Minor in Environmental Studies
Program Learning Outcomes for the Minor in Environmental Studies
Upon completing the minor in Environmental Studies, students will be able to:
- Understand the fundamental science that drives earth/natural systems, and that frames and makes comprehensible current environmental issues.
- Evaluate the nexus of human activity with environmental processes to examine and understand sustainable (or unsustainable) practices.
- Develop a cross-disciplinary perspective to better understand environmental issues and solutions through a focus within the natural sciences and/or engineering and a focus within the humanities, social sciences, and/or architecture.
Requirements for the Minor in Environmental Studies
Students pursuing the minor in Environmental Studies must complete:
- A minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) to satisfy minor requirements.
- A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
- No courses from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
The Environmental Studies minor was specifically created to provide undergraduates from a broad range of academic backgrounds with a cohesive program offering foundational literacy in the social, cultural, and scientific dimensions of environmental issues, and a cross-disciplinary holistic understanding of the challenges and solutions for creating a sustainable world. Students completing the minor will be able to synthesize frameworks, tools, and perspectives from multiple disciplines; master sustainability terminology; understand major environmental issues from multiple perspectives; develop and assess environmental solutions in an informed and logical manner; and convey knowledge and insights about environmental issues in multiple formats.
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, where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the minor's Official Certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the Minor in Environmental Studies | 18 | |
Minor Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| Core Course | ||
| ENST 100 / ARCH 105 | ENVIRONMENT, CULTURE AND SOCIETY | 3 |
| Introductory Course | ||
| Select 1 course from the following: 1 | 3 | |
| BIOLOGY FOR VOTERS | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 3 | ||
| THE EARTH | ||
| CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME WEATHER | ||
| OCEANOGRAPHY | ||
| THE EARTH SYSTEM, ENVIRONMENT, AND SOCIETY | ||
| INHABITING PLANET EARTH | ||
| Elective Requirements 1 | ||
| Schools of Architecture, Humanities, and Social Sciences | ||
| Select 2 courses from the following: | 6 | |
| FOOD, CULTURE, CLIMATE: EATING AND GROWING IN TIMES OF ECO-UPHEAVAL | ||
| CLIMATE CHANGE AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY | ||
| THE SOCIAL LIFE OF CLEAN ENERGY | ||
| ANTHROPOLOGIES OF NATURE | ||
| PEOPLE AND ANIMALS IN THE PAST | ||
| CONSERVATION, INDIGENEITY, DISPLACEMENT | ||
| SOUTH ASIAN ECOLOGIES | ||
| SPECULATIVE FUTURES | ||
| CASE STUDIES IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN | ||
| CASE STUDIES IN SUSTAINABILITY: THE REGENERATIVE REPOSITIONING OF NEW OR EXISTING RICE CAMPUS BLDGS | ||
| ENERGY ECONOMICS | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS | ||
| THE ECONOMICS OF SUSTAINABILITY, CONSERVATION, AND PANDEMICS | ||
| SCIENCE FICTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| NONFICTION NATURE WRITING | ||
| CONSUMPTION AND CONSUMERISM | ||
| LITERATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND ECOLOGY | ||
| RECKONING WITH THE ANTHROPOCENE | ||
| SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: AN EXPLORATION OF GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS 2 | ||
| UNDERSTANDING ENERGY: ENERGY LITERACY AND CIVICS | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | ||
| TOPICS IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | ||
| JUSTICE IN THE FOOD SYSTEM | ||
| CULTURES AND MEDIA OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA: GAMING THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| SEMINAR IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY AND LIVABILITY RESEARCH METHODS AND APPLICATIONS | ||
| LAB IN ENGAGED URBAN SUSTAINABILITY AND LIVABILITY RESEARCH | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL FILMMAKING | ||
| CONTEMPORARY ART AND ENVIRONMENT | ||
| FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE SUSTAINABLE: ART, ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE | ||
| ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN LATIN AMERICA | ||
| US ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY | ||
| ENCOUNTERING THE ENVIRONMENT: CASE STUDIES FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN TO THE SPACE AGE | ||
| CULTURE, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT: AN INTRODUCTION TO ENERGY HUMANITIES | ||
| GOVERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMONS | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: RICE INTO THE FUTURE | ||
| LITERATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN LATIN AMERICA | ||
| Schools of Engineering and Natural Sciences | ||
| Select 2 courses from the following: | 6 | |
| ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: THE DESIGN & PRACTICE OF COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT | ||
| SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND REPORTING | ||
| TROPICAL FIELD BIOLOGY | ||
| ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF BRAZILIAN WETLANDS LABORATORY | ||
| CONSERVATION BIOLOGY LAB | ||
| BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY | ||
| ECOLOGY 3 | ||
| PLANT DIVERSITY | ||
| CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS | ||
| GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY | ||
| CONSERVATION BIOLOGY | ||
| SUSTAINABLE DESIGN | ||
| ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING | ||
| SUSTAINABLE WATER PURIFICATION FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD | ||
| APPLIED SUSTAINABLE PLANNING AND DESIGN | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW | ||
| URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY | ||
| CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT | ||
| URBAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS | ||
| ENGINEERING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES | ||
| INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY | ||
| VISUALIZING NATURE | ||
| EARTH AND PLANETARY SURFACE ENVIRONMENTS | ||
| OCEANS, ATMOSPHERES AND CLIMATE | ||
| GEOCHEMISTRY OF EARTH’S SURFACE | ||
| CLIMATE DYNAMICS | ||
| CLIMATE OF THE COMMON ERA | ||
| REMOTE SENSING | ||
| GIS FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS | ||
| EARTH’S NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION | ||
| THE SCIENCE OF NATURE-BASED CARBON SEQUESTRATION | ||
| GEOMICROBIOLOGY | ||
| GEOPHYSICAL DATA ANALYSIS: DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING | ||
| EARTH SYSTEMS MODELING I: PHILOSOPHY AND FUNDAMENTALS | ||
| THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 18 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | Given the wide range of courses at Rice related to Environmental Studies, students are encouraged to contact the Minor Director to suggest courses to include on the list of approved electives. |
| 2 | ENST 238 must be taken for at least 3 credit hours in order to fulfill Elective Requirements. |
| 3 | Current/former Biosciences majors (or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology majors) are eligible to substitute BIOS 332 (formerly EBIO 325) in place of BIOS 124 (formerly EBIO 124) to meet the introductory course requirement from the natural sciences. |
Policies for the Minor in Environmental Studies
Program Restrictions and Exclusions
Students pursuing the minor in Environmental Studies should be aware of the following program restriction:
- As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, i.) students may declare their intent to pursue a minor only after they have first declared a major, and ii.) students may not major and minor in the same subject.
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the designated transfer credit advisor for the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content). The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with the applicable transfer credit advisor as well as their academic program director when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Program Transfer Credit Guidelines
Students pursuing the minor in Environmental Studies should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:
- Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.
- On an exception basis, the Program Director (Official Certifier) may grant approval for up to 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice to fulfill the minor's Elective Requirements.
Distribution Credit Information
The determination of distribution credit eligibility is done initially as part of the new course creation process. Additionally, as part of an annual roll call coordinated each Spring by the Office of the Registrar, course distribution credit eligibility is routinely reviewed and reaffirmed by the Dean’s Offices of each of the academic schools.
Faculty and leadership in the academic schools are responsible for ensuring that the courses identified as distribution-credit-eligible meet the criteria as set in the General Announcements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet graduation requirements by completing coursework designated as distribution-credit-eligible at the time of course registration.
Distribution courses from Environmental Studies (ENST) are broadly scoped and thematically diverse and prompt students to explore the cultural, social, and political dimensions of human-environmental relations and environmental systems. They present students with an interdisciplinary spectrum of relevant methods and skills and help students to develop analytical, expressive, and critical knowledge of the relationship of environment, culture, and society across the world. They are introductions to the study of human-environment relations and environmental systems.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Environmental Studies website: https://enst.rice.edu/.
Opportunities for the Minor in Environmental Studies
Academic Honors
The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Environmental Studies website: https://enst.rice.edu/.