Course Listings
All courses meet in person unless noted otherwise.
- Semester
- 2025-2026 Fall
- 2025-2026 Spring
- Any Term
- Days
- M,W
- Tu,Th
- M,W,F
- M
- Tu
- W
- Th
- F
- Any/All
- Specialization
- Business
- Climate Change
- Ecosystem Mgmt.
- Energy
- Policy
- Forestry
- Ind. Eco. & Gr. Chem.
- People and Equity
- Urban
- Water
Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall | Spring |
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511 1.5 Credits Ecological Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-2 term Oct 20-Dec 17)
511 Ecological Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-2 term Oct 20-Dec 17) : 1.5 Credits :
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Schmitz TBA - TBA |
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512 1.5 Credits Microeconomic Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-1 term August 27 - Oct 10)
512 Microeconomic Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-1 term August 27 - Oct 10) : 1.5 Credits : This six-week course which meets Fall-1 provides an introduction to microeconomic analysis and its application to environmental policy. Students study how markets work to allocate scarce resources. This includes consideration of how individuals and firms make decisions, and how policy analysts seek to quantify the benefits and costs of consumption and production. We consider the conditions under which markets are beneficial to society and when they fail. We see that market failure arises frequently in the context of environmental and natural resource management. The last part of the course focuses on the design of environmental and natural resource policies to address such market failures. The course is designed to cover basic knowledge of economics analysis and prepare students for ENV 834 and other more advanced offerings. : Matthew J. Kotchen
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Kotchen TBA - TBA |
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521 1.5 Credits Physical Science Foundations for Environmental Managers
521 Physical Science Foundations for Environmental Managers : 1.5 Credits : This required foundational course provides students with the physical science basics that they need to understand and manage environmental problems. The course draws on climatology, environmental chemistry, geology, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, and soil science. Focus is on understanding both the underlying concepts and how they apply to real-world environmental challenges. Useful both as a freestanding course and as a gateway to a wide spectrum of intermediate and advanced courses. : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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522 1.5 Credits Social Science Foundations' for Environmental Managers
522 Social Science Foundations' for Environmental Managers : 1.5 Credits : In this course, we investigate the role of culture, history, ethics, and governance in shaping varying perspectives on the natural world and management strategies for environmental resources. We explore the following questions: What does it mean to be an environmental steward in a world filled with social, political, and economic inequalities? Can we weave together multiple "ways of knowing" to better manage natural resources? Is it possible to balance the need for social and environmental change in a manner that is both place-based and responsive to global concerns? What would it look like to incorporate non-economic measures of human well-being into our decision making? Can a rights-based approach to natural resource management succeed in the 21st century? : Amity Doolittle
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Doolittle TBA - TBA |
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550 3 Credits Natural Science Research: From Idea to Proposal
550 Natural Science Research: From Idea to Proposal : 3 Credits :
The course guides students through the process of developing an individualized research project in close partnership with their faculty advisor. We focus on writing a research proposal, which prepares students to apply for competitive research funding and is required of all MESc/MFS students. In doing so, we cover critical reading of the literature, narrowing a broad topic of interest to a feasible research project, proposal writing, and a high-level introduction to the philosophy of science. Students engage in peer review throughout the course and present their completed proposals to the class at the end of the semester. : William Lauenroth |
Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
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551 3 Credits Research Methods for Qualitative Inquiry
551 Research Methods for Qualitative Inquiry : 3 Credits : This course will cover approaches to designing and implementing qualitative research with a focus on understanding complex questions that lie at the nexus of people and the environment. Qualitative research is critical to understand the interconnected patterns and processes in the social world that cannot be reduced to quantitate data or mechanistic explanations. The methods covered in this course include interview techniques; document analysis of texts and social artifacts such as maps, images, public documents and archival material; ethnographic techniques such as observation and writing thick description; and participatory action tools that support community-based approaches to research. The strategies of inquiry of qualitative research we will learn about include ethnography, oral history, participatory action research, and case study research. Finally, we will probe the practice of social science research by engaging in a range of ethical and practical decisions that a researcher will encounter when examining the nature of the human condition. : Amity Doolittle
