Environmental Science
Combined Major
About Our Program
Safeguard the Earth and its inhabitants by pursuing your interests in natural science with that of human impacts and solutions through our environmental science program. During your time at St. Lawrence, you’ll collaborate with students and professors who are just as eager as you are to tackle the planet’s most pressing problems, as well as environmental issues affecting our campus and the local communities.
Our interdisciplinary major combines environmental studies with geology, chemistry, physics, biology or math and will prepare you for successful careers in fields like environmental policy, environmental health, environmental justice, public health, conservation, and sustainability.
Learning Experiences to Prepare for Your Career
Environmental science is a cutting-edge field where you will use science and other data-driven techniques to diagnose and solve local and global problems in environmental and public health. Our hands-on learning opportunities and field experiences will prepare you to be a future leader in any environmental field.Center for the Environment
We've combined our environmentally focused programs and bold new initiatives to create a brand new Center for the Environment–your hub for all things climate change, energy, conservation, sustainability, environmental justice, outdoor leadership, and more.
Explore Center for the Environment
Research
Dig deeper into environmental topics or pressing issues through research, either during the semester or as part of a paid summer fellowship, and present your findings during Festival Day in the spring.
Living Lab
So many of St. Lawrence’s environmental classes make good use of our 110-acre Living Lab, whether it’s observing amphibians in our wetlands to shearing sheep for an eco-fiber course.
Explore Research Opportunities
Nature Up North
This community-based organization housed at St. Lawrence connects people to the North Country environment through citizen scientist projects and outdoor adventures -- and it offers internship and volunteer opportunities for environmentally-focused students like you.
Learn More About Nature Up North
Related Natural Science Courses
Your coursework will take your curiosity to the next level. Recent classes offered include:
- Energy
- Environmental Geology
- Global Climate
- Quantitative Analysis
- Geomorphology
- General Ecology
- Ethnobotany
- Environmental Chemistry & Toxicology
- Environmental Psychology
- Hydrology/Hydrogeology
- Tropical Ecology
Internships
Learn by doing in a real-world environment. Our majors intern with a wide range of organizations, including:
- Henry’s Fork Foundation
- St. Lawrence Land Trust
- TRC Companies
- New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
- NGO Sustainability
- Central Caribbean Marine Institute
Volunteer Work
Our majors are passionate about making the world a better place and often seek out service opportunities such as:
- Habitat for Humanity
- Campus Kitchens
- Alternative Break Trips
- SLU Buddies
- SLU EMS
- Circle K
Short-Term Trips & Field Experiences
In addition to semester- and year-long programs, you’ll also have the chance to participate in short-term travel study trips with your professors.
The Adirondack Semester
Live off-the-grid in a remote yurt village: forage food, cook meals, enjoy the wilderness and take classes like nature writing and environmental ethics.
Sustainability Program
Environmentally conscious students of any major can apply for this unique year-long program located just four miles from campus.
Study Abroad
Choose from more than 30 semester-long programs offered in more than 20 international locations, including Australia, China, Denmark, Sweden, and Thailand.
Connect with Community
Among the 150+ clubs and organizations at St. Lawrence, you’ll find many that involve the outdoors and environmental advocacy, including:
- Outing Club
- Geology Club
- Environmental Action Organization
- CLAW - Connecting Laurentians Around Wilderness
- Quantitative Club
- Seed to Table
- St. Lawrence River Alliance
- The Greenhouse
- Model U.N.
- Divestment Club
- Chymist
- Outdoor Program Guide
Alumni Network
St. Lawrence graduates are big thinkers, problem solvers, and fearless leaders at companies and organizations across the country and world. Our alumni network is the second-most influential source for recent graduate employment (only behind internships).
Explore the Power of our Alumni Network
Outcomes
Equally entrepreneurial, there are those Laurentians whose idea of the “office” is hosting a wedding on a classic sailing sloop, sustainably harvesting salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska, or digging up delicious potato varietals while restoring North Country soils.
Recent Job Placements
- Icicle Creek Engineers
- Six Rivers National Forest
- Biomarine Research Corporation
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Invenergy
- Path Forward Partners
Recent Graduate School Placements
-
Duke University
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- Carnegie Mellon University
- University of Washington
- Boston University
- Alaska Pacific University
Why St. Lawrence for Environmental Science
of St. Lawrence students who study environmental studies are employed or continuing their education within a year
Student-to-tree Ratio
Our 1,000-acre campus is an outdoor experience in itself
oldest collegiate outdoor club in the nation
Recent Job Placements:
- Icicle Creek Engineers
- Six Rivers National Forest
- Biomarine Research Corporation
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Invenergy
- Path Forward Partners
Alumni at Work: The Great Outdoors
Laurentians' passion for the outdoors is no accident. These examples show how the business of the outdoors comes with great responsibility that creates impactful careers.
Center for the Environment
Our brand-new Center for the Environment is a hub of environmental leadership, scholarship, and action.
miles from the Adirondack Park and St. Lawrence River
bricks students laid for the foundation of a new energy-efficient greenhouse
Our Green College Rating
The Princeton Review, 2021
Recent Graduate School Placements
- Duke University
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- Carnegie Mellon University
- University of Washington
- Boston University
- Alaska Pacific University
Living Lab
Our 110-acre living lab includes fields, forests, wetlands, and a garden.
Official Tree Campus
A student-faculty research project found that St. Lawrence's campus tree population is growing—with special emphasis on planting trees that are native to the North Country. The Arbor Foundation recognized our commitment to maintaining and growing green spaces by naming us a Tree Campus.
More Program Information
Program Requirements & Courses
Explore environmental science combined major requirements, as well as electives and combined study options.
Complementary and Related Programs
We offer five combined programs which encourage you to pair your passion for the environment with an area in the sciences.
Environmental Science Faculty
By day, they’re community ecologists, data scientists, climate change scientists, and renewable energy experts; by night, they’re environmental justice activists, hobby farmers, beekeepers, and explorers.
Sara Ashpole, Ph. D.
Lori Clark, Ph.D. (ABD)
Kearney Coupland, PH.D.
Aaron Iverson, Ph. D.
Adirondack Semester
This 20+-year program empowers students to better understand critical environmental issues, live in a materially simple, close-knit community and in close connection to wild nature, and reflect critically and creatively on the experience and the many questions it raises.
Into the Environment
Local family farms. The North Country’s wilderness. Urban centers. Majoring in environmental science at St. Lawrence means constantly venturing out of the classroom.
Sustainability Program
Explore and discuss global sustainability problems, tackle issues facing St. Lawrence and the North Country, and spend a year preparing to make a difference.
Center for the Environment
We've combined our environmentally focused programs and bold new initiatives to create a brand new Center for the Environment–your hub for all things climate change, energy, conservation, sustainability, environmental justice, outdoor leadership, and more.
Get More Information
We’re excited to learn more about you, tell you more about our interdisciplinary academic programs, show you around our beautiful campus, and help you navigate your college search.
Apply to St. Lawrence
We’re looking for curious students who are eager to make a difference. We take a holistic approach to reviewing applications and consider all aspects of your application and what we learn about you.