Two students walking and looking at a map

Environmental Studies, BA

Do fieldwork in the Bay Area. Explore your surroundings from different perspectives — biological, chemical, geological, sociological, political, philosophical, economic, ethical. Bring your ideas to environmental studies and prepare to make a difference in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, industry, or graduate school.

The professors in the Environmental Studies program made all the difference. Because of small class sizes, they were able to get to know me and each student in my class and offer guidance and support. When I was applying to my first job after college — an internship in forestry with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe — my professors helped coach me through the interview by reminding me of all the practices we had learned in various classes."

AMANDA PARRISH ’08

Why study Environmental Studies at USF?

Take a forward-thinking approach to the environment, where you'll focus on opportunities to make a positive impact on our surroundings. Explore your unique interests, pursue your passions, and design your own pathway or even add a concentration in Urban Studies. Work with your professors: environmentalists, ecologists, historians, filmmakers, engineers, ethicists, sociologists, and philosophers. Solve complex issues by considering different perspectives and their impact on the environment. 

Program Overview

Explore In the City and Beyond

Around the Bay Area, people are experimenting with new ways of living and consuming. From the sharing economy to urban agriculture, there’s potential for real environmental change. Having access to both urban spaces and ecologically diverse surrounding areas — such as the Marin Headlands, Big Basin Redwoods, and Point Reyes — provides a unique opportunity to study the relationships between the environment and people, institutions, and organizations.

Student sitting and looking up in the forest

Join the Horizon Collective

Starting in your first semester at USF, find your people, your purpose, and your profession by tackling real-world interdisciplinary projects in sustainability, AI, and health.

Students conducting field research

Study Abroad

Spend a semester in a foreign country in the developing world, such as India, Colombia or Mexico. Immerse yourself into issues and challenges facing cities and people in these countries. Implement your knowledge of urban studies beyond the classroom and into real-world experiences.

Student walks in front of a fountain downtown.

Environmental Studies, BA

2130 Fulton St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
Hours

Mon-Fri, 7:30a.m. - 4p.m.