Environment and Sustainability

The Environment and Sustainability (ES) learning trajectory is aimed at students that are interested in using environmental science to address sustainability challenges. The learning trajectory provides you with the knowledge to understand, and skills to analyse the relationships between human activities and the natural environment. You learn to assess environmental problems by understanding their underlying mechanisms and cause-effect chain (drivers, pressure, states, and impacts), and learn to design and evaluate solutions (responses) to promote environmental sustainability. By selecting 3 out of 6 core courses, the learning trajectory can focus on sustainable nature management (Nature & Sustainability) or chemical risk assessment for sustainability (Risk & Sustainability), depending on your interests (note that any combination of core courses is allowed).

The Environment and Sustainability  trajectory prepares you for a job in environmental, water and nature research, management or policy, in particular as a scientist (at universities, research institutes or industry), consultant, manager or policy maker at local, regional and (inter-)national agencies, or a researcher/advisor at non-governmental organisations. In the master phase, there is a corresponding Environment & Sustainability master specialisation within the MSc Biology (this new name will be used from 2024-2025 on, instead of Water and Environment) programme, as well as the Science, Management & Innovation (SMI) track that you can focus on environmental sustainability.

Coordinator: Steef Hanssen

The table below shows which courses are part of the Environment and Sustainability learning trajectory in the BSc biology.