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Doolittle TBA - TBA |
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552 0 Credits Master's Student Research Colloquium (Research Day)
552 Master's Student Research Colloquium (Research Day) : 0 Credits :
One of the most important aspects of scientific research involves the communication of research findings to the wider scientific community. Therefore, second-year M.E.Sc. and M.F.S. students are required to present the results of their faculty-supervised research as participants in the Master’s Student Research Conference, a daylong event held near the end of the spring term. Student contributors participate by delivering a fifteen-minute oral presentation to the YSE faculty and student body or by presenting a research poster in a session open to the YSE community. Students receive a score of satisfactory completion for this effort. : Michelle L. Bell |
Bell TBA - TBA |
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553 1.5 Credits Perspectives on Environmental Leadership: A Leadership Toolkit (Fall-1 Aug 27-Oct 10)
553 Perspectives on Environmental Leadership: A Leadership Toolkit (Fall-1 Aug 27-Oct 10) : 1.5 Credits :
TBD |
Boyd TBA - TBA |
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554 1.5 Credits Perspectives on Environmental Leadership: Systems Change (Fall-2 term - Oct 20-Dec 17)
554 Perspectives on Environmental Leadership: Systems Change (Fall-2 term - Oct 20-Dec 17) : 1.5 Credits : TBD : Peter Boyd
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Boyd TBA - TBA |
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567 1.5 Credits Yale Forest Forum: Frontiers in Forest Carbon Crediting
567 Yale Forest Forum: Frontiers in Forest Carbon Crediting : 1.5 Credits : This seminar explores emerging challenges and innovations in forest carbon accounting, drawing on a wide range of expert perspectives from across the United States. The course is structured around weekly guest lectures and discussions, anchored by a public webinar series hosted by the Yale Forest Forum (YFF). Each week’s YFF webinar will be followed by a seminar session with the invited speaker(s), allowing for deeper discussion and critical engagement. This seminar examines foundational issues in forest carbon accounting and crediting, focusing on both major critiques and proposed solutions. Topics include the following: selecting baselines and assessing additionality, incorporating digital measurements and remote sensing, addressing permanence and leakage, and exploring new frontiers in accounting, such as adjusting for albedo effects and non-climate feedback, temporary accounting measures, and jurisdictional accounting. For many sessions, students hear from researchers with emerging ideas on how to improve carbon accounting as well as perspectives from those engaged in financing and producing carbon credits about the opportunities and challenges of incorporating evolving methods into existing crediting schemes. : Sara Kuebbing
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Kuebbing TBA - TBA |
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573 3 Credits Urban Ecology for Local and Regional Decision Making
573 Urban Ecology for Local and Regional Decision Making : 3 Credits : Urban ecology is the interdisciplinary study of urban and urbanizing systems from local to global scales. While urban ecology shares many features with the biological science of ecology, it emphasizes linkages with social, economic, and physical sciences and the humanities. Geographically, the subject includes central and edge cities, suburbs of various ages and densities, and exurban settlements in which urban lifestyles and economic commitments are dominant. In application, urban ecology can be useful as a social-ecological science for making cities more sustainable, resilient, and equitable. Emerging “grand challenges” in urban ecology include the development of robust approaches and understanding of (1) integrated social-ecological systems in urban and urbanizing environments; (2) the assembly and function of novel ecological communities and ecosystems under novel environmental conditions; (3) drivers of human well-being in diverse urban areas; (4) pathways for developing healthy, sustainable, and disaster-resilient cities; and (5) co-production of actionable science for policy, planning, design, and management. : Morgan Grove
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Grove TBA - TBA |
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586 3 Credits Fisheries & Aquaculture
