Earth, Society, & Environmental Sustainability, BSLAS
for the degree of Bachelor Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Earth, Society, & Environmental Sustainability
The Earth, Society, & Environmental Sustainability, BSLAS is not currently accepting applications. Suspension of admissions effective Spring 2027. This program has been replaced by the Environmental Sustainability, BSLAS
Students select one concentration in consultation with an academic advisor:
On-campus Illinois students can transfer to this degree without any special requirements.
Off-campus students who plan to transfer to this degree should have completed, or have in progress, the following:
- the Composition 1 requirement.
- the third level of high school foreign language or second level of college foreign language.
It is highly recommended that off-campus students complete the following requirements before transferring to the online degree - students who have not completed the following requirements may have to take additional coursework (either at Illinois or elsewhere) and should consult the program advisor:
- the Illinois LAS language requirement should be satisfied.
- the General Education Distribution Requirements of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences should be completed.
- the Cognate Coursework should be completed.
for the degree of Bachelor Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Earth, Society, & Environmental Sustainability
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours required for graduation: 120 hours.
Minimum required major and supporting course work: Normally equates to 46-56 hours. Twelve hours of 300- and 400-level courses in the major must be taken from this campus. Substitutions may be made with advisor approval.
University Requirements
The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.
General Education Requirements
Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in the program.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Composition I | 4-6 | |
| Advanced Composition | 3 | |
| Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | 6-10 | |
| Language Requirement (Completion of the fourth semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required) | 0-20 | |
Orientation and Professional Development
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LAS 101 | Design Your First Year Experience | 1 |
OR | ||
| LAS 100 & LAS 101 | Success in LAS for International Students and Design Your First Year Experience | 3 |
OR | ||
| LAS 102 | Transfer Advantage | 1 |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ESE Coursework | 10 | |
| ESE 200 | Earth Systems | 3 |
| ENSU 300 | Environmental Sustainability | 3 |
| ESE 379 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| Advanced Courses | 18-24 | |
A minimum of six 300- and 400-level courses (from the lists below), totaling at least 18 credit hours, and in an academically coherent program approved by the advisor, are required. At least three of these six advanced courses must be listed or cross-listed as an ESE or ENSU course. | ||
Capstone and Experiential | ||
| ESE 389 | Environment and Sustainability Field Expedition | 3 |
| ESE 401 | ESE Capstone | 3 |
| ESE 497 | Special Topics in ESE | 1 to 4 |
Earth's Biosphere & Ecology | ||
| ESE 439 | Biogeography | 3 |
| HORT 430 | Children and Nature | 2 |
| IB 362 | Marine Biology | 3 |
| IB 411 | Bioinspiration | 3 |
| IB 440 | Plants and Global Change | 3 |
| IB 444 | Insect Ecology | 3 |
| IB 451 | Conservation Biology | 4 |
| IB 452 | Ecosystem Ecology | 3 |
| IB 453 | Community Ecology | 3 |
| IB 461 | Ornithology | 4 |
| NRES 348 | Fish and Wildlife Ecology | 3 |
| NRES 419 | Env and Plant Ecosystems | 3 |
| NRES 420 | Restoration Ecology | 4 |
Earth's Physical Systems, Resources, & Hazards | ||
| ABE 436 | Renewable Energy Systems | 3 |
| ATMS 420 | Atmospheric Chemistry | 4 |
| CEE 330 | Environmental Engineering | 3 |
| CHEM 360 | Chemistry of the Environment | 3 |
| ENSU 302 | Air Pollution to Global Change | 3 |
| ESE 320 | Water Planet, Water Crisis | 3 |
| ESE 333 | Earth Materials and the Env | 4 |
| ESE 411 | Geomorphology | 4 |
| ESE 445 | Earth Resources Sustainability | 3 |
| ESE 470 | Introduction to Hydrogeology | 4 |
| ESE 486 | Environmental Consulting | 3 |
| GEOL 380 | Environmental Geology | 4 |
| GEOL 450 | Investigating the Earth’s Interior | 3 |
| GEOL 451 | Environmental Geophysics | 4 |
| GEOL 460 | Geochemistry | 3 |
| GGIS 401 | Watershed Hydrology | 3 |
| GGIS 406 | Fluvial Geomorphology | 4 |
| GGIS 408 | Humans and River Systems | 4 |
| MSE 489 | Matl Select for Sustainability | 3 |
| NRES 351 | Introduction to Environmental Chemistry | 3 |
Environment & the Human Response | ||
| AGCM 330 | Environmental Communications | 3 |
| HK 408 | Environmental Health | 3 |
| ENGL 476 | Topics in Literature and the Environment | 3 |
| ENSU 301 | Soc Impacts Weather & Climate | 3 |
| ESE 311 | Environmental Issues Today | 3 |
| ESE 360 | Environmental Writing | 3 |
| ESE 467 | Multimedia Environmental Communications | 3 |
| ESE 477 | Advanced Environmental Writing | 3 |
| ESE 498 | Environmental Writing for Publication | 3 |
| GGIS 350 | Sustainability and the City | 3 |
| GGIS 384 | Population Geography | 3 |
| GGIS 495 | Advanced Topics in Geography | 3 or 4 |
| GGIS 496 | Climate & Social Vulnerability | 3 |
| LA 430 | Children and Nature | 2 |
| LA 450 | Ecology for Land Restoration | 4 |
| NRES 340 | Environ Social Sci Res Meth | 3 |
| NRES 472 | Environmental Psychology | 4 |
| SOC 447 | Environmental Sociology | 3 |
Sustainability, Policy, and Global Change | ||
