ENST 1150 Environmental Issues

This course examines the science behind current environmental issues, with emphasis on Ecology and Conservation. Students will gain an understanding about the consequences of the way that humans currently interact with the natural environment and potential solutions that would allow long-term sustainability of the Earth. Topics will include: Human population growth, ecosystem structure and diversity, types and origin of pollution, global climate change, energy resources and use, challenges to feeding the world, and the interaction between the environment and human health.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 1212 A Sense of Place: Discovering the Environment of St. Louis

Go exploring in and around St Louis. You'll learn about the St. Louis backyard, and your home for the next four years. Through field trips, readings, and discussion, you'll see first-hand what challenges face the environment and the people who live here. You will learn how to examine multiple perspectives, how to think critically and how to approach problems from an interdisciplinary and holistic approach. You'll also learn why it is important to know a community at the local level if you're going to affect change on any level-state, national, or international. In addition to weekly readings and discussion, this class includes several field trips.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 1995 Environmental Studies Coursework Completed Abroad

This course is for study abroad credit.

Credit 12 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 1996 Environmental Studies Elective: 100-Level

This course is for elective credit.

Credit 3 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 2033 A Sense of Place: Discovering Missouri's Natural Heritage

This is the first course in the Pathfinder program, and it will introduce students to their new home for the next four years. This interdisciplinary course will cover Missouri geology, climate, archaeology, and native megafauna. We will explore many of the habitats found in Missouri (prairie, forest, glade, and stream) and the biology of our diverse plant and animal wildlife (arthropods, mollusks, fish, salamanders, lizards, birds, and mammals). This will provide a foundation that will inform the study of ecology, policy and management in other courses. In addition to weekly lectures and discussions, students in this course will visit sites across the state during three weekend camping trips and two one-day trips. Attendance on field trips is an essential component of the course. Course enrollment is open only to students admitted into the Pathfinder Fellowship program.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 2220 One Health: Linking the Health of Humans, Animals, and the Environment

This course provides an introduction to One Health, a collaborative effort of multiple disciplines -- working locally, nationally, and globally -- to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. The student will learn about the challenges threatening environmental, animal, and human health. More importantly, they will learn about the transdisciplinary/holistic/One Health approach, which is necessary if we are to develop the solutions to these challenges. To address the loss of biodiversity, climate change, and environmental pollutants, students will participate in project-based learning modules to understand the how and why of these challenges as well as the mechanisms available to study current threats to conservation and public health. Class lessons will consist of lectures, clicker-based discussions, and case-study discussions. Assignments will include regular readings, quizzes, three exams, the creation of one infographic to convey a concept to a lay audience, and one short final reflection essay. This course will be limited to first- and second-year students.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 2310 FYS: Introduction to Environmental Humanities

In this environmental humanities course we will explore the human and ecosystem impacts resulting from Euro- American colonization and agricultural settlement of the U.S. Our reflection will include the social, political and economic factors which shape individual relationships with and experiences of nature in Indigenous, enslaved and newly-arrived immigrant communities. Topics will include: the fragmentation of the Sioux American Indian ecosystem and subsequently the dispersion of Sioux people into settled, disparate reservation lands; agrarian democracy, including plantation agriculture, improvement farming and Homestead farming on the Great Plains; and the Dust Bowl. This course is for first-year students and sophomore students only.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 2411 Sophomore Seminar: Slow Violence: An Introduction to Political Ecology

Same as History L22: 2410

Credit 3 units.

ENST 2500 Sophomore Seminar in Sustainability and the Environment

This course will provide an opportunity for students to evaluate and explore potential paths in environmental studies, and learn presentation skills to carry forward in their careers. Students will also get the opportunity to get out of the classroom and participate in environmental field trips and activities.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 2510 Systems Thinking

Our complex world is bound together by multiple overlapping systems. Social systems interact with physical and biological systems. Societies and individuals, ecosystems and species, interact in ways that influence each other. Systems thinking is the ability to see the relationships and patterns within and across systems, as well as the underlying structures which shape those relationships and patterns. This course provides an introduction into systems thinking for sustainability. We will explore the key features of systems and students will learn the basics of the systems thinking lens which they will be able to use for addressing sustainability in an ever-changing world. Class time will be devoted to lectures, case studies, group activities and discussions.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 2520 Sustainability in Business

