Earth and Environmental Sciences

Departmental Information

Director of Undergraduate Studies
Prof. Walter C. Pitman III
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
(845) 365-8397
pitman@ldeo.columbia.edu

Prof. Nicholas Christie-Blick
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
(845) 365-8821
ncb@ldeo.columbia.edu

Departmental Administrator
Mia Leo
(845) 365-8633
mia@ldeo.columbia.edu

Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Carol Mountain
(212) 854-9705
(845) 365-8551
carolm@ldeo.columbia.edu

Departmental Offices
556-7 Schermerhorn
(212) 854-4525

106 Geoscience, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
(845) 365-8550

Departmental Web Site
http://eesc.columbia.edu/

The undergraduate major in Earth and Environmental Sciences provides an understanding of the natural functioning of our planet and considers the consequences of human interactions with it. The curriculum is designed to prepare students for one of three potential career tracks: a geoscience/earth science path and an environmental science path for students continuing on to graduate school in those areas; and a path, via the concentrations, to a broad range of business, policy, legal, medical, and administrative careers where an understanding of earth and human interactions and the application of the scientific method are pertinent. The course requirements differ for each of these intended career tracks, although all students are exposed to a strong science-centered curriculum.

The department’s close affiliations with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the American Museum of Natural History, the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC), the Earth Institute at Columbia (EI), and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), and several departments within the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences afford opportunities for student participation in a wide variety of current research programs. Summer employment, research, and additional educational opportunities are available at Lamont and GISS. The department encourages majors to become involved in a research project by their junior year.

The environmental science major curriculum provides an introduction to a variety of environmentally related fields. Environmental science majors are required to take three semesters of introductory courses and to obtain a grounding in basic physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. Here, students are allowed some choice depending on interest. With this introduction to the Earth’s environment and equipped with a knowledge of the basic sciences, students are prepared to choose a set of upper-level courses in consultation with an undergraduate adviser. All environmental science majors are required to complete a research project, providing a practical application of mastered course work. This research culminates in the writing of a senior thesis. The research and thesis are usually done at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory with guidance from a faculty member. However, other options are also possible.

The major in earth science follows a similar rationale and shares the same introductory courses with a focus on the solid earth and less emphasis on the ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere. Field experience, normally between the junior and senior year, is required, but with two options. One is a six- to eight-week summer course, for which arrangements are made through another university. Few programs have sufficient students to mount such a course on their own. A second option, involving a smaller commitment of time and offered through the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is paired with a research project and senior thesis comparable to that required for the major in environmental science.

Concentrations are designed to give students an understanding of “how the Earth works” and an introduction to the methods used to investigate earth processes, including their capabilities and limitations. Concentrators often join the social professions (e.g., business, law, medicine, etc.) and take with them a stronger scientific background than is normally required of Columbia undergraduates. They take the same introductory courses as the majors, but fewer basic science and upper-level courses are required.

All majors and concentrators, when planning their programs of study, should regularly consult the directors of undergraduate studies, who can be contacted through the department office on the fifth floor of Schermerhorn. The requirements listed below are special to this department and must be read in conjunction with the general requirements for the bachelor’s degree. Declaration of the major must be approved by the department and filed in the departmental office. You may also review the department’s undergraduate Web site.