Engage with and protect the natural world with an environmental science and sustainability degree. Through field work, research experiences, internships, and international travel, you'll become a leader in addressing today's most pressing environmental and sustainability issues.
Sustainability and environmental well-being are some of the most pressing matters facing society today. You'll think critically, engage creatively, and act empathetically towards the natural world and its inhabitants when you study environmental science.
You'll learn scientific foundations in small classes, working directly with professors dedicated to knowing you personally. Before long, you'll be studying exotic insects in a federally restricted lab and monitoring pollutant levels in local waterways.
You'll also engage in research projects that can take you all over the world, from the coffee farms of Costa Rica to the jungles of the Amazon Basin in Peru. You'll direct your own research projects and constantly be sharing your work in class and on the local, regional, and even national levels.
All these experiences will prepare you to be an engaged global citizen and innovator in the field of environmental science.
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Environmental Science Minor
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Environmental Studies Minor
The environmental studies minor is designed primarily for students in the arts and sciences who have an interest in environmental issues and policies. This minor provides students with the necessary interdisciplinary academic knowledge to understand complex environmental issues and the social, political, and cultural contexts that affect human interaction with the environment. Specifically, the curriculum is designed to provide students with an opportunity to apply knowledge from the scientific disciplines in conjunction with the principles of social science to help address some of our most pressing local, regional, and global environmental problems.
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Sustainability Science Minor
The sustainability science minor is designed for students in all majors who have an interest in sustainability. The minor provides students with the necessary academic training to apply scientific knowledge and principles to sustainability practices. This minor helps students become better prepared to address some of our pressing local, national, and international sustainability problems.
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Sustainability Management Minor
Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Students interested in managing or knowing more about the network of dependent relationships that exist between the environment, the economy, and the culture, and understanding that these interrelationships exist on the local, regional, national, and global levels may choose to minor in sustainability management.
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Students can obtain secondary certification in Earth and space science by completing the secondary education track. Students must also follow the instructions and requirements in the Center for Education section. Students may seek certification in more than one field; however, this usually requires more than eight semesters. Students who wish to become certified in more than one area should work closely with their faculty advisor when planning course schedules.
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You'll grow your global community while growing your scientific skills with an environmental science degree. Take part in a pre-orientation experience in Costa Rica to meet new people and become involved civically in a global experience before you even begin your freshman year.
Faculty-led short-term study abroad experiences in Costa Rica, Peru, and Honduras will expose you to the diversity of the natural world and enhance your cultural knowledge of human-environment interaction. Put your skills to work through practical research projects, like consulting with coffee farmers in Costa Rica.
From day one, you'll be encouraged to engage in cutting-edge research with your professors. You'll have the chance to present to the scientific community at local, regional, and national forums and conferences. Complete your education with an independent capstone project, culminating with the presentation of your senior thesis on Student Project Day.
Your professors cherish the opportunity to get to know you. With faculty members interested in atmospheric and water chemistry, environmental analysis and toxicology, meteorology, physiological ecology, geology, and tropical biology, you'll find a diverse set of mentors eager to help you achieve your personal and professional goals.
Our professors invest in your success through close mentoring and continual feedback. Get to know our environmental science faculty.
"Our program provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to be involved in research, service learning, and international projects (Costa Rica, Peru, China) outside of regular academic coursework that you get from other institutions."
I engage my students through courses and 1:1 independent projects in ecological research locally in Chester and internationally in Latin America, as well as through service learning projects in urban gardening with a local elementary school. At Widener you will grow in skills, confidence, and empowerment in your career path. Visit and find out more!
Now more than ever, students are needed in all sectors of society who can think critically and wholistically about the complex environmental problems facing our world. This program is purposely designed to train the next generation of professionals who will help solve these issues.
"Science programs at Widener are designed so that students learn how to make decisions and answer questions. An undergraduate degree is not about learning to follow directions, it is about learning to look for questions, finding answers, and learning how you know."
Professor Stephen R. Madigosky has been named the university’s fifth Cynthia H. Sarnoski Endowed Science Faculty Fellow to support his faculty-student research on how flightless animals move through the Amazon rainforest’s upper canopy.
Widener's innovative faculty stepped up to provide two virtual camp experiences for middle- and high school-age students around the world.
As Widener continues to navigate these unprecedented times, the university is building on the success of the spring semester and preparing for a productive fall by upgrading technology to accommodate students’ learning needs and supporting faculty as they find creative ways to engage students.
With a strong set of scientific skills plus a distinguished resume of local and global research experiences, you'll graduate an agent of change for the world, ready to take on any number of careers in environmental science.
Kirkbride Hall, Room 206