586 Fisheries & Aquaculture : 3 Credits : We will consider current issues affecting fisheries and aquaculture. Humans have been harvesting food from aquatic ecosystems for millennia, but increasing human population size, changing climate, and ongoing habitat alteration are among myriad factors negatively impacting aquatic species and their habitats. We will analyze, through the lens of Western science as well as through global perspectives spanning local, regional, and indigenous knowledge, how extractive activities in the form of fisheries and aquaculture has impacted aquatic systems and their biota. We will also consider what a sustainable future can look like for these critical resources and the ecosystems they inhabit. : Kealoha Freidenburg
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Freidenburg TBA - TBA |
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592 3 Credits Documentary Film Workshop
592 Documentary Film Workshop : 3 Credits :
This workshop in audiovisual scholarship explores ways to present research through the moving image. Students work within a Public Humanities framework to make a documentary that draws on their disciplinary fields of study. Designed to fulfill requirements for the M.A. with a concentration in Public Humanities. : Charles Musser |
Musser TBA - TBA |
Musser TBA - TBA |
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594 3 Credits Global Carbon Cycle
594 Global Carbon Cycle : 3 Credits : Carbon is one of the most abundant elements in the universe, the building block for all of biochemistry, and the energy exchange material for the Earth’s metabolism. Over the past two hundred years, people have mined fossil carbon to power the global economy, leading to profound transformations in the cycling of carbon among land, oceans, and atmosphere and disrupting Earth’s climate. This course explores in detail the cycling of labile carbon among the major biogeochemical reservoirs. We spend roughly four weeks each on land and oceans and spend the final four weeks exploring carbon-climate interactions, including engineered carbon dioxide reduction. The course is involves quite a bit of mathematics and computation. All are encouraged to register, but please be aware of the quantitative approach. : A. Scott Denning
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Denning TBA - TBA |
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603 3 Credits Environmental Data Visualization for Communication
603 Environmental Data Visualization for Communication : 3 Credits :
Application Instructions: TBD : Simon Queenborough : Jennifer Marlon Welcome to the Information Age! It is now much easier to generate and access more data than ever before. Yet, our ability to manage, analyze, understand, and communicate all this data is extremely limited. Visualization is a powerful means of enhancing our abilities to learn from data and to communicate results to others, especially when informed by insights into human behavior and social systems. Developing the quantitative skills necessary for analyzing data is important, but for addressing complex and often urgent environmental problems that involve diverse audiences – understanding how to effectively communicate with data is equally essential for researchers, policymakers, and the public alike.This course is for students who wish to gain an understanding of the principles, tools, and techniques needed to communicate effectively with data. Classes will consist of short lectures about principles of design, data preparation, and visual communication, discussions about examples from the news and scientific literature, guest lectures, peer critiques, and hands-on individual and collaborative group activities. Throughout the semester, we will use Excel, PowerPoint, R, Tableau, and other tools to develop visualizations using diverse datasets. Students will also work with a dataset of their own choice or from a partner organization to develop a final project consisting of a poster, infographic, report, dashboard, story map, or related product. Enrollment is limited and application is required. |
Queenborough TBA - TBA |
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604 1.5 Credits Public Health Entrepreneurship (Fall-1)
604 Public Health Entrepreneurship (Fall-1) : 1.5 Credits : This is not your usual start-up course. This is a course about how to be entrepreneurial in reducing health disparities and achieving public health goals. This includes both non-profit and for-profit entrepreneurship; and intrapreneurship, which means innovating within existing institutions (government agencies, non-profits, for-profits). We also focus heavily on extrapreneurship, which is the idea of innovating across the boundaries of multiple institutions. The course is centered on health equity, which means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires addressing obstacles to health such as poverty, racism, gender and other biases and their consequences; including disparities in power, livelihood, education, housing, food, safety, and health care services. We refer to these as drivers of health. Across careers and professions, our work influences and is influenced by one or more drivers of health. In this case-based course, we examine a wide spectrum of public health entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship (PHEI) cases ranging from collective action in a non-profit setting to digital start-ups in a venture-backed setting. This course brings together students from the Schools of Management, Public Health, Environment, Global Affairs, Divinity, Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and undergraduates. There are no prerequisites, all are welcome.
