Environmental Social Sciences

The Environmental Social Sciences (ESS) specialization provides multidisciplinary training in social sciences with an applied focus on the complex relationships between people and the environment. Students learn to approach environmental problems and solutions through three core perspectives: 1) individual-level behavior and decision-making (e.g., communications, psychology), 2) communities (e.g., sociology), and 3) polities (e.g., public policy, political science). The flexibility of the ESS specialization allows students to pursue theoretical depth in any one area if desired while gaining experience applying theories and methods across multiple social science disciplines. By taking courses from different departments across campus, students are also trained in research methods and statistics to develop the skills necessary to address research questions with real-world implications.