Environmental Studies


Faculty List

  • G.B. Arhonditsis, B.Sc., M.Sc. (Agricultural Univ. of Athens, Greece), Ph.D. (Univ. of the Aegean, Greece), Professor
  • S.C. Bunce, B.A. (Guelph), M.E.S. Pl. (York), Ph.D. (York), Associate Professor
  • R.R. Fulthorpe, B.Sc., M.SC. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Carlton), Professor Emerita
  • W.A. Gough, B.Sc. (Waterloo), M.Sc. (Toronto), Ph.D. (McGill), Professor
  • J. Hannigan, B.A., M.A. (Western Ontario), Ph.D. (Ohio State), Professor
  • M. Hoffmann, B.S. (Michigan Technological University), Ph.D. (George Washington University), Professor
  • M.E. Isaac, B.Sc., M.Sc. (Guelph), Ph.D. (Toronto),  Professor
  • T. Kepe, B.Agric. (Fort Hare), M.Sc. (Guelph), Ph.D. (Western Cape), Professor
  • N. Klenk, B.Sc., M.Sc. (McGill), Ph.D. (UBC), Associate Professor
  • N. Latulippe, B.A. (Hon) (Nipissing), M.A. (Guelph), Ph.D. (Toronto), Assistant Professor
  • K. MacDonald, B.A. (Wilfrid Laurier), M.A., Ph.D. (Waterloo), Professor
  • J.I. MacLellan, R.P.F. (New Brunswick), B.A., B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Toronto), Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
  • A. Martin, B.A.(Hon), M.F.C., Ph.D. (Toronto), Assistant Professor
  • C. Mitchell, B.Sc. (McMaster), M.Sc., Ph.D. (Toronto), Professor
  • T. Mohsin, B.Sc. (Dhaka), M.Sc. (Dhaka), M.E.S. (Newcastle), Ph.D. (Toronto), Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
  • R. Narayanareddy, MESc. (Yale University), Ph.D. (Minnesota), Associate Professor
  • L. Tozer, B.Sc., (Guelph), M.A, Ph.D. (Toronto), Assistant Professor

For an updated list of Program Supervisors, please see the Environmental Studies website.

There is significant public and student interest in environmental issues. This Major Program in Environmental Studies (B.A.) gives students an opportunity to develop an understanding of environmental issues from the perspectives of the physical, life and social sciences. It serves as 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.

The program is designed as a contemporary rendering of the study of environmental problems and the knowledge/tools needed to solve them. One of its key features is the classification of the courses offered into Foundation & Skills and Capstone & Applications. The former group will build a foundation of socioeconomics and environmental science, while the latter group will integrate insights from different disciplines and nurture an interdisciplinary way of thinking. These courses also include many opportunities for experiential learning through problem-solving case studies, team-based projects and individual research. Special emphasis is placed on the capacity of the program to successfully build the requisite interdisciplinary, problem-solving skill sets needed when tackling environmental management issues. The program effectively balances the need for a strong foundation in basic principles characterizing a typical program in Environmental Studies and the importance of building bridges among the various disciplines involved.

Program Combination Restrictions in Environmental Studies

The Major in Environmental Studies and Minor in Natural Sciences and Environmental Management cannot be combined.

Experiential Learning and Outreach

​For a community-based experiential learning opportunity in your academic field of interest, consider the courses ESTC34H3 /(ESTD17H3), which can be found in the Teaching and Learning section of the Calendar.

environmental studies Programs

MAJOR PROGRAM IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (ARTS)

For an updated list of Program Supervisors, please visit the Environmental Studies website.

Companion majors include: Anthropology, Human Geography, Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology, Biology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Environmental Science, Physics and Astrophysics, and Physical Sciences. Other majors are possible with the permission of the Supervisor of Study.