Follows School of Management Calendar 2 sections available : Teresa Chahine |
Chahine TBA - TBA |
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610 3 Credits Managing Ecosystems for Climate Change Solutions
610 Managing Ecosystems for Climate Change Solutions : 3 Credits :
This course explores the scientific foundations and practical strategies for managing ecosystems to contribute to climate change mitigation. Grounded in ecosystem ecology and with a focus on tropical regions, the course examines how the conservation of intact ecosystems, the active management of disturbed systems, and the restoration of degraded areas can reduce carbon emissions, enhance carbon sequestration, and support climate resilience. Students will engage with core ecological concepts, analyze global and tropical carbon cycles, and explore the mechanisms—biophysical, ecological, and implementation-focused—through which ecosystems influence climate. The course builds from foundational scientific knowledge to applied case studies, hands-on data analysis, and evaluation of policy-relevant approaches. : Paulo Brando |
Brando TBA - TBA |
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612 3 Credits Transforming Global Value Chains for Sustainability: The Case of Fashion and Textiles
612 Transforming Global Value Chains for Sustainability: The Case of
Fashion and Textiles : 3 Credits : This course investigates what it means to create sustainable and resilient global value chains, with fashion and textiles serving as a primary case. We explore key questions about the relationship between global trade, governance, environmental management, and supply chain design. Rather than presuming fixed answers, students are invited to critically assess emerging frameworks, institutional challenges, and innovation strategies to advance environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Through a comparative and systems-based lens, we seek to understand how sustainability can be embedded within global production and consumption networks. : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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613 3 Credits Writing as a Public Scholar
613 Writing as a Public Scholar : 3 Credits :
Environmental scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize the need, and often have the desire, to communicate their passions and expertise to a wide, lay audience. The seminar starts from the premise that to do this effectively a mastery of written storytelling is essential, particularly in today’s saturated and fractured media landscape. Students will read popular works by classic and contemporary scholars, such as Rachel Carson and Richard Prum; practitioners in the sciences, such as Atul Gawande and Peter Wohlleben; and journalists such as Elizabeth Kolbert and John McPhee; as well as growing number of authors, such as Bill McKibben, whose work crosses these categories. Some pieces students will analyze multiple times, developing a increasingly nuanced understanding of storytelling technique : Stephanie Hanes |
Hanes Tentative |
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617 3 Credits Real World Environmental Data Science
617 Real World Environmental Data Science : 3 Credits : Application is required: Link TBD
The goal of this course is to provide students with a foundational understanding of what it takes to perform environmental data work in a practical, professional setting. To make sound policy decisions, we need data, and the reality is that data is often messy, difficult to find, and incomplete. In order to effectively leverage the data, students need to be able to troubleshoot when there is a problem. We focus on understanding the mechanics and nuances of working with messy data in the professional setting, not teaching statistics. We will provide a high-level explanation of methods, what they will tell us and how they are useful, and then focus on implementation. : Elena Grewal |
Grewal Tentative |
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625 1.5 Credits Writing Workshop (Spring 1 term Jan 13-Feb 27)
625 Writing Workshop (Spring 1 term Jan 13-Feb 27) : 1.5 Credits : This is a practical course aimed at helping students improve their writing. The goal is to help students develop their writing skills and make them better able to communicate their work and ideas through writing that is clear, accessible, and free of jargon. Students are required to write short pieces each week and to write one longer article. The class is organized as a workshop, with students reading and commenting on each other’s work. The instructor is available for weekly meetings with students to discuss their writing. There are regular readings of articles or short book selections, but the focus is on improving the students’ own writing. Students are evaluated on the completion of all assignments on time; the quality of their work; the progress their writing shows over the course of the term; and participation in discussions. : Roger Cohn
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Cohn TBA - TBA |
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626 3 Credits Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences
626 Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences : 3 Credits :
This course will give students insights into the process of writing manuscripts for publication in the natural sciences. The seminar will guide students through the stages of writing a paper and end the semester with a submitted manuscript. We will also consider various strategies for writing, accountability, time management, and productivity. The course is aimed at students in the natural sciences with cleaned and analyzed data that they want to write up for publication. |
Queenborough TBA - TBA |
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629 3 Credits North American Drylands: Ecology and Land Use
629 North American Drylands: Ecology and Land Use : 3 Credits : During the first half of course, I will lecture about the causes of the geographic distribution of North American drylands and their ecology. The second half of the course will consist of us reading and discussing scientific papers about past, present, and future land use. Students will lead the discussions. While we will cover the breadth of drylands, in the second half we will emphasize ecosystems in which big sagebrush is the dominant plant species : William Lauenroth
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Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
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630 3 Credits The Physical Science of Climate Change
630 The Physical Science of Climate Change : 3 Credits : This course covers the science behind Earth’s climate system. The first part of the course entails understanding the components of Earth’sclimate, including the chemical and physical atmosphere and the role of land, ice, and the oceans in regulating global climate. The second half takes a closer look at how Earth’s climate system impacts global sustainable boundaries, including its impact on ecosystems, waterresources, the built environment, human health, and the global food system. During the first half of the course students are expected to complete weekly homework assignments that reinforce class concepts and perform a guided analysis using a climate model. The second half of the course involves project work on the impact of climate on a system (e.g., ecosystem, water resource, community, health, etc). : Peter A. Raymond : Xuhui Lee
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Raymond TBA - TBA |
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631 3 Credits Poverty, Environment and Inequality
631 Poverty, Environment and Inequality : 3 Credits :
This course explores the relationship between poverty, environment and social inequality. It examines how race and class interact in American rural and urban environments to produce or sustain inequalities. The course examines how structural factors and community characteristics influence environmental outcomes. Students will begin by examining the relationship between degraded environments and poor schooling. They will examine the environmental hazards that exist in or adjacent to urban and rural public schools. Students will analyze inner-city and poor rural communities as they examine disinvestment, the concentration of poverty, efforts to disperse the poor, and the potential for community revitalization. The class will examine homelessness and the ways in which climate disasters impact housing experiences. The course also examines another aspect of poverty – the issue of food security; it looks at the rise in community gardening in poor communities as an attempt to combat lack of access to healthy food.
