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 into Environmental Studies (ES), students must:
Successfully complete (or be enrolled in during the Moderation semester) two courses
1. ES 100: Introduction to Environmental Studies 2. One other ES or cross-listed course, at any level. Sample courses include ES 115: Introduction to Community Sciences; Art History 125: Modern Architecture in the Age of Colonialism; Anthropology 265: Race and Nature in Africa; Physics 112: Introduction to Meteorology.
Fulfill the Moderation requirements of the student’s major program of study. The short papers submitted for moderation should demonstrate a clear idea of how the ES concentration will intersect with that program. (If Moderation into ES happens at a separate meeting rather than simultaneously with the major program, a separate 2-3-page paper addressing this question should be provided.) 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:
Complete three more courses:
1. An ES course at the 200 level or above. Sample courses include ES 206: Landscape Studies: The Hudson Valley; ES 212: Climate Change Science and Its Human Dimensions; ES 219: Feeding 10 Billion People; ES 321: GIS for Environmental Justice.
2. An ES or cross-listed course at the 200 level or above, outside the student’s primary program. Sample courses include ES 205: Planetary Consequences of Human Diet; ES 313: Foundations of Environmental Education; Art 207: Sustainable Drawing Practices; Biology 202: Ecology and Evolution; Historical Studies 2308: China’s Environment; Physics 215: Climate and Energy; Politics 372: Environmental Political Theory.
3. An ES or cross-listed course at the 300 level or above. Sample courses include ES 312: Environmental Law for Policy; ES 405: Environmental Policy I; Film 370: Ecocinema; Literature 321: Climate Fiction; Music 360: Indigenous Ethnomusicologies; Sociology 333: Tricks of the Trade: Sociology Research Practicum.
Complete the Senior Project in the student’s major program, integrating issues and methods from Environmental Studies. At least one member of the Senior Project board should be a faculty member affiliated with ES.
* Please note: These graduation requirements were revised in Spring 2025. Students who moderated in ES in Fall 2024 or earlier have the option of using the previous graduation requirements (i.e., three courses in addition to the moderation requirements, two of these being ES or cross-listed courses at the 200 level or higher, and the third being an ES Practicum).
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]