In today's complex business environment, organizations are constantly challenged to develop innovative policies and processes that ensure profitability. Some leaders believe that the sole purpose of business is to maximize shareholder wealth and that fiscal sustainability is not compatible with environmental responsibility. In reality, ecological and economic performance need not--and should not--be mutually exclusive. Fortunately, the outmoded mindset of profit-at-any-cost is beginning to shift as organizations recognize the importance of adopting balanced business practices that promote social equity and environmental prosperity without sacrificing financial stability. Organizations that embed sustainability into their corporate strategies increase operational efficiency by using resources more responsibly and minimizing waste. In an increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace, sustainability has become a source of competitive advantage through which an organization can have a positive impact not only on the financial bottom line but also on the environment and society. In this course, we explore key concepts and issues driving sustainability in business. We also examine core sustainability principles, frameworks, and tools that companies can use to better understand and work within the natural systems that enable their existence and sustain their operations.

Credit 3 units. Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 2530 Metropolitan Environment

Understanding the forces shaping urban growth and change is increasingly important for addressing environmental issues. The United Nations projects up to 3/4ths of the world's population will live in urban areas by the end of the century. Urbanization rates now outpace population growth rates in many parts of the world. Changes within the metropolitan environment will have profound impacts on people and planet. This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of the metropolitan growth and change, paying particular attention to the role of planning, politics, and policy. Class time will be devoted to lectures, case studies, group activities and discussion. Student learning will be assessed through exams, online assignments, and a research paper on an environmental issues in a city of student's choice. This course is targeted toward first and second year students looking for foundational understand of urban environmentalism.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC EN: S

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 2620 Conservation Biology

This course is introductory level and intended for Environmental Analysis majors as well as potential science majors who may be investigating their interests. The purpose of this class is to provide a foundation for future coursework in Ecology and Conservation as well as to create citizen stewards for our natural environment as they proceed through life. By better understanding our natural biological world and the importance of the issues facing it, you will become active participants in environmental protection and awareness as citizens, voters, volunteers, and even in potential professional applications. It is clear that conservation and true environmental sustainability lies in an educated and aware public.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 2900 Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

In this course, an advanced undergraduate can assist a faculty member in the teaching of an introductory-level ENST course.

Credit 3 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 2990 Impact Internship Course Credit

The Environmental Studies Program Impact Internships embed students within St. Louis organizations, engaging with the environmental issues that impact people’s lives every day. This course credit option is reserved for students who have been accepted into the Impact Internship Program and who meet at least one of the following two requirements: students who are international students or students with high financial need. Registration for this course is approved by instructor permission only after students have met with the instructor to discuss the above requirements. Students who enroll in this course credit option will participate, along with students in the Impact Intern cohort, in all activities associated with the Impact Internship learning agreement. To become an Impact Intern, students must apply to available internships with Environmental Studies’ existing partner, found here: https://sustainability.wustl.edu/internships/environmental-studies/.

Credit 6 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 2995 Environmental Studies Coursework Completed Abroad

This course is for 2000 level study abroad credits.

Credit 12 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 2996 Environmental Studies Elective

This course is for 2000 level transfer credit.

Credit 0 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 3034 Pathfinder: Environmental Modernism

As committed environmentalists, one of our greatest fears is that not enough people take climate change seriously. To ward off that fear, we assess the state of the world in the most dramatically pessimistic ways to indicate the seriousness of our situation and our personal commitment to environmentalism. Highlighting (much less admiring) human progress in areas where solid evidence of its flourishing exists, seems blasphemous, dismissive of evident, copious human suffering and natural systems abuse. However, the absence of acknowledging human progress reinforces social fear and a sense of danger. The resulting panic leads to a preferencing of solutions which appear in harmony with nature, limiting our understanding and trust of viable alternative solutions using our best social, economic and technological powers. As antidote to this cycle, in this course we will explore the precepts of environmental modernism, the reconciliation of environmental preservation with human development.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 3060 Community Based Conservation: Madagascar Sustainability Initiative

