Undergraduate Programs
The Earth Institute provides a wide array of resources for undergraduates to complement their environmental and sustainable development education at Columbia University. In collaboration with research centers, programs, and academic departments, the Earth Institute has created many opportunities for Barnard College, Columbia College and School of Engineering and Applied Science students to get involved in environment and sustainable development both inside the classroom and out.
On this page you will find links to more information on all of the undergraduate education programs at Columbia University that address environmental and sustainable development issues. You will also find information on each of the resources that the Earth Institute has available for undergraduates, including internships, research assistantships, travel grants for student research projects, events, career resources, and more. For more information on any of the resources or programs listed below, please contact the Earth Institute’s Office of Academic and Research Programs at ei-students@ei.columbia.edu or 212.854.3142.
Undergraduate Majors
Columbia University offers unmatched resources for undergraduates interested in the earth and environment. Columbia and Barnard students focusing on the natural or social sciences or on engineering can link their environmental interests with high-level study of physical, biological, and/or social processes. Options include dual-degree programs.
Our Guide to Educational Programs in Environment and Sustainable Development at Columbia University provides detailed information on all undergraduate majors and their requirements. For brief descriptions of each undergraduate major, see below.
Columbia College
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers a BA in Environmental Science and in Earth Science, as well as a concentration in Earth and Environmental Science designed for students who do not plan to pursue graduate studies in the sciences.
The Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology offers a BA in Environmental Biology, as well as a concentration for those students who wish to major in another academic discipline but pursue some organized study of Environmental Biology.
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Through the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, students can pursue a BS in Earth and Environmental Engineering, or can choose to blend their scientific pursuits with a liberal arts experience through a dual-degree BA/BS or BA/MS combined program.
Barnard College
Through Barnard College’s Department of Environmental Science, students can choose to major in Environmental Science, Environmental Biology or Environmental Policy. Barnard encourages students interested in combining environmental studies with other academic disciplines to consider pursuing a special major. Students may also choose to combine a BA from Barnard with a BS or Master’s degree from Columbia or Teachers College through one of several five-year, dual-degree programs.
Undergraduate Concentrations
Special Concentration in Sustainable Development
A new special concentration in sustainable development is now available for undergraduate students at Columbia College and the School of General Studies. The special concentration allows students to draw upon classes in a wide range of disciplines including political science, anthropology, environmental science and economics.
For additional information on the special concentration, please contact the Program Director, Kevin Griffin, at griff@ldeo.columbia.edu or Louise Rosen at lar46@columbia.edu.
Internships
The Office of Academic and Research Programs of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, offers paid, part-time positions within many Earth Institute departments, centers and programs through the Earth Institute Internship Program. Internships offer students invaluable exposure to Earth Institute research and operations, as well as offering Earth Institute departments the contributions of bright and dynamic Columbia students. Please note that only current Columbia University and Barnard College students are eligible.
Detailed descriptions of the internships are sent out to our student email list and posted on the Earth Institute website before the beginning of each semester. To sign up for our email list, please send an email to ei-students@ei.columbia.edu.
Research Assistantships
The Earth Institute offers paid research assistantships to Columbia and Barnard undergraduate students each fall and spring. RA’s may work up to 10 hours per week for one semester on various environment or sustainable development projects led by Earth Institute researchers.
Research assistantship opportunities are announced before the beginning of each semester to our student email list and on the Earth Institute website. To sign up for our email list, please send an email to ei-students@ei.columbia.edu.
Earth Intern Program
The Earth Intern Program for Columbia and Barnard undergraduates provides a summer research experience in earth, ocean, environmental sciences, and environmental policy. The program features a hands-on research project under the supervision of an Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory-affiliated scientist, as well as special lectures, workshops and fieldtrips. Project and application information is made available on the program’s website each February for the following summer.
For more information, please contact Dallas Abbott at dallas@ldeo.columbia.edu or (854) 365-8664.
Travel Grant Opportunities
In response to requests to support student projects, the Earth Institute initiated a travel grant program in 2005 to support travel by Columbia University students engaged in degree-related research projects dealing with issues of sustainable development and/or environmental protection.
Travel grant applications are due each fall for travel that is completed by the following summer. For more information and the current travel grant application, click here. You can also subscribe to our student email list to be notified when applications are being accepted in future years by emailing ei-students@ei.columbia.edu.
Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U)
The SEE-U program, run by the Earth Institute-affiliated Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, consists of field methods and research courses that provide undergraduate students of all majors with a global understanding of ecology and environmental sustainability. The SEE-U programs are held in three distinct ecosystem sites: the endangered Mata Atlantica Forest of Brazil, the significantly human-impacted tropical ecosystem of the Dominican Republic, and the temperate forest ecosystem of Upstate New York
Programs in Brazil and the Dominican Republic are five weeks long and confer six undergraduate credits. The SEE-U New York Program is held over two and a half weeks and confers three undergraduate credits. Each location offers students an intimate experience with a natural system that is facing issues of sustainability intertwined with either land fragmentation from agricultural pracices, the effects of tourism, or encroaching urbanization.
For more information, please contact Desmond Beirne at djb2104@columbia.edu or (212) 854-0149 or Sara Scovronick at ss2412@columbia.edu or (212) 854-2992.
Events
During the academic year, the Earth Institute organizes many events to help connect students and the community at large with our work. From special lectures to panel discussions to information sessions, undergraduates have many opportunities to learn about Earth Institute research and programs. For the full calendar of events, please click here (most events in this calendar are open to all).
Below are some upcoming events that are particularly appropriate for undergraduates. Click on the event’s title for more information and registration.
September 17: The Millennium Villages Project: Tropical Agriculture
September 18: Undergraduate Special Concentration in Sustainable Development Info Session
September 23: Paleoecology Brownbag
October 1: Climate Change Brownbag
October 6: MPA in Environmental Science and Policy Open House
October 13: Probing the Depths of the World's Biggest Problems with a PhD in Oceanography
October 20: Environmental and Sustainable Development Programs Open House
October 22: Carbon Sequestration Panel
October 23: The Millennium Villages Project: Improving the Health of the Developing World
October 28: Sachs Student Lecture: Progress and Challenges in the Millennium Villages
October 29: Environment, Technology and Disaster Risk in the Tropics Brownbag
November 10: PhD in Sustainable Development Brownbag
November 18: Tropical Oceanography Brownbag
November 19: Geospatial Applications Brownbag
December 4: MPA in Environmental Science and Policy Open House
Career Services
The Earth Institute aims to support students in all their environmental and sustainable development pursuits, especially when it comes to finding jobs and internships. To this end, we created an environmental and sustainable development career resources page that lists resources for job- or internship-seeking students.
We also bring environmental and sustainable development professionals to campus for information and networking events with students of all levels. Information on upcoming career events is available on the career page.
Having built strong relationships with employers through outreach and through alumni of our affiliated programs, the Earth Institute often receives job listings from environmental and sustainable development organizations eager to hire Columbia students. We send these to students via our student email list, which you can sign up for by emailing ei-students@ei.columbia.edu.
Darby Jack, an Earth Institute Fellow shares his experience.