Students will examine residential segregation and zoning. The class will also study the spatial inequalities that arise from the siting of hazardous facilities in minority and low-income urban and rural communities. The course examines the classic environmental justice question – which came first the facilities or the people? It examines economic questions related to costs of hosting noxious facilities and if and how communities can seek compensation to host such facilities. The course also examines the quandary communities face when presented with economic models that seek to provide compensation – the question of the long-term health of the people and environment take center stage as community residents seek to determine how to balance economic development with concerns about sustainability. Students will analyze water, energy, and climate justice. : Dorceta Taylor |
Taylor TBA - TBA |
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632 3 Credits Intro to Social Entrepreneurship
632 Intro to Social Entrepreneurship : 3 Credits : Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship is a practice-based course in which students from across campus form interdisciplinary teams to work on a social challenge of their choice. Teams include students from SOM, SPH, FES, YDS, Jackson Institute, and other schools and programs. Students start by identifying a topic area of focus, then form teams based on shared interests and complementary skills. Over the course of thirteen weeks, student teams delve into understanding the challenge through root cause analysis, research on existing solutions and populations affected; then apply human centered design thinking and systems thinking to design, prototype, test, and iterate solutions. Using tools such as the theory of change, logframe, business canvas, and social marketing strategy; teams build and test their impact models, operational models, and revenue models. Readings and assignments from the textbook “Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship” are used to guide this journey. These include technical templates, case studies, and interviews with social entrepreneurs and thought leaders in different sectors and geographies around the world. The class meets weekly for three hours in a workshop-style session, and includes guests from local social enterprises who join the class to share their experience, advice and challenges. At the end of the semester, student teams pitch their ventures to a panel of judges including social venture funders and social entrepreneurs. Teams are encouraged, but not required, to submit their ventures to one of the campus wide startup prizes (see: city.yale.edu/funding). While there are no prerequisites, this course builds on the SOM core course Innovator, and electives including Principles of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship & New Ventures, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Public Health, Global Social Entrepreneurship, Managing Social Enterprises, Business & the Environment Solutions. : Teresa Chahine
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Chahine Tentative |
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633 3 Credits Critical Race Theory
633 Critical Race Theory : 3 Credits : This class will study Critical Race Theory from its origins to its current expression.Understanding the deep interconnections between race and law, and how race and law are co-constitutive is the project of Critical Race Theory. One of the central claims of Critical Race Theory is that racial subordination is not a deviation from the liberal legal ideal but is, unfortunately, part of its expression. We will focus on the origins of the critique that is central to the development of the theory and contrast its analysis with conventional analytic frameworks on race and American law and society.Because it is a positive theory but also driven by a normative vision, we will explore the possibility of transforming the relationship between law and racial power. The law is not the only site of Critical Race Theory; it has had a significant impact on other disciplines in the social sciences. We will examine those impacts as well. : Gerald Torres
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Torres TBA - TBA |
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635 3 Credits Renewable Energy Project Finance
635 Renewable Energy Project Finance : 3 Credits : Application Required: Link TBD
The course is intended to be a practicum, exposing students to real-world tools of the trade as well as the theory underlying them. In place of a textbook, students are provided with approximately 400 pages of actual project documents used for a U.S. wind energy project. Through weekly homework assignments, students develop the skills necessary to construct a detailed financial model, largely comparable to what would be used by an investment firm, project developer, or independent power producer. Modeling skills include sizing debt capacity, sensitivity analysis, stochastic forecasting, taxes, and the creation of financial statements. Lectures also provide an introduction to risk management, energy market dynamics, alternative contractual structures, financial structuring, and the core engineering and risks inherent in the most common renewable energy technologies. This course is primarily online but may include 4-6 in person sessions, pending the instructor’s availability to travel. While cross-listed at the School of Management, it follow the YSE academic calendar. Admission requires an application. : Daniel Gross |
Gross TBA - TBA |
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636 3 Credits Carbon Dioxide Removal
