ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY MINOR

The Environment & Sustainability Minor is an undergraduate minor offering interdisciplinary coursework and investigations into the real-world challenges facing people and the planet.

Situated at MIT, the Environment & Sustainability Minor is one of several academic programs that equips students in any major to tackle deeply challenging problems facing societies worldwide.  The complexity of environmental issues and MIT’s unique approach to solving problems present MIT students with extraordinary opportunities:

• To join forces and tackle problems with classmates from wildly different majors (think electrical engineering and political science; or chemistry and urban planning);
• To access the knowledge of leading experts and educators in sustainability; and
• To bring new ideas and diverse perspectives to MIT and a world that urgently needs solutions.

E&S Minor requirements

Two Core classes are the foundation of the E&S Minor, and 70 other classes are offered as electives for students to explore topics in depth and/or gain a broad understanding of an environmental theme or approach to sustainability.

Subject requirements – complete the following in any sequence:

21 units from two Core subjects:

1. People and the Planet: Environmental Governance and Science (12.387, 15.874[J], IDS.063[J]) – Offered fall semester (9 units)
2. People and the Planet: Environmental Histories and Engineering (11.004, STS.033 [J]) – Offered spring semester (12 units, HASS-E)

Note: During the 2019 spring semester, 11.004 will not be offered. Students may substitute the following courses for this requirement:

1. Introduction to Energy in Global Development (EC.711[J], 2.651[J])
2. D-Lab: Water, Climate Change, and Health (EC.719)
3. D-Lab: Smallholder Agriculture (EC.724)
4. Humanitarian Innovation: Design for Relief, Rebuilding, and Recovery (EC.750)

36 units (min.) from elective subjects (generally 3 or 4 subjects):

Pick from electives across 17 different departments (including D-Lab and Terrascope, with many CI-H options) that span 4 topic areas – mix and match across topics, or focus on just one.  See below for a list of Fall 2018 electives or click here for a downloadable pdf of all electives.

Fall 2018 Electives

1.007	Big Engineering: Small Solutions with a Large Impact	6	Fall
1.078	Soil and Environmental Biogeochemistry	12	Fall
1.018A[J] & 1.018B[J]	Fundamentals of Ecology I and Fundamentals of Ecology II	12	Fall
1.801[J]	Environmental Law, Policy, and Economics: Pollution Prevention and Control	12	Fall
3.982	The Ancient Andean World	9	Fall
4.401	Environmental Technologies in Buildings	12	Fall
4.411[J]	D-Lab Schools: Building Technology Laboratory	12	Fall
10.05	Foundational Analyses of Problems in Energy and the Environment	12	Fall
12.000	Solving Complex Problems	9	Fall
12.001	Introduction to Geology	12	Fall
12.003	Introduction to Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics	12	Fall
12.021	Earth Science, Energy, and the Environment	12	Fall
12.102	Environmental Earth Science	12	Fall
12.170	Essentials of Geology	12	Fall
12.174	Biogeochemistry of Natural and Perturbed Systems	12	Fall
12.335	Experimental Atmospheric Chemistry	12	Fall
12.385*	Science, Politics, and Environmental Policy	9	Fall
17.051	Ethics of Energy Policy	12	Fall
17.181	Sustainability: Political Economy, Science, and Policy	12	Fall
20.106[J]	Systems Microbiology	12	Fall
21H.185[J]	Environment and History	12	Fall
21H.380[J]	People and Other Animals	12	Fall
21W.012	Writing and Rhetoric: Food for Thought	12	Fall
21W.036	Science Writing and New Media: Writing and the Environment	12	Fall
22.033	Nuclear Systems Design Project	15	Fall
22.081[J]	Introduction to Sustainable Energy	12	Fall
EC.701[J]	D-Lab: Development	12	Fall
EC.715	D-Lab: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene	9	Fall
EC.733[J]	D-Lab: Supply Chains	12	Fall
IDS.062[J]	Global Environmental Negotiations	6	Fall

* Please note that 12.385 cannot serve as both the substitute core class for 12.387 AND an elective. It counts as one or the other.

IAP Elective:  2.981 New England Coastal Ecology, 3 units

All electives being offered in Spring 2019:

 

Additional electives (not offered in 2018-2019):

 

A minimum of four subjects (or 48 units) taken for the Environment and Sustainability minor cannot also count toward a student’s major or other minor. In other words, only one subject that counts toward a student’s major or other minor degree may also count toward the E&S Minor elective requirement. And, only one Terrascope subject can be counted toward the E&S Minor.

Applying for the E&S Minor

Apply for the minor in four simple steps – definitely before your final semester, and ideally early in your MIT career to make the most of the E&S Minor program:

1. Print/download and fill out the Application Form, leaving sections blank that you’d like to discuss;
2. Email the form to esi@mit.edu and request a meeting with Sarah Meyers, Education Program Manager;
3. Bring your transcript and questions to your meeting with Ms. Meyers.  You’ll go over plans for fulfilling requirements, advising group options, and steps for completing the application with an advisor’s signature.
4. Look for emails from ESI or Ms. Meyers with details on your advising group assignment for Fall 2018.

Completing the Minor

In addition to fulfilling the subject and application requirements above, students must complete the following steps before the 3rd week of their final semester (the semester after which they’ll receive an S.B. degree) – in February for students who graduate in June.

1. Print/download and fill out the Completion Form and email it to esi@mit.edu.
2. Email the Completion Form to your advisor with a request for certification that you’ve met all the criteria for the E&S Minor. A student will need to provide his/her advisor with an unofficial transcript and may need to schedule an in-person meeting.
3. Deliver/send your final Completion Form – with signatures – to Environmental Solutions Initiative, esi@mit.edu.

Advising and Activities Outside the Classroom

Students enrolled in the E&S Minor are matched with a faculty-led advising group that meets to discuss topics ranging from career exploration and research trends, to subject selection and the overlaps between the E&S Minor curriculum and students’ majors.

Outside the classroom, students have the opportunity to connect with stellar MIT faculty and find a community of supportive peers – through undergraduate research opportunities (UROPs), student groups, field trips, lectures and other activities.  MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative regularly hosts events to inspire and connect students with thought leaders from civil society, business and industry, and innovative research.  Check out our Events page for upcoming events, and look for UROP announcements on our list of Current Opportunities – and sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the Home page.

Questions?

Email Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI): esi@mit.edu