Climate Course Descriptions

Climate and Environmental Science Courses

Climate Joint Majors Required Areas

All joint majors in climate will take courses in both Climate Foundations and the Climate Kernel.

Climate Foundations courses prepare students in the mathematics, physics, and chemistry concepts that are essential to further study in this and related fields but do not focus on climate specifically.

Climate Kernel courses are focused on some dimension of climate change, from the physics of our climate system to our HSA area requirement, Climate Contexts.

Climate Foundations Course Requirements

Students completing one of the joint majors in climate are required to satisfy one or more of the following climate foundations area requirements.

These courses serve to ensure foundational skills and knowledge necessary for a wide variety of climate-relevant careers.

The following lists include all regularly offered courses across the Claremont Colleges which satisfy each area requirement. Advisors may provide additional options beyond these lists to satisfy the area requirements. To view the list of courses, click each drop down below.

Climate Kernel Course Requirements

Students enrolled in one of the joint majors will complete a four course disciplinary kernel that provides them with a first look at climate change across four critical areas: 

1. Climate Dynamics: the physical science of the climate system, 
2. Climate Impacts: major impacts to the physical climate system, biological systems, or the built environment related to climate change and our current energy system, 
3. Climate Interventions: technical interventions to address climate change or adapt to climate impacts, and 
4. Climate Contexts: social dimensions of climate change.

The following lists include all regularly offered courses across the Claremont Colleges which satisfy each area requirement. Advisors may provide additional options beyond these lists to satisfy the area requirements.

Climate Contexts Course Requirement

Our current climate crisis is, at its heart, a social, political, and economic crisis with deep historical roots. Climate context courses in the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts will explore multiple intersecting causes of climate change, and consider the uneven impacts of climate instability across global and local communities, environments, and more than human relations. These courses will give students in the joint major the opportunity to critically evaluate potential strategies for adaptation and mitigation, and the space to engage in storytelling and artistic production to imagine more just futures. 

What does it mean to have this competency? 

Students who have completed their Climate Contexts requirement will have taken at least one course in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts which speaks to the topic of climate change or which contributes significantly to a student’s understanding of environmental change on a global scale.

Why is it critical? 

All HMC students are required to complete 10 courses beyond the Core in HSA fields, bringing notable breadth to their education atypical of earth science and environmental engineering programs nationally. This requirement ensures that at least one of those 10 courses will speak directly to climate change, helping students build greater context for the problem and the many available paths forward.