Passionate About the Environment? Here Are 10 Programs For You!

Study what you love while building a better future for us all.

“We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

— Anne Marie Bonneau, zero-waste advocate

Recycling, turning off lights when you're not in the room, and keeping a reusable water bottle are all great practices, but one way to extend your sustainability efforts beyond your home is to create change to support the environment, and this begins with acquiring the knowledge to do so.

If your passion for the planet goes above and beyond your own carbon footprint, consider a degree in the environmental field, because changing the world takes all kinds of skills. Dedicating your career to the environment is a great way to ignite change, and there are tens of thousands of new environment-related jobs on the rise as governments and businesses implement new solutions to address the climate crisis.

Waterloo is home to the largest environment faculty in Canada. At the University of Waterloo, all environment programs are hands-on, featuring co-op work terms, field courses, labs, and/or capstone projects, allowing you to gain valuable experience before you graduate. Here are some of the environmental programs offered at Waterloo:

Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) programs

• Environment and Business is the only program of its kind in North America. Sustainability is the new smart business, and students in this program combine finance, ecology, entrepreneurship, and ethics, in class, and during paid co-op work experiences.
• Environment, Resources, and Sustainability equips you with the skills to conserve and restore ecosystems.
• Geomatics lets you use remote sensing, computer mapping, geographic information systems, and GPS to analyze all kinds of data. Use software — or develop your own — that harnesses the power of geospatial data to serve users, identify promising new locations for businesses to expand, track crime rates or the spread of disease, or develop transportation routes.
• Geography and Aviation allows you to earn a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Commercial Pilot License. Combine the classroom with the cockpit and learn about landforms and weather patterns as you become a pilot.
• Planning lets you learn how to make our cities and rural communities more livable. Design efficient transportation systems, preserve heritage buildings, and more.

Bachelor of Science (BSc) programs

• Climate and Environmental Change lets you gain deep knowledge of the climate system, the water cycle, and ecosystems. You'll learn what individuals can do to respond to the climate crisis.
• Environmental Sciences encourages the exploration of ecology, biology, chemistry, and geoscience to understand the impact of human and non-human influences on ecosystems, natural resources, and water.

Bachelor of Sustainability and Financial Management

• Sustainability and Financial Management prepares you for the demands of 21^st century finance, while learning to balance people, the planet, and profits.

Bachelor of Applied Science (Engineering) programs

• Environmental Engineering allows you to gain the skills needed to design smarter water treatment and distribution, clean contaminated soil, or even prevent E. coli outbreaks.
• Geological Engineering provides you with the opportunity to merge geoscience with innovative design to engineer smart and sustainable solutions for natural hazards, infrastructure design, and natural resource development.

With the insights and experiences that you'll gain from environmental programs like these, changing the landscape of our communities and the world will look less like an impossible dream, and more like a quantifiable, encouraging plan.

Take that first step and start your journey toward positive, global environmental impact. Changing the world takes all sorts of skills!