This course in community-based conservation through the lens of Madagascar represents a partnership between Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) and Washington University in Saint Louis. The course is designed to support MBG's Community Based Conservation Program sites, while building student understanding of challenges at the intersection of rural agricultural subsistence communities, climate change, and biodiversity hot spots. The course involves preparatory learning during the WUSTL spring semester and ongoing communication and collaboration with Malagasy community representatives during this period. An additional lab credit option entails interactive research project deployment and monitoring on the ground in Madagascar during a summer window. MBG has been facilitating conservation work in Madagascar for over 40 years. Among these initiatives is a Community Based Conservation Program (CBCP) in Mahabo, a ten-community commune in southeastern Madagascar within a rare forest ecosystem. This commune is the most mature of MBG's eleven conservation sites, each of which share similar challenges for both biodiversity conservation and human wellbeing. Over several years MBG has established trusted relationships with rural Malagasy community members, building cooperation on community-specific, grassroots conservation efforts with indigenous communities. Such cooperation can be undermined by the forces of poverty, which compel communities to extract resources unsustainably from the sensitive forest. Therefore, the community-based conservation approach integrates a full understanding of the need for economic stability and health priorities alongside conservation of flora and fauna. Program targets range from forest conservation and use to nutrition, health, food security, clean water, and education. This course integrates study of biodiversity, poverty, and community-based conservation principles with research design, professional teamwork, and cultural competency skills. Through enrollment in this course and the optional subsequent field experience, students will select a focal area in community-based conservation, and build a robust understanding of a challenge in principle, as well as its specific manifestation in the Mahabo case. They will engage with preexisting and/or collaboratively proposed on-the-ground initiatives in MBG's CBCP, develop a study design to assess the efficacy of these initiatives, and support iterative implementation.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, SSC Art: SSC EN: S

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3061 Community Based Conservation Practicum: Madagascar Field Experience

This class, available to students in the Pathfinder Environmental Leadership Fellow Ampersand program, is an extension of EnSt 3060, Community-Based Conservation. In parallel with EnSt 3060, this course will guide students through travel preparation and Malagasy language learning, followed by a three-week field experience in Madagascar. The community-based conservation approach integrates a full understanding of the need for economic stability and human health priorities alongside conservation of flora and fauna. This initiative represents a partnership between Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) and Washington University in Saint Louis. MBG has been facilitating conservation work in Madagascar for over 40 years. Among these initiatives is a Community Based Conservation Program (CBCP) in Mahabo, a ten-community commune in southeastern Madagascar within a rare forest ecosystem. Over several years MBG has established trusted relationships with rural Malagasy community members, building cooperation on community-specific, grassroots conservation efforts with indigenous communities. Program targets range from forest conservation and use to nutrition, health, food security, clean water, and education. Having conceptualized and prepared for field deployment of a CBC-supporting research project in Madagascar, this field experience entails travel to the remote rural community of Mahabo Mananivo, where students will actualize their plan. Travel is intense, including up to three days of travel each way on poorly maintained roads to reach the primitive living accommodations at the MBG Community-Based Conservation program site.

Credit 3 units.

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3310 Beyond the Evidence

This class is about the science of science communication. Why, when all evidence points to the growing threats of climate change, is it so difficult to create movement toward addressing it? Why, when we have so much evidence that vaccines reduce illness and death and are extremely safe, do individuals still choose not to vaccinate their children? What if I told you that the scientific evidence does not matter? Over the last few decades, not better education, nor guilt, nor fear has worked to produce change on important environmental and public health issues. In this class, we will explore how values, beliefs, emotions and identity shape how we receive and process information and make decisions. We will explore themes of moral world view, cognitive linguistics and framing, cognitive dissonance, risk perception, empathy, habit changes, and difficult dialoguing through the case studies of climate change and vaccination. Course activities will consist of regular reading, some online research, reflective journaling at home, and engaging in conversation during class. There are no prerequisites, but the class is designed for fourth-year students in environmental majors and pre-health studies. Upper-level environmental majors and minors will receive priority enrollment from the waitlist.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3320 Fallout: Analyzing Texts and Narratives of the Nuclear Era

Nuclear technology has long been developed, used, studied, and debated. Capable of both healing and harm, it challenges our notions of risk verses benefit at every level. It is also poised to potentially play a significant environmental role in climate change mitigation by delivering large amounts of nearly carbon-free energy. In this class you will trace the public perception and experience of this technology, and scientific and medical assessments of it through an environmental humanities lens. You will use texts such as literary non-fiction, history, environmental anthropology, natural history, and public health. Topics will include but not be limited to, the Manhattan Project, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, and nuclear waste (including that from uranium processing in St. Louis). The course will include a visit to the Weldon Springs Interpretive Center and is designed as an upper-level elective for third- and fourth-year students. Note: While we will talk abut nuclear reactors in general, this course will not explore them from a detailed scientific or engineering perspective. For those who would like to pursue that understanding, see our new 1-hour course: EnSt 400 Topics in Environmental Science: Technical Overview of Nuclear Power. This course is taught by Lee Sobotka, nuclear scientist and Professor of Physics and Chemistry, who is also the science advisor for the Fallout course.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3330 Multiparty Environmental Decision Making