| ACE 310 | Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| ACE 406 | Environmental Law | 3 |
| ACE 411 | Environment and Development | 3 |
| ATMS 307 | Climate Processes | 3 |
| ATMS 447 | Climate Change Assessment | 3 |
| ATMS 449 | Biogeochemical Cycles | 4 |
| CPSC 336 | Tomorrow's Environment | 3 |
| CPSC 415 | Bioenergy Crops | 3 |
| CPSC 431 | Plants and Global Change | 3 |
| ENSU 303 | Sustainable Business I | 4 |
| ENSU 310 | Renewable & Alternative Energy | 4 |
| ENSU 410 | Sustainable Organizations | 4 |
| ESE 410 | Green Development | 4 |
| ESE 465 | Transportation &Sustainability | 3 |
| ESE 466 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
| ESE 482 | Challenges of Sustainability | 3 |
| ETMA 311 | Humanity in the Food Web | 3 |
| NPRE 480 | Energy and Security | 3 |
| NRES 325 | Natural Resource Policy Mgmt | 3 |
| NRES 439 | Env and Sustainable Dev | 3 |
| UP 446 | Sustainable Planning Seminar | 4 |
| UP 456 | Sustainable Planning Workshop | 4 |
| UP 480 | Sustainable Design Principles | 2 |
Visualizing the Earth System | ||
| ATMS 305 | Computing and Data Analysis | 3 |
| ESE 380 | Geographic Information Systems II | 4 |
| ESE 421 | Earth Systems Modeling | 4 |
| GGIS 371 | Spatial Analysis | 4 |
| GGIS 407 | CyberGIS & Geospatial Data Science | 4 |
| GGIS 412 | Geospatial Technologies & Society | 3 |
| GGIS 460 | Aerial Photo Analysis | 3 |
| GGIS 476 | Environmental Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GGIS 477 | Introduction to Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GGIS 479 | Advanced Topics in GIS | 4 |
| NRES 427 | Modeling Natural Resources | 4 |
| NRES 454 | GIS in Natural Resource Mgmt | 4 |
| Required Concentration. Choose one below: | ||
| Science of the Earth System | ||
| Society and the Environment | ||
for the degree of Bachelor Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Earth, Society, & Environmental Sustainability
Sample Sequence
This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.
Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a fourth level of a language other than English. This may require up to four semesters of language depending on high school coursework or placement. See the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements page.
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| LAS 101 | 1 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| ESE 200 | 3 |
| Language Other Than English (3rd level) | 4 |
| Composition I or General Education course | 4 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 | |
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course or Composition I | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Language Other Than English (4th level) | 4 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| 16 | |
| Total Hours 16 | |
| Second Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| Concentration Coursework | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Concentration Coursework | 3 |
| Concentration Coursework | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 | |
| Second Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| Concentration Coursework | 3 |
| ENSU 300 | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 | |
| Third Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| ESE 379 | 4 |
| Concentration Coursework | 3 |
| Advanced ESE or ENSU course | 4 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| 14 | |
| Total Hours 14 | |
| Third Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| Advanced ESE or ENSU course | 3 |
| Concentration Coursework | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 | |
| Fourth Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| Advanced ESE or ENSU course | 3 |
| Advanced course from list | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 | |
| Fourth Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| Advanced course from list | 3 |
| Advanced course from list | 3 |
| Concentration Coursework | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 | |
Total Hours: 120
for the degree of Bachelor Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Earth, Society, & Environmental Sustainability
- Be able to recognize, critique and implement commonly accepted Sustainability models and ideas in a wide variety of settings, using systems thinking to link social and natural science concepts.
- Have a fundamental understanding of the underlying natural science (SES concentration) or social science (SAE concentration) concepts; being able to recognize and apply appropriate scientific methods (SES concentration) and social science methods (SAE concentration).
- Use quantitative methods to describe, understand and evaluate theoretical and applied issues in environmental and sustainability study; this includes direct calculation, working with data, and using quantitative models.
- Be able to critically evaluate and then communicate environmental and sustainability concepts to both specialized and wide audiences.
- Prepare students for professional work in environmental and sustainability practice, such as laboratory and field techniques, apprehending and implementing Geographic Information Sciences (including the use of appropriate software), and quantitative and qualitative methods.
for the degree of Bachelor Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Earth, Society, & Environmental Sustainability
School of Earth, Society & Environment
Earth, Society & Environment faculty
Earth, Society & Environment advising
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Overview of College Admissions & Requirements: Liberal Arts & Sciences