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Related courses
- BIOS S-74 Marine Life and Ecosystems of the Sea
- GOVT S-1511 Global Energy and Environmental Politics
Environmental Studies Courses
- ENVR S-101 Environmental Management
- ENVR S-130 Global Climate Change: The Science, Social Impact, and Diplomacy of a World Environmental Crisis
- ENVR S-133 Study Abroad in Venice, Italy: Earth's Climate—Past, Present, and Future
- ENVR S-140/W Fundamentals of Ecology
- ENVR S-161 Environmental Economics
- ENVR S-200 Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in Environmental Management
- ENVR S-210 Critical Analysis of Environmental Systems
- ENVR S-599 Capstone Projects in Sustainability and Environmental Management
ENVR S-101 Environmental Management (32382)
George D. Buckley and Susan Chemerynski Wason.
Course tuition: noncredit, undergraduate, and graduate credit $2,700.
Online only. Optional on-campus sections Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30 pm, which students may attend in person, watch and participate in via live video streaming, or watch at their convenience after the meeting each week. Harvard College students see additional information.
This course examines environmental issues by providing an overview and discussion of air and water pollution, water use and management, energy and climate change, "fracking," oil spills, aquatic ecosystems, biodiversity, toxic substances in the environment, solid waste management, and regulatory strategies for environmental management. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Extension School course ENVR E-101. Prerequisites: high school biology and chemistry. (4 credits)
ENVR S-130 Global Climate Change: The Science, Social Impact, and Diplomacy of a World Environmental Crisis (32741)
Timothy C. Weiskel and William R. Moomaw.
Course tuition: noncredit, undergraduate, and graduate credit $2,700.
Online only. Optional sections Tuesdays, 3:15-6:15 pm, which students may attend in person, watch and participate in via live video streaming, or watch at their convenience after the meeting each week. Harvard College students see additional information.
This course introduces students to the science of climate change, drawing attention to the latest research and the evolving pattern of scientific data on climate that has emerged in recent years. In addition, emphasis is given to analyzing the social changes and adaptations that human communities have already made and those they will most likely have to make as the Earth's climate continues to change in the coming years. Special attention is given to the diplomatic efforts that have been launched since the creation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) in 1992. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Extension School course ENVR E-130. (4 credits)
ENVR S-133 Study Abroad in Venice, Italy: Earth's Climate—Past, Present, and Future (32299)
Limited enrollment.
See Study Abroad for more information.
ENVR S-140/W Fundamentals of Ecology (32628)
Course tuition: noncredit, undergraduate, and graduate credit $2,700.
Online only. On-campus sections Wednesdays, 3:15-6:15 pm, which students may attend in person, watch and participate in via live video streaming, or watch at their convenience after the meeting each week. Two optional Saturday field trips to be arranged. Harvard College students see additional information.
Writing-intensive course.
This course introduces basic concepts in the ecology of individual organisms, their populations, and the biological communities in which they live. Theories of competition, predation, disease, mutualism, and other evolutionary and ecological processes explain the functioning of communities. These fundamentals establish a basis for examining challenges to the sustainability and management of ecosystems. Two Saturday field trips investigate local biological communities. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Extension School course ENVR E-140/W. (4 credits)
ENVR S-161 Environmental Economics (32629)
Class times: Mondays, Wednesdays, 3:15-6:15 pm.
Course tuition: noncredit, undergraduate, and graduate credit $2,700.
Harvard College students see additional information.
Limited enrollment.
This course surveys the most critical topics in environmental economics. Economics, the science of how scarce resources are allocated, is at the core of our most challenging environmental issues. In a world of increasing scarcity and competing demands, economic analysis can guide public policy to efficient use of resources. Market failures are at the root of many of our most serious environmental problems. Remedies include getting prices to reflect true costs, providing productive incentive structures, and explicitly valuing environmental amenities. Topics covered in this course include the economics of population growth, poverty and income distribution, market failures, economic valuation, economic incentive instruments, food and water resources, international agricultural markets, fisheries, and wildlife conservation. (4 credits)
ENVR S-200 Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in Environmental Management (31864)
Class times: Mondays, Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30 pm.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,900.
Harvard College students see additional information.
Graduate proseminar. Limited enrollment.
This proseminar emphasizes the theoretical and practical aspects of a person's involvement in environmental management. Students develop critical thinking and scholarly writing skills and develop a thesis proposal. Prerequisites: students must have completed all the course work for the ALM program in sustainability and environmental management, including completion of the analytical skills and ecology requirements; they must also earn a satisfactory score on the test of critical reading and writing skills. Students who do not meet these requirements are dropped from the course. In addition, at the first class meeting, students complete an assignment that demonstrates strong writing and analytical skills. See the steps to complete before attending the first class session for more details. (4 credits)
ENVR S-210 Critical Analysis of Environmental Systems (32858)
Course tuition: graduate credit $2,700.
Online only. On-campus sections Mondays, 3:15-6:15 pm, which students may attend in person, watch and participate in via live video streaming, or watch at their convenience after the meeting each week. Harvard College students see additional information.
Limited enrollment.
Understanding the dynamics of complex ecological and environmental systems and designing policies to promote their sustainability is a formidable challenge. Both the practitioner and policy maker must be able to evaluate scientific research, recognizing fundamental pitfalls in research design and data interpretation. Moreover, most important environmental problems involve interactions among variables as dynamic systems, so forecasting the impacts of potential environmental changes or policy interventions is critical. To develop these skills, students conduct practical exercises illustrating a range of modeling techniques, including statistical analysis of ecological and environmental data, and system dynamics modeling. Computer simulation modeling ranges across diverse issues in sustainability science, such as climate change, human population dynamics, population viability analysis of endangered species, and economic appraisal of projects that impact natural resources. The course also focuses on developing skills in scientific writing, critiquing primary research literature, and communicating about environmental science. Quantitative techniques are taught at an introductory level; some data analysis and simulation modeling is conducted using Excel spreadsheets. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Extension School course ENVR E-210. Prerequisites: a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills; experience manipulating data and algebraic equations on spreadsheets is helpful. (4 credits)
ENVR S-599 Capstone Projects in Sustainability and Environmental Management (32381)
Class times: Tuesdays, Thursdays, 6:30-9:30 pm.
Course tuition: graduate credit $2,700.
Harvard College students see additional information.
Limited enrollment.
This course provides students with the preparation for and the opportunity to complete a capstone project related to their professional interests. Capstone projects could include an analysis of a community, industrial, or global environmental issue, or creation of an environmental curriculum or media product. Prerequisites: students must be in their final semester as candidates in the ALM in sustainability and environmental management program at the Harvard Extension School. They must have completed all the course work for the program, including completion of the analytical skills and ecology requirements; they must also earn a satisfactory score on the test of critical reading and writing skills. In addition, they should have already met with George Buckley to discuss their project concept. Students who do not meet these requirements are dropped from the course. (4 credits)
