International Development, Environment, and Sustainability

The International Development, Environment, and Sustainability (IDEaS) program encourages students to challenge convention while giving them the tools and support they need to examine, tackle, and ultimately solve the world’s most urgent environmental, social, and technological crises.

Because these problems touch upon people, nature, planetary systems, and technologies, it’s imperative that their solutions are just as comprehensive and all-encompassing, utilizing scientific and engineering approaches informed by social sciences, humanities, and arts.

In keeping with this goal, the IDEaS program offers a major and minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies (ESS), where students learn to strike a balance between improving quality of life and honoring humankind’s responsibility to natural resources. Students may select ESS as a stand-alone major, or pair it with another degree program ranging from chemical engineering and biology to chemistry and civil engineering. In addition, the new minor in Science and Engineering for International Development allows students to examine social and societal challenges from a multidisciplinary lens.

As part of the IDEaS program, students become proficient engineers and scientists who are skilled in the complexities of human nature.