636 Carbon Dioxide Removal : 3 Credits : Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies are expected to play a significant role in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, which require net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. A wide range of CDR technologies are currently in development, yet this nascent field must overcome many technical,
logistical, ethical, and financial challenges before contributing to the stabilization of the climate at scale. In the first half of this course, we will examine the need, scale, and timelines for CDR, study the landscape of strategies in development, and workshop a framework for evaluating carbon removal approaches. In the latter half of the course, we will discuss specific pathways in detail, including (but not limited to): Direct Air Carbon Capture (DACC), Enhanced Mineral Weathering, Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement, and Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS). Course instructors and invited entrepreneurs will lecture on the mechanics, risks, and potentials of each pathway and engage student questions and discussion. Active participation in discussion is a requirement. Students will gain a deeper understanding of CDR drivers, approaches, co-benefits, and challenges. After examining the key challenges, trade-offs, and opportunities, students should be better able to make informed decisions about how CDR can best complement other decarbonization strategies and environmental justice priorities. We look forward to engaging in spirited discussion with you on this topic! Limited to Twenty students. : Anastasia O’Rourke : Sinead Crotty |
O’Rourke TBA - TBA |
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639 3 Credits Food Systems and Climate Services
639 Food Systems and Climate Services : 3 Credits : Amidst climate change, there is an urgent need to address the sustainability challenges of agrifood systems. This course builds on mixed methods, integrating applied economics, management and information, policy, and system analysis tools to understand (and potentially solve) the complex interactions of food systems. This interdisciplinary course welcomes students with different backgrounds interested in sustainability, food systems, climate management, and policy at global and community-based scales, with particular emphasis on the Global South. It involves a weekly lecture and practical hour session for a small-medium-sized group.
Context As noted in the literature studied and referenced in this course, the production of crops, livestock, and aquatic organisms covers more than a third of land and oceans. Simultaneously, two-thirds of hungry people live in rural areas, and of some 570 million farms in the world, more than 475 million are smaller than 2 hectares. There are clear interconnections between agriculture, climate, conservation, poverty, and inequality. However, our capacity to assess and robustly respond to climate impacts on food systems (or vice versa) is severely challenged by complex interactions between climate risk, demographic shifts, political processes, economic insecurity, and land-use practices. The urgency of transforming agri-food systems is undeniable. However, the lack of usable and spatially disaggregated statistics prevents the implementation of effective food system interventions. Economic assessments of climate change are usually expressed in terms of aggregate output or economic sector impacts, without clearly indicating the potential risks and consequences to farm-level production systems, communities, and livelihoods. An overwhelming majority of existing agricultural research publications are unable to provide solutions, particularly to the challenges faced by smallholder farmers, and most studies only involve researchers without any participation from farmers. Climate models also estimate global scenarios that do not offer real advice and information for adaptation at the local level. Current aggregated food production and climate data frameworks need to be made more comprehensive to establish and quantify links between specific farming practices, business models, and climate risk, ultimately illuminating the socio-economic consequences and impacts on smallholder communities, specific production systems, and ecosystems. An innovative generation of researchers, partitioners, and leaders is called to provide alternative and creative solutions, policies, and tools for sustainable food systems and climate services. : J. Nicolas Hernandez-Aguilera |
Hernandez-Aguilera TBA - TBA |
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641 3 Credits Market-Based Mechanisms for Water Management
641 Market-Based Mechanisms for Water Management : 3 Credits : Online Course
This course provides students with both the theory and application of environmental water transactions (EWTs) to water management challenges, such as river restoration, drought-mitigation, and agricultural allocation. The geographic focus is primarily the western United States, as this region, out of necessity, has been very active in implementing EWTs in recent years. Other market-based mechanisms for water management also are explored, such as groundwater mitigation banks, urban stormwater markets, and water quality markets. The course also covers considerations such as environmental justice, tribal access to and use of water, and diversity/equity/inclusion in water management. A final project will give students the opportunity to develop a simple hydrological and water rights model for a fictional watershed to use as the basis for designing a suite of water transactions and market-based water management solutions. This is an online course taught by experienced professionals who value a hands-on approach to learning. In addition, the course will feature discussion of current events in water, case studies, and guest lectures from practitioners actively using market-based mechanisms for water management. : David Pilz |
OnlinePilz Tentative |