Program Requirements
Completion of 8.5 credits as follows:

1. Core Courses (2.5 credits)
EESA01H3 Introduction to Environmental Science
[MGEA01H3 Introduction to Microeconomics or MGEA05H3 Introduction to Macroeconomics]
ESTB01H3 Introduction to Environmental Studies
and
0.5 credit chosen from the following:
ANTB01H3 Political Ecology
ESTB02H3/​GGRB18H3 Canada, Indigenous Peoples, and the Land
GGRA03H3 Cities and Environments
POLA01H3 Critical Issues in Politics I
POLA02H3 Critical Issues in Politics II
POLB80H3 Introduction to International Relations I
and
0.5 credit chosen from the following:
EESA06H3 Introduction to Planet Earth
EESA07H3 Water
EESA09H3 Wind
EESA10H3 Human Health and the Environment
EESA11H3 Environmental Pollution
EESB18H3 Natural Hazards

2. Foundations and Skills (4.0 credits)
[ESTC35H3 Environmental Science and Technology in Society or ESTC36H3 Knowledge, Ethics and Environmental Decision-Making]
ESTC34H3 Sustainability in Practice
ESTC36H3 Knowledge, Ethics and Environmental Decision-Making
IDSB02H3 Development and Environment
STAB22H3 Statistics I (or equivalent)
and
2.0 credits from the following:
EESB03H3 Principles of Climatology
EESB04H3 Principles of Hydrology
EESB05H3 Principles of Soil Science
EESB17H3 Hydro Politics and Transboundary Water Resources Management
EESC13H3 Environmental Impact Assessment and Auditing
EESD13H3 Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics
ESTB04H3 Addressing the Climate Change
ESTC40H3 Technical Methods for Climate Change Mitigation
ESTD20H3 Integrated Natural Resource and Climate Change Governance
GGRA30H3 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Empirical Reasoning
GGRB21H3 Political Ecology: Nature, Society and Environmental Change
(GGRC22H3) Political Ecology Theory and Applications
GGRC26H3 Geographies of Environmental Governance
GGRC28H3 Indigenous Peoples, Environment and Justice
GGRC44H3 Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development
POLC53H3 Canadian Environmental Policy
POLD89H3 Global Environmental Politics
SOCC37H3 Environment and Society

3. Capstone and Applications (2.0 credits)
[ESTD16H3 Project Management in Environmental Studies or ESTD19H3 Risk]
ESTD17Y3 Cohort Capstone Course in Environmental Studies
ESTD18H3 Environmental Studies Seminar Series

CERTIFICATE IN SUSTAINABILITY (UofT Sustainability Scholar)

The sustainable utilization of our natural, social, economic and cultural resources is one of the most important cross-cutting themes within academia today. The Certificate in Sustainability builds on UTSC's longstanding academic strengths to provide an opportunity for a broad range of students to incorporate sustainability into their undergraduate studies.

Certificate Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 2.0 credits as follows:

1.ESTB03H3 Land
2. At least 0.5 credit at the A- or B-level, from the list of electives in Table 1 below
3. At least 1.0 credit at the C- or D-level from the list of electives in Table 1 below

Note: Courses for which students have selected the CR/NCR option, cannot be used towards the completion of this Certificate; however, courses that are graded as CR/NCR courses for all students, can be used towards the completion of this Certificate.

A-level

EESA07H3, EESA11H3,GGRA03H3
B-level ANTB01H3,ANTB64H3, BIOB38H3, EESB17H3, ESTB01H3, GASB05H3/​>MDSB05H3, GGRB21H3, HISB14H3, IDSB02H3, WSTB20H3
C-level CITC14H3, ENGC59H3, ESTC34H3/​EESC34H3, ESTC35H3, ESTC36H3, GGRC21H3, GGRC26H3, GGRC44H3, HISC29H3, IDSC02H3, POLC53H3, SOCC37H3
D-level

AFSD07H3/​IDSD07H3, BIOD30H3, EESD09H3, ESTD19H3, POLD89H3

Environmental Studies Courses

ESTB01H3 - Introduction to Environmental Studies

This course introduces the Environmental Studies major and the interdisciplinary study of the environment through a team-teaching format. Students will explore both physical and social science perspectives on the environment, sustainability, environmental problems and their solutions. Emphasis will be on critical thinking, problem solving, and experiential learning.

Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

ESTB02H3 - Whose Land? Indigenous-Canada-Land Relations

Introduces students to the geography of Indigenous-Crown-Land relations in Canada. Beginning with pre-European contact and the historic Nation-to-Nation relationship, the course will survey major research inquiries from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Students will learn how ongoing land and treaty violations impact Indigenous peoples, settler society, and the land in Canada.

Same as GGRB18H3

Prerequisite: 4.0 credits, including at least 0.5 credit in ANT, CIT, EST, GGR, HLT, IDS, POL or SOC
Exclusion: GGRB18H3
Enrolment Limits: 80

ESTB03H3 - Land

In this course students will learn about sustainability thinking, its key concepts, historical development and applications to current environmental challenges. More specifically, students will gain a better understanding of the complexity of values, knowledge, and problem framings that sustainability practice engages with through a focused interdisciplinary study of land.

Enrolment Limits: 50
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

ESTB04H3 - Addressing the Climate Crisis

Addressing the climate crisis is a profound challenge for society. This course explores climate change and what people are doing about it. This course emphasizes the human dimensions of the climate crisis. It introduces students to potential solutions, ethical and justice considerations, climate change policies and politics, and barriers standing in the way of effective action. With an emphasis on potential solutions, students will learn how society can eliminate greenhouse gas emissions through potential climate change mitigation actions and about adaptation actions that can help reduce the impacts of climate change on humans. This course is intended for students from all backgrounds interested in understanding the human dimensions of the climate crisis and developing their ability to explain potential solutions.

Prerequisite: Any 4.0 credits
Exclusion: GGR314H1
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

ESTB05H3 - Climate Science for Everyone

This course provides a conceptual and qualitative overview of climate science and a discussion of climate science misinformation. The course is intended to be accessible to arts and humanities students seeking to better understand and gain fluency in the physical science basis of climate change. Major topics will include the Earth’s climate system, reconstruction of past climates, factors that impact the Earth’s climate, climate measurements and models, and future climate change scenarios. 

Prerequisite: Any 4.0 credits
Exclusion: GGR314H1, GGR377H5
Enrolment Limits: Priority enrollment for students in the Environmental Studies Major Program in Climate Change (Arts)
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

ESTC34H3 - Sustainability in Practice

This course is intended for students who would like to apply theoretical principles of environmental sustainability learned in other courses to real world problems. Students will identify a problem of interest related either to campus sustainability, a local NGO, or municipal, provincial, or federal government. Class meetings will consist of group discussions investigating key issues, potential solutions, and logistical matters to be considered for the implementation of proposed solutions. Students who choose campus issues will also have the potential to actually implement their solutions. Grades will be based on participation in class discussions, as well as a final report and presentation.

Same as EESC34H3

Prerequisite: Any 9.5 credits
Exclusion: EESC34H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

ESTC35H3 - Environmental Science and Technology in Society

In this course students will engage critically, practically and creatively with environmental controversies and urgent environmental issues from the standpoint of the sociology of science and technology (STS). This course will contribute to a better understanding of the social and political construction of environmental science and technology.

Prerequisite: ESTB01H3
Enrolment Limits: 60
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences
Note: Priority will be given to students enrolled in the Environmental Studies Program. Additional students will be admitted as space permits.

ESTC36H3 - Knowledge, Ethics and Environmental Decision-Making

Most environmental issues have many sides including scientific, social, cultural, ethical, political, and economic. Current national, regional and local problems will be discussed in class to help students critically analyze the roots of the problems and possible approaches to decision-making in a context of pluralism and complexity.

Prerequisite: ESTB01H3
Enrolment Limits: 60
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences
Note: Priority will be given to students enrolled in the Environmental Studies Program. Additional students will be admitted as space permits.

ESTC37H3 - Energy and Sustainability

This course will address energy systems and policy, focusing on opportunities and constraints for sustainable energy transitions. The course introduces energy systems, including how energy is used in society, decarbonization pathways for energy, and the social and political challenges of transitioning to zero carbon and resilient energy systems. Drawing on real-world case studies, students will learn about energy sources, end uses, technologies, institutions, politics, policy tools and the social and ecological impacts of energy. Students will learn integrated and interdisciplinary approaches to energy systems analysis and gain skills in imagining and planning sustainable energy futures.

