Marine and Environmental Sciences

The Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) degree is designed to provide a strong foundation in the fundamentals of ecology and evolutionary biology, including focal points in population, community, and ecosystem ecology; evolutionary ecology and biology; conservation biology; population genetics; behavior; and ecological and evolutionary genomics.

The Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies degree is designed to provide a flexible platform for students whose primary interest is in the area of environmental policy.

Our Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences degree is organized for students who seek a comprehensive understanding of the scientific implications of environmental issues and the ways that environmental scientists from a range of disciplines can approach their solution.

Our Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology degree is designed to provide a strong foundation in marine biology and related disciplines.

The computer science and environmental and sustainability sciences combined major focuses on geological processes that greatly impact the earth, atmosphere, and water in oceans, lakes, and rivers.

The data science and environmental and sustainability sciences combined major focuses on geological processes that greatly impact the earth, atmosphere, and water in oceans, lakes, and rivers.

The combined major in data science and ecology and evolutionary biology provides a strong foundation in the fundamentals of ecology and evolutionary biology.

This combined major provides students with a strong scientific foundation and practical training for careers or advanced study in fields like toxicology, pollution, bioremediation, environmental protection, education, law, and others related to the chemical basis of the environment and global environmental change.

Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, political, and economic aspects of the world’s environmental and sustainability problems and potential solutions.

This combined major is designed to provide training that merges the basic and applied science underlying environmental change with the best principles and journalistic practices to enable students to pursue careers across a wide range of science communication fields. 

The Departments of Marine and Environmental Sciences and Landscape Architecture provide an education in basic environmental and sustainability sciences and landscape architecture-related disciplines.

Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, and political aspects of the world’s environmental problems through historical perspectives and backgrounds.

Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the international issues that influence the scientific, cultural, societal, political, and economic aspects of the world’s environmental problems and the ways in which such environmental challenges can be ameliorated and/or solved.

Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, and political aspects of the world’s environmental problems while considering the philosophical, moral, and ethical impacts that such decisions have on human-environment interactions.

In this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, societal, and political aspects of the world’s environmental problems through the lens of geopolitical decisions, public policy, and environmental regulations.

This combined major will lead to undergraduates that have a broad awareness of the sociological and scientific foundations of environmental problem solving. They will have the opportunity to develop concrete skills in GIS and scientific communication that will facilitate student success. Due to overlap in course content, students majoring in environmental studies or any environmental studies combined majors may not complete a minor in environmental and sustainability sciences.

The ecology and evolutionary biology minor is designed to provide students a foundation in the principles of ecology and evolutionary biology, as well as to provide concrete skills that will help students achieve their career goals.

The environmental and sustainability sciences minor provides undergraduates with a strong foundation on a variety of scientific, technical, institutional, economic, behavioral, and conservation-oriented solutions to environmental problems caused by either natural phenomena and/or human activity.

Students may choose to pursue a minor in environmental studies by completing a blend of science, social science, and interdisciplinary courses.

The geosciences minor is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the breadth of topics in the geosciences. Core foundational classes in Earth science are followed by student-directed electives across a range of course options.

The marine science minor is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in the marine sciences, while offering the opportunity to obtain concrete skills that will enhance employability.

The MS in Climate Science and Engineering program prepares students to tackle the inherently multidisciplinary challenges that climate change presents for both natural and engineered systems.

The Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy program emphasizes a broadly interdisciplinary and synthetic approach that integrates knowledge in the environmental sciences with the social sciences.

The Master of Science in Marine Biology Program delivers a unique combination of inquiry-based study, fieldwork, research, and workplace experience. Coursework is geared toward preparing you to conduct research both in the lab and in the field while also examining the wildlife, ecosystems, and ecology of three ocean provinces: Nahant, MA, and the Gulf of Maine; Bocas del Toro (Atlantic) and Coiba (Pacific), Panamá; and Friday Harbor Labs (Puget Sound) in Washington state

This certificate provides current Northeastern graduate students enrolled in sustainability programs in other colleges with interdisciplinary skills and experience to enhance their employment opportunities.

The MS in Climate Science and Engineering program prepares students to tackle the inherently multidisciplinary challenges that climate change presents for both natural and engineered systems.

The Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy program emphasizes a broadly interdisciplinary and synthetic approach that integrates knowledge in the environmental sciences (conservation biology, climate change, fisheries science, ecosystem function, biodiversity, restoration ecology) with the social sciences (policy, economics, sociology, political science, and development) and humanities (environmental history, philosophy, and ethics).

The MS in Marine Biology—Three Seas Program provides students the opportunity to study marine biology in three distinct environments at three world-renowned research facilities in New England, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Northwest.

This doctoral program trains high-caliber and independent scientists whose research addresses fundamental and applied ecological and evolutionary question at local, regional, national, and global scales.

This doctoral program combines training in psychology with the ecological and geophysical sciences, producing boundary-breaking scholars who can accelerate sustainability solutions that are robustly informed by the results of scientific research.