About Our Environmental Sustainability Major

What makes EMU’s environmental sustainability major so unique? Plenty!

Our program provides a combination of breadth and depth. All students learn the interdisciplinary nature of environmental research and issues by taking courses in a variety of disciplines. At the same time, students get a more in-depth education in one area by choosing a science or a social sustainability track within the environmental sustainability major.

Key Distinctives of Our Program

An interdisciplinary approach to understanding contemporary issues such as local hydrofracking, wilderness preservation. We study modern concerns like global warming from both scientific and social perspectives.

Job-related experience in a wide variety of organizations through a required practicum, or internship. Practical experiences in private businesses, farms, and government agencies are an important step in developing a career in environmental sustainability.

Research opportunities on student-faculty collaborative projects, such as a grant-funded steam restoration project in a local mountain community.

EMU intercultural study abroad trips that focus on sustainability issues, like recent trips to New Zealand, Bolivia and the Galapagos, and Kenya.

Internship Examples

Washington D.C. internships through EMU Washington Semester:

USDA
Anacostia Watershed Society
Faith and Politics Institute
Action Africa
Amnesty International
Multi-Door Dispute Resolution
Research Experience for Undergraduates

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Local internships in Harrisonburg, Virginia:

Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District 
Secure Futures
Fairfield Center
Habitat for Humanity
Shenandoah National Park

Learn More About the Concentrations

Environmental Science Concentration Environmental and Social Sustainability Concentration