This course aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop and apply problem-solving skills in the context of environmental challenges. Students will learn basic frameworks of negotiation and decision-making through readings and role-play. Through the role-play students will grapple with the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, the interplay of science and policy, and the ambiguity and uncertainty inherent in decision-making processes. This classis designed as an upper-level elective for third and fourth year students.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3340 Writing Skills for Environmental Professionals

For students interested in climate change, sustainability and the environment. Consider writing as a tool. Who will read it? Why are you writing it? What do you want the reader to know or do? What structure or format effectively makes your case? We will consider these questions while building effective written communications with a focus on climate change. Students will explore audience awareness, purpose, and format as they analyze document types and create their own. Activities will include writing, reading, discussion, and peer workshops. Major assignments include a letter of inquiry and a grant proposal. Students will write a grant proposal to an imaginary climate change foundation. Preference given to upper-level majors in Environmental Analysis.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM, WI BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 3410 Native American Storytelling - Healthy Land Practice

The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. - Chief Seattle The history of this country has had many stories and many practices which shaped the landscape pre-colonization. These Indigenous practices regularly teach methods of living within the world and can provide significant insight into current practices to manage public and private lands. This course looks to examine some of those stories, cultural beliefs, and Native American life practices which have shaped the land. For example the practice of valuing and gaining insight from natural elements such grain and fire bring one into harmony with the earth. Many people, from pre-1492 to the present and agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have changed the landscape into what we have today. Through this course we will look at common agency-based practices which have caused harm to the earth and current indigenous inspired practices designed to restore a healthy eco-system. The final portion of this course will not only look at these positive outcomes of integration of indigenous practices in the environment, but to look at additional positive health outcomes in regards to individuals living within their environment.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3520 Ecological Economics

Our planet is finite but our economic theories and practices assume that our economy can grow forever. The paradoxical pursuit of infinite growth on a finite planet has real-world consequences: from climate change to increasing income inequality to stagnant and declining quality of life for most of us to the ongoing mass extinction of species not deemed economically useful to us, but whose loss simplifies ecosystems to the point of collapse. If these trends continue, we will face very difficult times ecologically and socio-politically. One alternative to infinite-planet economic theory is Ecological Economics, which can be described as economics as if the laws of thermodynamics are true and apply to us. Alone among disciplines with aspiration to analytic rigor, the field of economics has remained unaffected by the thermodynamic revolution that transformed the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, even history in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This failure to take physical law into account is one great source of our society's environmental (and social, and political) problems. Ecological economics thus represents the continuation of the thermodynamic revolution begun in the 1880s. This course is designed to give you an appropriate grounding in the fundamental assumptions, the conceptual novelties, and the distinctive tools of analysis that comprise this emergent school of economic theory, while placing this theorizing in historical and ecological context. We'll pay particular attention to how the precepts and practice of Ecological Economics illuminate the largest challenge facing humans today, the necessity of developing an ecologically sustainable society, one that is sized to the limits of our finite planet.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 3530 Sustainable Cities

Urbanization is one of the most significant forces shaping today's environment. More than half of the world's population now lives in urban, rather than rural, areas. This migration has profound consequences for people and the planet, connecting a sustainable future to the developments in cities around the world. Many cities are already advancing sustainable policies and practices in all areas of urban systems and services - green infrastructure, renewable energy, waste management and climate mitigation. This course explores the impact of the rise of cities in an interconnected world and the efforts to sustainably address environmental issues in urban settings. This course pays particular attention to the role of planning, politics and policy. Class time will be devoted to lectures, case studies, group activities and discussion. Student learning will be assessed through exams, online assignments, and a research paper on an environmental issue in a city of the student's choice.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 3540 Environmental Justice

