[The Major in Climate Change Studies is a new program that is pending final approval in 2025. No offer of admissions will be made to the program pending final approval by the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance.]
Climate change is a profound challenge for society. The Major in Climate Change Studies prepares students to understand and address the social, economic, political, and ecological aspects of climate change by providing them with a strong foundation in the human dimensions of climate change (e.g., policy responses, social justice concerns, and cultural change), as well as an introduction to the physical science basis of climate change (e.g., global ecological systems and the science of climate change).
Students complete courses in interdisciplinary environmental studies and environmental sciences, as well as courses in politics and social sciences. Through the selection of elective courses, students will have the opportunity to focus on aspects of the climate change challenge in accordance with their interests and career goals, including scientific, political, social and cultural aspects (e.g., politics, Indigenous studies, policy, law, development studies etc.), and/or physical science aspects of climate change (e.g., climatology, climate change impact assessment etc.). These courses also include many opportunities for experiential learning through problem-solving case studies, team-based projects, and individual research. The Major in Climate Change Studies is an excellent companion to Majors such as Anthropology, Human Geography, Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Biology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Physics and Astrophysics, and Physical Sciences.
Program Restrictions
The Major in Climate Change Studies cannot be combined with the Major in Environmental Studies.
Program Requirements
Students must complete 8.5 credits as follows:
Foundations (2.5 credits):
EESA01H3 Introduction to Environmental Science
EESA06H3 Introduction to Planet Earth
ESTB01H3 Introduction to Environmental Studies
and 0.5 credit from:
ANTB01H3 Political Ecology*
GGRA03H3 Cities and Environments
POLA01H3 Critical Issues in Politics I
POLA02H3 Critical Issues in Politics II
POLB80H3 Introduction to International Relations I
POLB90H3 Comparative Development in International Perspective
POLB91H3 Introduction to Comparative Politics
and 0.5 credit from:
ANTA02H3 Introduction to Anthropology: Society, Culture and Language
FSTA01H3 Foods That Changed the World
FSTA02H3 Food Futures: Confronting Crises, Improving Lives
IDSA01H3 Introduction to International Development Studies
MGEA01H3 Introduction to Microeconomics
MGEA05H3 Introduction to Macroeconomics
WSTA01H3 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
Core Courses (1.5 credits):
ESTB04H3 Addressing the Climate Crisis
ESTB05H3 Climate Science for Everyone
and 0.5 credit from:
EESB03H3 Principles of Climatology*
EESB04H3 Principles of Hydrology
EESB18H3 Natural Hazards
ESTB02H3/ GGRB18H3 Whose Land? Indigenous-Canada-Land Relations
ESTB03H3 Back to the Land: Restoring Embodied and Affective Ways of Knowing
GGRB21H3 Political Ecology: Nature, Society and Environmental Change
IDSB02H3 Development and Environment
STAB22H3 Statistics I (or equivalent)
Applications and Skills (4.5 credits):
ESTC35H3 Environmental Science and Technology in Society
ESTC36H3 Knowledge, Ethics and Environmental Decision-Making
ESTC37H3 Energy and Sustainability
EESD17Y3/ ESTD17Y3 Cohort Capstone Course in Environmental Studies
ESTD19H3 Risk
and 1.0 credit from:
ESTC40H3 Technical Methods for Climate Change Mitigation
EESD16H3/ ESTD16H3 Project Management in Environmental Studies
ESTD20H3 Integrated Natural Resource and Climate Change Governance
EESC34H3/ ESTC34H3 Sustainability in Practice
and 0.5 credit from:
ANTB36H3 Anthropology of the End of the World
EESC38H3/ ESTC38H3 The Anthropocene*
GGRC24H3 Socio-Natures and the Cultural Politics of 'The Environment'
GGRC26H3 Geographies of Environmental Governance
GGRC28H3 Indigenous Peoples, Environment and Justice
GGRC44H3 Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development
POLC53H3 Canadian Environmental Policy
SOCC37H3 Environment and Society*
EESD06H3 Climate Change Impact Assessment*
EESD13H3 Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics
POLD89H3 Global Environmental Politics
PSCD11H3 Communicating Science: Film, Media, Journalism, and Society
EESD09H3/ EESD10Y3 Research Project in Environmental Science
ENGC59H3 Literature and the Environment
*This course requires prerequisites that are not part of this program. Check all prerequisites carefully.