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645 3 Credits Urbanization, Global Change and Sustainability
645 Urbanization, Global Change and Sustainability : 3 Credits : Urbanization and associated changes in human activities on the land (land use) and in the physical attributes of Earth’s surface (land cover) have profound environmental consequences. Aggregated globally, these effects constitute some of the most significant human impacts on the functioning of Earth as a system. This class examines the interactions and relationships between urbanization and global change at local, regional, and global scales with an emphasis on the biophysical aspects of urbanization. Topics include urbanization in the context of global land use change, habitat and biodiversity loss, modification of surface energy balance and the urban heat island, climate change and impacts on urban areas, urban biogeochemistry, and urbanization as a component of sustainability. Emphasis is on management of urban areas worldwide or at national scales for planetary sustainability. : Karen C. Seto
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Seto TBA - TBA |
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646 3 Credits Regenerative Agriculture Systems
646 Regenerative Agriculture Systems : 3 Credits : Agriculture systems both depend and have a profound impact on the natural and human environment. There is widespread recognition of the need for agriculture systems to be more regenerative: regenerative food producing systems are ones that contribute to the improvement of the environment and to human wellbeing, not just avoid damages. The aim of this course is to explore what makes food producing systems regenerative. While there is a lot of momentum around the framing of “regenerative agriculture” there is not a lot of detail about what actually makes a system regenerative. The goals of the course are to: provide technical understanding of the science of agricultural systems; develop practical experience applying this science to real world scenarios of strategy development in agriculture; and, increase exposure to practitioners at the interface of agriculture and the environment. : Stephen Wood
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Wood TBA - TBA |
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648 3 Credits Organizing: People, Power, and Change
648 Organizing: People, Power, and Change : 3 Credits : Fulfilling the democratic promise of equity, accountability, and effectiveness requires the participation of an “organized” citizenry able to formulate, articulate, and assert its shared interests. Organizing, in turn, requires leadership: accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty. Organizers ask three questions: who are my people, what challenges do they face, and how can they turn their resources into the power they need to meet these challenges? Organizers identify, recruit, and develop leadership; build community around that leadership; and build power from the resources of that community. In this course, students form leadership teams of three to five persons to organize people into a “constituency” able to work together to achieve real outcomes in pursuit of a shared purpose by the end of the term. Students learn five core leadership practices: building public relationships; turning values into motivation through public narrative; turning resources into power by strategizing; turning intentions into effective action; and structuring organization to develop leadership, engage constituents, and achieve goals, distinguishing “mobilizing” from “organizing.” Students learn to coach others and to receive coaching in organizing practices. : Edward Ian Robinson
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Robinson Tentative |
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650 3 Credits Fire Ecology and Management of the US West
650 Fire Ecology and Management of the US West : 3 Credits : The goal of this seminar is to offer an introduction to the ecology and management, and the policy drivers, of wildland fire in western North America. We seek to build a base of knowledge and understanding regarding fire and its applications/management in modern forestry. We start by learning the basic history and ecology of forest fire, then look at landscape-level fire behavior, prescribed fire applications, and the drivers of catastrophic fire. The course concludes with an applied field-learning experience managing fire at Yale-Myers Forest. We meet once a week, with a guest Zoom lecturer from the field of fire ecology and management joining most weeks. Each week, there is a presentation followed by a discussion of the lecture content and reading material assigned by the guest lecturer. Students are expected to have read the papers and to come with questions and thoughts ready to discuss. There are several field trips, and if logistically feasible, a prescribed burn that students are expected to participate in. : TBD Faculty
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Faculty Tentative |
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652 3 Credits Wood: Structure and Function
652 Wood: Structure and Function : 3 Credits : This course focuses on the extraordinary diversity of wood anatomy at the cellular level, and on the practice of dendrochronology that allows students to take advantage of predictable, inter-annual variability in tree growth to reconstruct environmental history. The primary focus of the course is on common northeastern trees and other commercially important timber species. A primary goal is to participate in the development of a master tree-ring chronology for the School forests. Basic statistics and a background in tree physiology and anatomy are strongly recommended. : Craig Brodersen
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Brodersen TBA - TBA |
