The scope of the ES Concentration is regional, national, and global. The ES Concentration takes advantage of its immediate surroundings, using the campus and region as a laboratory for natural and social science research and interpretation through language and the arts. The Hudson River estuary, with its wetlands and watershed, is framed by the Catskill Mountains to the west; its valley communities offer a variety of historical and natural resources.
Requirements
The Environmental Studies Concentration requires 20 credits total.
Moderation Requirements
In order to moderate, students must:
Successfully complete (or be enrolled in) EUS/ES 100.
Successfully complete one other EUS/ES cross-listed course. Sample courses include Art History 223, Wild Visions: Picturing Nature in Early Modern Northern Europe; American Studies 101, Introduction to American and Indigenous Studies; and Physics 112, Introduction to Meteorology.
Fulfill Moderation requirements of the primary program.
Demonstrate a clear idea of how the ES concentration will work with your major program of study in short paper (or, if not moderating simultaneously into a primary program, submit a separate two- to three-page paper addressing this question).
At least one member of the Moderation board should be a faculty member affiliated with ES.
Graduation Requirements
In addition to the Moderation requirements, to graduate students must take:
Two additional cross-listed courses (200 level or above, one must be outside of major). Sample courses include Environmental Studies 224, Climate Change Science and Its Human Dimensions; Physics 215, Climate and Energy; and Politics 372, Environmental Political Theory.
An ES Practicum. These 300-level, hands-on, community-engaged courses are offered every semester, and often change to address current issues and realities of environmental justice communities.
Community-Oriented Research
The Bard Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities is a research- and community-oriented organization focused on environmental issues. The Center offers students opportunities to work in an interdisciplinary way. The Environmental Studies Concentration is the academic component. The Center is where students engage.
Students of ES 100 at the Bard Farm in Fall 2023. Photo by Beate Liepert.
Courses
Our core required course, ES100: Introduction to Environmental Studies—co-taught by faculty from the natural sciences and the humanities or social sciences—is offered at least once a year.
Courses
ES100: Introduction to Environmental Studies Humans have profoundly altered the character of the Earth’s system since the advent of agriculture and urbanization 10,000 years ago. This course explores how natural and human systems are connected, and how global problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, species extinction are linked with one another and with social problems such as financial instability, widening economic inequality, food insecurity, intensifying conflict, and public health. We review the empirical evidence of these “wicked problems,” and introduce core concepts and methodologies from natural, and social sciences perspectives, together with practical skills that are required to tackle these issues. We will contemplate alternative political and socioeconomic options (from indigenous knowledge to shared socioeconomic pathways) and will explore how impacts of these decisions on future natural and human systems can be assessed (foresight work). Issues will be considered at a variety of scales—from the level of individual responsibility to the local, regional, national, and global dimensions. The course includes a community service component, labs, and guest lectures.
For other current offerings in the concentration, go to the Bard College course list, find the “Concentrations” button in the left-hand column, and click on “Environmental Studies.”
Contact us
Environmental Studies Concentration Bard College | PO Box 5000 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504 [email protected]