Environmental quality varies widely across race, class, gender and other forms of social difference. This course explores how and why these differences exist. It provides an overview of the history and foundations of the environmental justice movement in the United States while covering classic environmental justice issues, such as toxic waste and pollution, along with more recent issues such as food access, urban green space, transportation and climate change. Environmental justice concerns in St. Louis are featured as part of the course. Class time will be devoted to lectures, case studies, group activities and discussion. Student learning will be assessed through exams, reflection, online assignments, a policy brief on an environmental justice issue and a group presentation. This is an advanced elective targeted toward third and fourth year students.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: CPSC, SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3600 Field Methods for Environmental Science

This course provides a broad survey of practical and applied methods for environmental field work for site assessments, ecological studies, conservation land management, habitat monitoring, and ecological restoration. A primary focus will be sources and techniques for obtaining and interpreting field data across a range of abiotic, organismal and system/community parameters, with emphasis on hands-on field experience providing students with direct knowledge highlighting the advantages and limitations of various methods. In the process, students will learn about multiple taxonomic and organismal groups and natural community types, and the relationships among these and the physical environment in functional natural systems. Course topics include theory and practice of methods for sampling biotic and abiotic resources, including vegetation, fauna, aquatic systems, stream geomorphology, and soils, as well as using these data for assessments, habitat monitoring, land management decisions, and developing ecological restorations. Students will gain familiarity with responding to issues driving applied environmental science and related fields today, including data quality, sampling design, field techniques, viability and threat analyses, and incorporating field data into multi-scale conservation planning and design work. The course consists of instructor presentations, guest lectures, readings and written response papers, student projects and presentations, classroom discussions, and extensive field exercises and hands-on training. Class logistics: one lecture (1.5 hours) and one lab (5 hours) per week, plus 2-3 all day Saturday field trips (see policy on absences for back-up plan regarding field trips).

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 3610 Urban Ecology

Urban Ecology is a field of study within ecology that focuses on the urban environment as an ecosystem and attempts to understand how humans and nature can better coexist in these highly modified environments. The ultimate goal is to aid efforts for more sustainable cities through better urban planning and practices. It is a multidisciplinary study including topics from ecology, evolution, and conservation biology, as well as architecture, economics, and business. The class format will include both lectures and discussions.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3620 Applied Conservation Biology

A practical, case-based approach to the concepts of conservation biology and applied conservation practice, including designing and implementing conservation projects. Readings, lectures, classroom activities and discussions, student presentations, and exercises will immerse students in all aspects of conservation in the contemporary landscape, and provide the tools and techniques needed for successful and sustainable conservation outcomes. Two Saturday field trips required. Prerequisites: a biology/ecology class or permission of instructor.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3630 Arctic Climate System

In this course we will learn about the Arctic region, with an emphasis on how the Arctic plays a key role in the global climate system. Students will be introduced to the basic physical characteristics of the Arctic and its climate. They will learn how the physical and geographic characteristics of the Arctic contribute to, and are shaped by, the Arctic climate system. Emphasis will be placed on studying the Arctic from a systems science perspective, highlighting the complex interactions between different subsystems of the Arctic, such as the hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere. We will also explore how the Arctic has changed in the past, and what the future holds for the Arctic. Students will develop critical thinking and analysis skills through our emphasis on applying systems-level thinking to understand the interplay between physical principles, geography, landscape, climate, and human society. Class sections will be a mix of lectures and collaborative discussions on readings and course content. Most class sections will begin with a short reading recap. Completion of ENST 202 may be helpful but is not required; please ask instructor if you have questions about enrolling in this class.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM, AN Art: NSM

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 3710 Applications in GIS

This introductory course in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is designed to provide you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be an independent user of GIS. The course will use the latest version of ESRI ArcGIS. The course is taught using a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on, interactive tutorials in the classroom. You will also explore the scientific literature to understand how GIS is being used by various disciplines to address spatial questions. The course takes a multidisciplinary approach that is focused on learning the tools of GIS versus working with data from a particular field. The goal is to establish a solid foundation you can use to address spatial questions that interest you, your mentor, or your employee. The first weeks of the course will provide a broad view of how you can display and query spatial data and produce map products. The remainder of the course will explore the power of GIS with a focus on applying spatial analytical tools to address questions and solve problems. As the semester develops, more tools will be added to your GIS toolbox so that you can complete a final independent project that integrates materials learned during the course with those spatial analyses that interest you the most. Students will have the choice of using a prepared final project, a provided data set, or designing an individualized final project using their own or other available data.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 3900 Independent Study

Independent study for undergraduates, to be supervised by a faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

Credit 6 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 3910 Directed Research in Environmental Studies

Research activities or project in environmental studies done under the direction of an instructor in the Program. Permission of an instructor and of the Chair of the program is required.

