The ESES major combines environmental and sustainability themed courses from across the University of Illinois. As part of the College of LAS, our own ESE rubric complements offerings from the Departments of Atmospheric Sciences, Geography & GIS, Geology, Political Science, Anthropology, Religious Studies, Integrative Biology, Chemistry and more. Beyond the College of LAS, our students have access to courses offered in Natural Resources and Environmental Science (NRES), Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Agriculture and Consumer Economics (ACES), Horticulture, and Community Health (CHLH). We are always working to expand our offerings. If you see something not on our class listing that should be, email us.
ALL MAJORS TAKE
- ESE 200: Earth Systems (Fall Only)
- ESE/GGIS 379: Introduction to GIS (Spring & Fall)
- Either the SAE OR the SES Concentration Courses
After that, you get to choose. Amongst our vast offerings are our practicum courses designed to give you real world experience. Look out for our courses in the field, ESE 289 and ESE 389, our capstone experience, ESE 401, and the Learning in Community (LINC) series of courses listed as sections of ENG 315.
COURSES IN THE FIELD
- ESE 289: Env. and Sustainability Field Trip (Fall - in Illinois)
- ESE 389: Env. and Sustainability Field Expedition (Spring - in Costa Rica)
- ESE 386: Changing Arctic (Summer - in Sweden)
COURSES YOU CHOOSE
Please see our lists for Introductory Core and Advanced Courses of our degree requirements for the master lists of courses we accept. To fulfill our introductory core requirement, you must complete ESE 200, ESE/GEOG 379 in addition to 4 courses of your choosing, each from a different ESES foci. The introductory courses are designed to give you breadth within the fields of Environmental Science and Sustainability. You may either continue exploring the different facets of ESES, or focus on a particular theme when choosing your advanced courses. The choice is yours.