BA in Environmental Studies

Why choose environmental studies at North Central College?

Our environmental science program guides students to be scholars, researchers, and stewards of the natural environment. Situated in a complex landscape of urban, suburban, agricultural, prairie, wetland, and woodland habitats, North Central students have an opportunity to gain experience with a wide variety of environments and ecological and environmental issues. From understanding public policy behind environmental sustainability, environmental protection laws, and public health, to understanding the chemistry and biological makeup of natural resources. Environmental studies majors will have a curriculum dedicated to building their knowledge of the natural world. They will also be able to choose from three tracks within our curriculum: Sustainable Business, Science and the Environment, and Society and the Environment.

You can also:

• Use the campus as your laboratory, studying our green initiatives, such as geothermal heating systems, solar panel arrays, and a restored prairie.
• Conduct research with Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Laboratory, within 15 miles of campus. Students can gain experience working with the DuPage County Forest Preserve and local environmental nonprofit groups, government agency programs, and businesses.
• Make connections to the world. Through our award-winning Center for Global Education, students have many opportunities to study environmental issues around the world. Research and explore environmental issues in Costa Rica, Australia, Africa, China, Spain, and Equatorial Guinea.
• Apply what you learn. An experiential component requires students to conduct independent research, participate in environmental advocacy or complete an internship to prepare for careers in an environmental or sustainability field.

Since 1861, North Central has been a place where new ideas lead to unlimited possibilities. We’re an independent college dedicated to the power of the liberal arts and sciences to transform students into leaders both in their careers and communities. Our nearly 3,000 students study across more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs, with their education, made richer by supportive faculty and staff, world-class facilities, and countless opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

A College on the move

Building on the foundation of more than 150 years of excellence, North Central continues to grow with numerous new facilities, programs, and initiatives in the works.

The College opened with 40 students in a single two-story building in Plainfield, Illinois. Since then we’ve changed names twice (to North-Western, then North Central), moved once (from Plainfield to Naperville), and grown steadily (to about 3,000 students).

Over the years, thousands of dedicated students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends have helped us thrive through the toughest challenges – wars, economic crises, social upheavals, and more – and build a future brilliant with hope and promise.

We’ve met the changing needs of students from Civil War veterans to millennial entrepreneurs. And we’ve always stayed true to our heritage of moral courage and forward-thinking.

Today we’re a top-ranked private comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences. U.S. News & World Report counts us among “America’s Best Colleges,” one of the top six schools in the Midwest for a “strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Students choose from more than 55 undergraduate majors and five graduate program areas.

Although the College originally discouraged organized athletics as a distraction from weightier matters, our 26 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III make our athletic department the largest in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central is proud of its 32 team national championships and 123 individual national champions.

Though affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we welcome and encourage students and staff of all faiths. We are thoughtfully expanding our academic programs to respond to the needs of our ever-changing world, recently adding Middle Eastern and North African Studies, along with Arabic. And we’re transforming our facilities – most dramatically with a new interdisciplinary Science Center located at the corner of Brainard Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It’s been an amazing 150+ years. But it’s clear that the best is yet to come!