Colleges of the Environment

Environmental Education in the Past

In years past, colleges and universities have offered single-focused degrees related to the environment in areas like Environmental Science or Ecology. It is increasingly apparent, though, that these degrees are sometimes too narrow minded for today’s student, workforce and society. For example, the study of ecology will inform the student about ecosystems and the behavior of plants and animals, and environmental science will inform them of ways to approach the problems with the environment of the planet as a whole.

But what if one wants to learn about and address the environmental problems within a specific ecosystem? What if it goes beyond mixing in ecology- if the studies needed to include sociological findings? Would an Oceanic Science degree give them what they need to approach the problems within the ocean and how they are compounded by the culture contributing to it, then refer back to cultures past and map out a plan moving forward? The answer, for many, has been a clear and resounding “No.” Colleges of the environment have proposed an alternative.

The Need for Colleges of the Environment

As recently as the last half-decade, the push for sustainability and attention on the environment has called for something more focused. With the corporate world and government converging with common goals of affordable sustainability, a new generation of research and development is to be needed. In order to accommodate this need and, some suggest, create fields of sustainability, a college education must be tailored to the diversity and complexity for which the task requires.

“Going green” may be a buzz phrase to some, but for many it represents a life goal. Colleges of the environment often find themselves bridging multiple departments in order to get the specificity they need for a given field. Because our environment and its concerns consist of more than just weather patterns and plant life, a college of the environment will also focus on historical, social and even economic subjects, to name a few.

Connections to Other Programs

This wide variance of material within a given subject or degree has lent itself to partnerships with other educational programs within a university and, in some cases, programs moving within the university to the college of environment. A broad environmental science or specific marine science program might find that, when a college of environment is brought together within their university, their focus will best align with that entity, rather than as a stand-alone program or as part of a general science department.

Not every seemingly-matched program will be a fit within a college of environment, though, as these departments are geared specifically towards sustainability and solving the problems with which the world is facing. Some programs will find that they are already inclined toward this direction and will align well with a larger entity that has directed its attention to this type of environmental education. Others will find that their focus is on a broader or entirely different area, and those programs will likely remain as separate entities from a college of the environment.

The Logistics of Creating a New Field

In the creation of a new college within or without a university, there will be complications. For this situation, those willing to take on the challenge find that they are also creating an entirely new focus in education, new career paths and a new field entirely. Although attention to the environment has become more weighted in recent years, there is little in the way of demand for “green” jobs beyond general research and development. Because of this, demand for such studies has been relegated to the occasionally interested student who was left to piece a degree together with what was available.

Now, however, interest from employers and from a passionate new generation has led some universities to believe that a college dedicated to sustainability is worth pursuing. Because of this, a generation of students will have degrees in sustainability in specified fields. Rather than just studying the ocean, they will have studied the patterns of the ocean in relation to the world, cultures and patterns around it, as well as ways to preserve it in the various field that come in contact with it. There is little precedent for work and education in this arena, so those developing environmental education truly are forging the path for the future.

The Growing Movement of Environmental Education

While this field of education may be relatively new and comparatively small, it is not without momentum. There are well over one hundred colleges of education and programs focusing on sustainability across the United States alone. Large corporations are conduction research and development in the area of sustainability, and governments are looking to cut emissions and become more eco-friendly across the nations. The call to educate the up and coming workforce is being answered by these schools and programs and the students who enroll in them.

Schools across the country are offering variations on a college of the environment. Two worth mentioning are the University of Washington and the University of Rhode Island. Drawing on its extensive history in environmental sciences, UW added a College of the Environment and enrolled students for classes in late 2009. Now boasting over 1400 enrollees, the college is quickly picking up speed as one of the premier colleges of the environment.

From a general “Program on the Environment” to the more specific courses on Sea Grants, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and Forest Resources, to name a few, UW’s College of the Environment quickly expanded to match interest. The more long-standing of the two schools, the University of Rhode Island’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences, is even broader in its course work, delving even into subjects on nutrition and landscape architecture as part of their environmental focus. These schools are just two of the growing examples we have of the offerings that such colleges can offer the changing needs of today’s students.

Whether or not you are in Rhode Island or Washington, there are literally schools to accommodate sustainable education from coast to coast. Along with that, you will find both public and private schools offering the courses needed for environmental education. As the trend grows and even more schools are offered, eventually, students from every location and financial background will have access to a degree focusing on some form of sustainability. What a bright future is in store for us as these students take this knowledge into the workforce and shape the decision-making of the decades to come!