Credit 6 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 3920 Directed Field Work in Environmental Studies

Fieldwork carried out under the direction or supervision of an instructor in the Program. Permission of an instructor and of the Chair of the Program is required.

Credit 6 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 3995 Environmental Studies Coursework Completed Abroad

This course is for 3000 level study abroad credit.

Credit 12 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 3996 Environmental Studies Elective

This course is for 3000 level transfer courses.

Credit 0 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 4000 Topics in Environmental Science

The conspicuous effects of global climate change compels a reexamination of nuclear power. It is also true that in terms of a power source globally, nuclear power is not going away. (The same can be said of concerns about nuclear conflict.)  This 1-cr course will meet once a week for 80 minutes and provide a technical overview of nuclear power. The lecture outline is as follows: four lectures on the relevant nuclear science, one lecture on the 

Credit 1 unit. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 4350 Foundations of Research: Building a Literature Review

This course provides training in essential research and writing skills needed to either contextualize and justify a research study or to synthesize existing research on a specific topic. The main outcome of the course is a completed literature review and a well-defined, researchable question on a topic of your choice. Before beginning a study, researchers must develop a compelling and meaningful research question. This question should be grounded in existing knowledge, informed by prior research, and justified by gaps in our current understanding. Researchers communicate this rationale through a literature review, which serves to contextualize, justify, and motivate their research. Writing and revising a literature review is a key part of this process, as the act of writing helps clarify and refine your thinking. Class topics include advanced database searching, evaluating the quality and types of sources, summarizing and analyzing literature, constructing logical and persuasive argu  ments, managing references and data, visualizing information, writing with clarity and style, and using generative AI as a tool for research and writing. You will learn and practice these skills through readings, homework, class discussions, and activities. Over the semester, you will complete a series of assignments that build toward your final literature review. Your grade will be based on participation, homework, in-class work, and assignments related to your literature review. The course is recommended for juniors and seniors. While Environmental Studies majors and minors have enrollment priority, students from all majors are welcome.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC, WI Art: SSC

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 4410 Writing Home: Creating Cultural Guides for Environmental Site Workers

Each of you comes from a different cultural landscape, each with its own demographic, racial, religious, linguistic, economic profile, (and endless other attributes). Effectively describing your community is integral to its sense of being respected by outsiders and to its capacity to support others. For example, each community carries a different sense of what kind of landscape constitutes safety, well-being, and happiness. Whatever your cultural landscape, sharing the unique nature of your commuity with global citizen experts is integral to the success of applied environmental solutions to climate change. Towards the attainment of that success, join this guided, writing intensive class to identify and reflect upon the cultural attributes that constitute your community, and how those are reflected in its landscape requirements. Identify, assess, and prioritize those sensitivities deemed most important by you for others to understand,. By semester's end, write a cultural guide for environmental site workers, leading them to a better awareness of how best to help and move through, your world. Revisions and resubmission of writing work will be emphasized, as well as camaraderie and mutual interest in each other's landscapes.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: WI Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH EN: H

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 4510 Intro to Environmental Law

Survey of the most prominent federal laws designed to control pollution and protect human health and the environment. Examines laws applicable to environmental impact statements, biodiversity, air pollution, water pollution, and hazardous waste. Discusses the role of state law and cooperative federalism, as well as the roles of the courts, the legislature, and the administrative state in protecting the environment.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 4527 Ipcc: Governance, Policy and Science

This course is a three-credit advanced seminar for students who are interested in the intersection of science and policy in the area of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is regarded as world's top scientific authority on climate change. Using the Synthesis Report of the IPCC's 6th Assessment Review as our guide, students will explore the unique role of the IPCC as an intergovernmental body. We will dig into what it means for the IPCC to be an intergovernmental body, the underlying reports that makeup the AR6 assessment cycle, and what the future holds for the IPCC. In doing so we will explore the current science and knowledge around land use, oceans and cryosphere, mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, vulnerability and how that is presented in a 'policy relevant but not policy prescriptive' format. Students will be able to evaluate key questions and concepts around climate change as they find and understand how they are included in the IPCC reports. They will then learn to assess and analyze the questions/concepts in the context of the IPCC findings and see how those findings are integrated in the international policy space. Prerequisites: junior level standing.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 4710 Advanced GIS

