Environmental Programs

About the Programs

The Environmental Programs at Earlham are purposefully designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for engagement with both current and future environmental problems and problem solving. Students can focus their coursework in Environmental Science (through Biology, Chemistry or Geosciences) or Environmental Studies (through coursework in the humanities and social sciences). Regardless of the focus, students collaborate across both environmental science and studies through a variety of common courses and experiences, creating a multidisciplinary, experiential and integrated curricular approach.

Several core principles guide the focus and vision of the program:

  • Multidisciplinary: Students take courses in a variety of disciplines and content areas as well as experience several shared seminars and courses to engage with the multiple ways of knowing necessary to understand and work on environmental issues.

  • Experiential: Courses, projects and research are designed to engage students in the classroom, laboratory, field and community, putting knowledge to work on real projects that can make a difference in the lives of people and the natural world.

  • Local and Global: Reflecting Earlham's sustained interests and experience in both local and global contexts, students explore the tensions, relationships, conflicts and interdependencies among local, regional, transnational and global issues and entities.

  • Integrity and Social Justice: Course work, projects, research and co-curricular involvements challenge students to examine whether values and practices match up, and to consider how they might use their knowledge and experience to promote social justice through environmental work.

A variety of curricular and co-curricular opportunities also exist for students interested in environmental study. Earlham's Wilderness Program, one of the oldest and most respected outdoor education programs in the country, offers a wealth of opportunities to engage directly in the outdoors through field study and physical activity. These studies and activities include climbing, backpacking and canoeing, as well as an academic minor in Outdoor Education. Miller Farm, located just off-campus, is a student-run initiative involving various projects in sustainable living and agriculture.

Finally, several off-campus study opportunities exist, including the New Zealand semester in Environmental Studies, the East Africa Off-Campus Study Program, the Semester in Environmental Science at the Marine Biological Center at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and several environmentally-focused May Term courses.

Earlham has an outstanding record of producing knowledgeable and effective environmental leaders in addition to preparing students for further graduate study. Recent graduates have completed advanced degrees in ecological restoration, environmental education, environmental law, environmental statistics and urban ecology. Many have entered professions in the areas of environmental advocacy, policy and legislation. Others have worked for various local, state, or federal agencies.