A concentration in Environmental Studies was created in 1971 in the B.A. in Geography offered by the Department of Geography. In 1974, the name of the concentration changed from “Environmental Studies” to “Earth Science/Environmental Studies.” The concentration remained in Geography until 2019, when it was renamed “Earth Science.”
An interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Program within the College of Arts and Sciences created a minor in “Environmental Studies” in 2000, and in 2007 an “Environmental Studies” major was added as a concentration in Special Programs in Liberal Studies (SPLS). The Environmental Studies Program was renamed the Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program in 2014, and it offered a new minor in “Sustainability Studies” and, in 2017, major concentrations in “Sustainability Studies” and in “Environmental & Sustainability Studies” alongside the existing “Environmental Studies” track.
In 2018, the Environmental & Sustainability Studies Program merged with the Department of Geography to become the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability. The Program continues as the Environment & Sustainability Program. In 2020, the SPLS degree was retired and all students switched to a new B.A. in Environment & Sustainability, choosing tracks in either “Natural Sciences” (formerly “Environmental Studies”) or “Equity, Development, and Ethics” (formerly “Sustainability Studies”). The minors were renamed “Environment” and “Sustainability.” Also in 2020, the Program began offering an online M.S. in Sustainability & Environment; soon thereafter, the Program added a number of Post Baccalaureate Certificates (P.B.C.s). All of the undergraduate and graduate curricula integrate perspectives of the natural sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities via UNCG’s unique definition of sustainability (adopted in the 2009-14 Strategic Plan): “Academics, operations, and outreach are conducted with careful attention to the enduring interconnectedness of social equity, the environment, the economy, and aesthetics.”
Department of Geography Heads
Craig Dozier (1960-1980)
John Hidore (1980-1987)
John Rees (1987-1994)
Gordon Bennett (1994-2004)
Jeffery Patton (2004-2018)
Corey Johnson (2018-2023)
Dan Royall (2023- present)
Directors of the Environmental Studies Program / Environmental & Sustainability Studies Program / Environment & Sustainability Program
Susan J. Buck (2000-2011)
Bill Markham (2011-2015)
Aaron Allen (2015-current)
Undergraduate Degree Names
B.A. in Geography with a concentration in Environmental Studies within the Department of Geography (1971-1974)
B.A. in Geography with a concentration in Earth Science/Environmental Studies within the Department of Geography (1974-2019)
Minor in Environmental Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences (2000-2018)
B.A. in Special Programs in Liberal Studies with a concentration Environmental Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences (2007-2020)
Minor in Sustainability Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences (2014-2018)
B.A. in Special Programs in Liberal Studies with a concentration Sustainability Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences (2017-2020)
B.A. in Special Programs in Liberal Studies with a concentration Environmental and Sustainability Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences (2017-2020)
B.A. in Environment & Sustainability with a concentration in Natural Sciences in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2020-current)
B.A. in Environment & Sustainability with a concentration in Equity, Development, and Ethics in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2020-current)
Minor in Environment in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2020-current)
Minor in Sustainability in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2020-current)
Graduate Degree Names
P.B.C in Sustainability in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2019-current)
M.S. in Sustainability & Environment (online) in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2020-current)
P.B.C in Conservation in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2021-current)
P.B.C in Environmental Humanities in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2022-current)
P.B.C in Climate Justice in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability (2022-current)