This course is designed to move beyond tools and skills learned in Applications in GIS (EnSt 380/580). Classes will feature hands-on exercises selected to help you master advanced GIS analysis tools and techniques, while providing experience in the planning and execution of real-world projects. Primary emphasis will be on applying fundamental GIS concepts, performing spatial analysis, developing proficiency with core ArcGIS software (e.g., Network Analyst extension), resolution of problems, and efficient delivery of results. Readings from books and scientific literature will introduce key concepts and provide real-world examples that will be reinforced in the hands-on exercises, assignments, and projects. As the semester develops, you will gain a variety of new tools and techniques that will allow you to complete a final independent project that integrates the material learned during the course.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 4720 Applications in Geospatial Intelligence

This course introduces the concept of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) and how to use location to see patterns, connections and relationships to ultimately see what others can't. Learn about the Intelligence Cycle, the mission of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), potential career pathways in GEOINT, and other members of the Intelligence Community (IC) leveraging GIS to solve problems and make decisions related to Intelligence. This course is designed to incorporate both a theoretical understanding with a variety of subject matter expert (SME) presentations from the industry, as well as a practical understanding with hands-on exercises using ArcGIS Pro and other Esri software applications.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 4730 Introduction to Spatial Epidemiology

This 14-week course is to introduce essential concepts and methods of spatial epidemiology. Spatial epidemiology is a methodology for dealing with spatial-correlated issues in environmental and public health,epidemiological, and medical research. The lecture will give the knowledge in the designs and approaches of spatial epidemiology. Homework assignments after each lecture will test student knowledge the concepts we covered. GIS mapping exercises will allow students to practice and apply their knowledge of basic geospatial analyses in epidemiology. The paper discussions and final project (presentation and paper) will help the students develop a better understanding how to integrate geospatial and GIS modeling into epidemiological and population health studies to address spatial-correlated research questions. This course requires a previous completion of a GIS course with basic skill in the application of GIS software (such as ESRI ArcGIS) for mapping. This course will be suggested to the third-, fourth-year undergraduate students and/or master students.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 4801 Sustainability Exchange: Community and University Practicums

The Sustainability Exchange engages interdisciplinary teams of students to tackle real-world energy, environmental, and sustainability problems through an experiential form of education. Students participate in projects with on- or off-campus clients, developed with and guided by faculty advisors from across the University. Teams deliver to their clients an end-product that explores wicked problems requiring innovative methods and solutions. New and varied projects are introduced each semester. Past projects have included conducting greenhouse gas inventories for a community organization; developing a tool to screen University investments for sustainability parameters; developing a sustainability plan for a local nonprofit; addressing water savings initiatives for local breweries; and assessing the vulnerability of city sanitation systems. Team-based projects are complemented by seminars that explore problem solving strategies and methodologies drawn from a wide range of creative practices, including design, engineering, and science, as well as contemporary topics in energy, environment, and sustainability. Students will draw on these topics to influence their projects. The course is designed primarily for undergraduates, with preference given to seniors.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: CPSC, SSC

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 4810 RESET- Renewable Energy Policy, Engineering and Business

RESET is an interdisciplinary course that explores the incredible potential of renewable energy, energy storage, and electrification to mitigate climate change. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the complex dynamics that are driving rapid deployment of renewables and present both opportunities and challenges to decarbonization in the years ahead. Through the lenses of business, policy, and engineering, students in RESET will learn through classroom lectures from faculty, industry professionals, and policy-makers; group discussions; field trips to solar arrays and a landfill gas power plant; and a final team project where students serve as consultants to a local government, proposing an on-site solar strategy, local policy changes to support decarbonization, and more. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of many large-scale issues influencing decarbonization, as well as the real-world factors that are necessary for designing, financing, and building new renewable energy projects. Why renewables and the grid? Decarbonizing the electric grid paired with electrifying sectors that currently run on fossil fuels - including transportation, heating, buildings, and manufacturing and construction - together have the potential to reduce more than 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The global energy transition, which was already well-underway, accelerated in 2022 due to a combination of countries' energy security concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and expanding climate ambition resulting in new policies that support renewable energy, including the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States. The International Energy Agency's 2022 Renewables report found that renewables are set to account for over 90% of global electricity expansion over the next five years, overtaking coal to become the largest source of global electricity by early 2025. Registration for this course is direct to the waitlist, and students are selected by application. The application can be found here . The deadline for the application is 5 PM on April 24th.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 4820 International Climate Negotiation Seminar

