Environmental Analysis Major

Study environmental issues and develop the skills to help create a more sustainable society.

The interdisciplinary five-college Environmental Analysis (EA) major applies approaches in the social sciences, arts, humanities and natural sciences to understanding and solving environmental problems.

With tracks in environmental science and the environment and society, you can explore topics ranging from economics, ethics and social justice to the hard sciences. You’ll create a real-world solution for a client in your senior seminar, and conduct in-depth research for your thesis and other research projects.

The major is designed to prepare students for careers in many environmental problem-solving fields, including law, policy, medicine, the sciences, conservation, global climate change, urban planning, community action and resource management. 

EA students hiking to a hidden palm oasis
EA students hiking to a hidden palm oasis.
Pomona student Ascher Cipinko exploring the Borrego Badlands
Exploring the Borrego Badlands.
Students preparing a homegrown feast for FarmFest 2022.
Students preparing a homegrown feast for FarmFest.

What You’ll Study

    • Environmental issues and challenges
    • Environmental politics and justice
    • Interdisciplinary literature
    • Field, community and archival research methods
    • Real-world dimensions of environmental problem-solving
100
Percentage of EA students engaged in team-based, client-driven sustainability projects

Researching at Pomona

Makeda Bullock Floyd ’22

Windermere Ranch Guidebook

Makeda Bullock Floyd ’22 added to her plant knowledge and environmental education skills by writing a guidebook for Windermere Ranch in Santa Barbara, California in the summer of 2020 thanks to Pomona’s Remote Alternative Independent Summer Experience program (RAISE).

Aurora Massari ’22

Flood Analyses

Aurora Massari ’22 analyzed data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to analyze warming trends in Blagovescensk/Heihe and to complete flood frequency analyses of cities along the Mojave River

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Chris Clark
Chris Clark ’21

Every environmental analysis class I have taken has had people of different foci: biology, politics and econ, architecture and sustainability, computer science and almost anything else you can think of. I really value this because I feel like I learn so much not only from professors, but from my classmates, something I think is pretty unique to such an interdisciplinary major at a liberal arts school.

Faculty & Teaching

The EA faculty is a dynamic and diverse group of more than 60 core and affiliated faculty actively engaged in teaching and research. They come from the humanities, social sciences and sciences and bring interdisciplinary energy to analyzing the world in hopes of developing a more sustainable future.

Professor Char Miller

The EA major is as trans-disciplinary as it is transformative. Our students absorb the analytical tools of such critical fields as history, geology, politics, economics, ethics and ecology. They learn to interpret the implications of policy, literature, geography and law. Most of all, they come face-to-face with the local consequences and global ramifications of a world in stress, recognizing the opportunity to help create a more green, habitable, and just community.