This course examines the major components of Earth¿s cryosphere¿including snow, permafrost, sea ice, glaciers, and ice sheets¿and their influence on climate, hydrology, ecosystems, and society. Students engage with foundational concepts about the physical properties and controls of frozen systems, then apply their understanding through in-person exploration, data interpretation, and research presentations and discussions with cryospheric scientists. The course highlights climate-driven transformations in frozen landscapes and their disproportionate impacts on polar communities.

Restoration ecology has emerged as an applied scientific discipline in response to growing recognition of the impacts of human activities on ecosystems globally. This course provides an introduction to the developing field of restoration ecology and to the issues involved in ecological restoration. It explores key ecological concepts underlying restoration, the restoration process (goals, planning, implementation and monitoring), practical applications in different ecosystems, and the role of environmental justice and social considerations in restoration.

Understanding how water moves through Earth¿s systems¿and what affects its quality¿is critical to managing increasingly scarce global resources. This course explores the key physical processes that govern water movement, storage, and condition across surface and subsurface environments. Students also examine climate-driven changes to water systems and their unequal impacts on global communities. A hands-on lab component features fieldwork, experimentation, and modeling, as students collect and analyze hydrologic data.

This is a 0.5 academic course that introduces students to the principles and practices of organic gardening. Students will learn about soil health, pest management, cultural planting practices, composting, food preservation, and more. Most weeks class will be held in the campus community garden. Students will utilize class discussions, readings, and hands-on learning to craft strong skills in garden cultivation.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

Research and preparation of a senior thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. Public presentation of research results is required.

In this course, students explore a variety of current topics in the geosciences. The choice of topics varies from year to year, but are primarily based on current or proposed research topics being conducted by faculty and students in the department. Each student is responsible for preparing for and leading one class session; all students are responsible for thoroughly preparing for and participating in all class sessions.

This course provides a laboratory or field research experience for juniors or seniors under the direction of a faculty mentor. Students may initiate a project or join a research project in the mentor's lab. Students must complete an agreement listing research activity to be completed, references, and a progress plan that will result in a written report and a presentation.

This course examines the wide variety of geologic, physical, chemical, and biologic evidence for the nature, duration, timing, and causes of climate change throughout the long history of our planet. In general, the course proceeds chronologically through geologic time. As the course approaches the modern world, students examine the paleoclimate record in progressively greater detail, and consider increasingly complex explanations for the patterns seen.