Prerequisite: 10.0 credits including ESTB04H3
Exclusion: ENV350H1
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

ESTC38H3 - The Anthropocene

“The Anthropocene” is a term that now frames wide-ranging scientific and cultural debates and research, surrounding how humans have fundamentally altered Earth’s biotic and abiotic environment. This course explores the scientific basis of the Anthropocene, with a focus on how anthropogenic alterations to Earth’s atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, have shifted Earth into a novel geological epoch. Students in this course will also discuss and debate how accepting the Anthropocene hypothesis, entails a fundamental shift in how humans view and manage the natural world.
Same as EESC38H3

Prerequisite: ESTB01H3 and [1.0 credit from the following: EESB03H3, EESB04H3 and EESB05H3]
Exclusion: EESC38H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

ESTC40H3 - Technical Methods for Climate Change Mitigation

Addressing the climate crisis requires designing and implementing effective climate change mitigation targets, strategies, policies and actions to eliminate human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. In this course, students will learn the various technical methods required in climate change mitigation. Students will explore the opportunities, barriers, and tools that exist to implement effective climate change mitigation in the energy, industry, waste, and agriculture, forestry and land-use sectors. The emphasis of the course is on the technical methods that climate change mitigation experts require.

Prerequisite: 10.0 credits including ESTB04H3
Enrolment Limits: 60
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

ESTD16H3 - Project Management in Environmental Studies

Students will select a research problem in an area of special interest. Supervision will be provided by a faculty member with active research in geography, ecology, natural resource management, environmental biology, or geosciences as represented within the departments. Project implementation, project monitoring and evaluation will form the core elements for this course.
Same as EESD16H3

Prerequisite: At least 14.5 credits
Exclusion: EESD16H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

ESTD17Y3 - Cohort Capstone Course in Environmental Studies

This course is designed to provide a strong interdisciplinary focus on specific environmental problems including the socioeconomic context in which environmental issues are resolved. The cohort capstone course is in 2 consecutive semesters, providing final year students the opportunity to work in a team, as environmental researchers and consultants, combining knowledge and skill-sets acquired in earlier courses. Group research to local environmental problems and exposure to critical environmental policy issues will be the focal point of the course. Students will attend preliminary meetings schedules in the Fall semester.
Same as EESD17Y3

Prerequisite: At least 14.5 credits
Exclusion: EESD17Y3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

ESTD18H3 - Environmental Studies Seminar Series

This course will be organized around the DPES seminar series, presenting guest lecturers around interdisciplinary environmental themes. Students will analyze major environmental themes and prepare presentations for in-class debate.
Same as EESD18H3

Prerequisite: At least 14.5 credits
Exclusion: EESD18H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

ESTD19H3 - Risk

A practical introduction to the concept of 'risk' as utilized in environmental decision-making. Students are introduced to risk analysis and assessment procedures as applied in business, government, and civil society. Three modules take students from relatively simple determinations of risk (e.g., infrastructure flooding) towards more complex, real-world, inclusive considerations (e.g., ecosystem impacts of climate change).

Prerequisite: 14.5 credits and STAB22H3 (or equivalent)
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

ESTD20H3 - Integrated Natural Resource and Climate Change Governance

Climate change affects all sectors of society, natural ecosystems, and future generations. Addressing climate change, either in terms of mitigation or adaptation, is complex due to its pervasive scope, the heterogeneity of its impacts and the uneven distribution of responsibilities, resources and capacities to respond to it between different levels of government, stakeholder groups, and rightholder groups. This course focuses on nexus approaches in climate policy development and assessment across different public policy domains. In this course, students will learn about how different levels of government frame climate change and climate policy objectives, how they interact with stakeholders (e.g., economic interests and environmental groups) and rightholders (Indigenous people), and how to approach complexity in climate governance.

Prerequisite: 14.0 credits including ESTB04H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

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