Skip to main content
Environment & Sustainability primary major expands career possibilities
Studying environmental science can open the door to many different career paths, from research, conservation and sustainability work to public policy and law. To reflect its interdisciplinary nature and prepare students to tackle the most pressing environmental issues, the Environment & Sustainability Program (ENSP) in the College of Arts & Sciences is now a primary major starting this academic year.
Previously, ENSP was only offered as a secondary major, which meant students could not solely major in the subject and had to add it to a different primary major. Originally called Environmental Science and Policy, the program changed its name in 2022 to include sustainability as a core tenet of its curriculum, along with the addition of the environmental humanities track within the major. The launch of the new primary major coincided with the university’s Year of the Environment. 
With three tracks to choose from — science, policy, and humanities — students can choose a pathway that is relevant to their interests. The interdisciplinary program requires coursework in natural sciences and labs, environmental social sciences, ethics and policy.
“Being a primary major aligns ENSP with other majors at W&M and at other institutions. ENSP was the only secondary major in the College of Arts & Sciences prior to the change,” said Brent Kaup, professor of sociology and director of the environment & sustainability program.
To strengthen the curriculum as a primary major, students must now take additional core courses, regardless of the track they declare. “In the changes made to the course requirements, we wanted to maintain the interdisciplinary nature of the major. In addition to keeping this dynamic, we added a requirement that students take a methods course. Through this course, we hope students gain the skills to put their environmental knowledge to work through statistics, GIS, or another way of knowing and observing the world,” Kaup said.
Intended majors must now take a methods course, with options such as CONS 301 Quantitative Methods in Conservation or GOVT 301 Research Methods. Students in the policy and humanities tracks are now required to take a second natural science lab. For students focusing on the environmental sciences track, there are additional requirements in various science programs across Arts & Sciences. 
Faculty in the program created a new course, ENSP 201 Introduction to Environmental Policy, required for students in all ENSP tracks, to learn the basics of environmental laws and regulations.
Students have welcomed the changes, with some already switching to an ENSP primary major.
“We have definitely had a lot of student enthusiasm about the change, and many students have embraced the new tracks,” Kaup said.
Caroline McCoy ‘27, who is on the humanities track in ENSP, expressed her excitement for the new major offering. “It’s such a valuable education to have when going into a conservation or sustainability career,” McCoy said.
During Declaration Week, March 31-April 2, the ENSP program will celebrate the first batch of students declaring an ENSP primary major.