This course is designed to prepare students to attend and observe annual meetings associated with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a delegate of Washington University. The course and meetings provide student delegates with a unique educational experience to observe the development of international climate policy through interdisciplinary negotiations and interactions inside the negotiating space. Students see the interaction between climate policy, science and technology as they identify and analyze policy decisions across the international climate regime. The COP 30 meeting will be held in Belem, Brazil from Monday, November 10, 2025 to Friday, November 21, 2025. While the number of students who can attend meetings is limited by the United Nations, we will do our best to have course participants attend one week of the COP. Course enrollment is limited. Indicate your interest by placing yourself on the waitlist and completing an application. The c  ost of meeting attendance is estimated to be $3750 and need based support is available. Additional information is included on the course FAQ page (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fdocument%2Fd%2F1eQWOS8kSFEbB_nMBer5YZvtodZHb3QHAc9aIoqhIu8Q%2Fedit%3Fusp%3Dsharing&data=05%7C02%7Cartsciregistrar%40wustl.edu%7Caba204a8067749ff9f7708dd656b6c9b%7C4ccca3b571cd4e6d974b4d9beb96c6d6%7C0%7C0%7C638778234258043031%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=nJhE%2B6FyMU0O3%2FH3HJA6UCV0%2FF7Gdp3GQFEeIK0y1Ug%3D&reserved=0) . Pre-requisite: junior standing. Contact the instructor with questions at martin@wustl.edu. Registration for this course is direct to the waitlist, and students are selected by application. The application can be found here (https://enst.wustl.edu/capstones/) .The deadline for the application is 5 PM on April 23.

Credit 4 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC EN: S

Typical periods offered: Fall

ENST 4920 Environmental Studies Fourth-Year Reflection Seminar

Over the course of your time at Washington University, you have taken a depth and breadth of coursework toward your major in Environmental Analysis. Your major coursework has likely been supplemented by your oursework in other departments and programs of study. The purpose of this course is for you to meet your peers who have done the same. As a group you will reflect on and share representations of your learning across the years, make connections among thngs you have learned and to experiences in other arenas of your life. Reflection will occur through personal writing, discussion with peers in the course and the sharing of favorite podcasts, films, etc.

Credit 1 unit.

Typical periods offered: Spring

ENST 4995 Environmental Studies Coursework Completed Abroad

This course is for 4000 level study abroad credit.

Credit 12 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 4996 Environmental Studies Elective

This course is for 3000 level transfer credit.

Credit 0 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

ENST 4998 Senior Honors Research

This course is designed to support fourth-year students who are pursuing senior thesis research with the Environmental Studies Program. This 3-credit course includes a weekly 80-minute class session during which the instructor and students co-create a supportive cohort-based learning environment in which students share ideas, drafts of their scholarly work, feedback, and mutual encouragement as they engage in their independent research processes. The instructor guides students through common elements of the research process that span disciplines, such as effective communication with mentors and committee members, goal setting, planning and task management, accessing and reviewing the appropriate literature, concept mapping to organize ideas, outlining proposed methodology and hypothesized figures, and using reference management software. In a series of scaffolded assignments that match thesis timelines, students develop a short thesis proposal, write and twice revise the introduction   and/or literature review for their thesis, and create an action plan for their winter/spring path to completion. Some class periods are used as workshops for feedback, idea sharing, and peer review. This course is required for all students working on senior thesis research, which can serve to partially satisfy the requirements for Latin Honors if the student also meets minimum GPA requirements (>3.6). Students graduating in spring should take this course in fall and ENST 4999 in spring of their senior year; students graduating in December should take ENST 4999 in spring of third year and this course in the fall of their third year or fall before graduation. Registration for this course requires completion of the senior thesis intent form and departmental/instructor permission to enroll. Please visit https://enst.wustl.edu/student-research to learn more about the process and find the senior thesis intent form.

Credit 3 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring

ENST 4999 Senior Honors

Independent work for undergraduate Honors, to be supervised by a faculty member. Prerequisites, senior standing, eligibility for Honors, and permission of instructor.

Credit 3 units.

Typical periods offered: Fall, Spring