, social sciences, arts, and architecture and apply them to environmental issues; and students will demonstrate the ability to apply critical thinking and develop long-form cohesive arguments and articulate insights related to the interrelations between social and environmental systems.
• Cross-Disciplinary Perspective.  Students will demonstrate the ability to approach environmental issues from a holistic perspective, synthesizing frameworks, tools, and perspectives from multiple disciplines; students will master sustainability terminology; students will understand major environmental issues from multiple perspectives; students will be able to develop and assess environmental solutions in an informed and logical manner; and students will be able to convey their knowledge and insights about environmental issues in multiple formats (written, verbal, etc.).

Minor Requirements

Students pursuing the minor in Environmental Studies must complete:

• A minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) to satisfy minor requirements.
• Out of those courses, a minimum of four courses (12 credit hours) should be at the 300-level or above
• In addition to Rice University’s graduation requirements.

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this minor. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the minor’s academic advisor (or official certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Footnotes and Additional Information

To learn more about the Requirements for Minor in Environmental Studies, please visit Rice University General Announcements.