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653 1 Credit Maple: From Tree to Table
653 Maple: From Tree to Table : 1 Credit : This course covers the cultural, industrial, and sustainable practices of non-timber forest products through the lens of maple sap and syrup. Maple sugar is a forest product unique to northeastern North America, and it has seen a resurgence in interest as global consumers seek nutritious, natural, and sustainably produced foods. This course covers the booming industry and culture around maple syrup, from backyard operations through modern 100,000-tap investment operations. Maple producers are on the front lines of climate change and forest health threats. The course provides students with the knowledge of how challenges related to forest health and climate change are directly impacting maple producers and how these producers are learning to adapt in ways that are environmentally friendly, ecologically sound, and financially competitive in a global market. : Joseph Orefice
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Orefice TBA - TBA |
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659 4 Credits The Practice of Silviculture: Principles in Applied Forest Ecology (Friday field trips)
659 The Practice of Silviculture: Principles in Applied Forest Ecology (Friday field trips) : 4 Credits :
The scientific principles and techniques of controlling, protecting, and restoring the regeneration, composition, and growth of natural forest vegetation and its plantation and agroforestry analogs worldwide. Analysis of biological and socioeconomic problems affecting specific forest stands and design of silvicultural systems to solve these problems. Applications are discussed for the management of wildlife habitat, bioenergy and carbon sequestration, water resources, urban environments, timber and nontimber products, and landscape design. Four to six hours lecture. One-hour tutorial. Seven days of fieldwork. Recommended: some knowledge of soils, ecology, plant physiology, human behavior, and resource economics. : Mark S. Ashton |
Ashton TBA - TBA |
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660 3 Credits Forest Dynamics
660 Forest Dynamics : 3 Credits : This course introduces the study of forest stand dynamics—how forest structures and compositions change over time with growth and disturbances. Understanding the dynamic nature of forest stands is important for creating and maintaining a variety of critical ecosystem services sustainably and synergistically, including sustainable supplies of wood products, biodiversity and wildlife habitats, water, wildland fire, forest restoration and others. Through readings, lectures, field observation, and discussions we will explore forest development processes and pathways, concentrating on the driving mechanisms and emergent properties including natural and human disturbances. Non-YSE students must apply and get instructor permission. : Marlyse Duguid
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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668 1 Credit Field Trips in Forest Resource Management and Silviculture
668 Field Trips in Forest Resource Management and Silviculture : 1 Credit :
Seven- to twelve-day field trips to study the silviculture and forest management of particular forest regions. In previous years, classes have visited Slovenia, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, British Columbia, and, in the United States, the southern Coastal Plain and Piedmont, and the Allegheny, Appalachian, Adirondack, and Green mountains. Enrollment limited to sixteen. : Mark S. Ashton |
Ashton Tentative |
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670 1 Credit Southern Forest and Forestry Field Trip
670 Southern Forest and Forestry Field Trip : 1 Credit :
This course augments our forestry curriculum by providing a forum for viewing and discussing forestry and forest management with practitioners. The trip provides M.F. candidates and other interested students with an opportunity to experience the diversity of southeastern forested ecosystems and ownership objectives ranging from intensively managed pine plantations to restoration and protection of endangered habitats. Students discuss forest management issues—including forest health, fragmentation, policy, law, and business perspectives—with landowners and managers from large industries, nonindustrial private landowners, TIMOs, federal and state land managers, NGOs, and forestry consultants. We also tour sawmills, paper mills, and other kinds of forest products processing facilities, active logging operations, and, weather permitting, participate on prescribed fires. Not least, we experience the unique cultures, food, and hospitality of the southeastern United States. : TBD Faculty |
Faculty Tentative |
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671 3 Credits Dendrology: Woody plant Taxonomy & Identification
671 Dendrology: Woody plant Taxonomy & Identification : 3 Credits :
Dendrology literally translates as “the study of trees” and integrates morphology, phenology, ecology, biogeography, and the natural history of tree species. In this course students learn how to identify the major temperate woody plant families, with a focus on eastern North American species. Students will learn to identify by sight using morphological and ecological traits of over 100 woody plant taxa, using an ecosystem focused approach for plant identification. Besides learning how to identify species, we discuss principles of plant ecology, biogeography, phylogenetic community structure, and natural history in each ecosystem. Class periods consist of practical field and laboratory skills used in plant taxonomy and field lecturing. Weather permitting, we are outside in the field/forest for most class periods. Limited to thirteen. : Marlyse Duguid |
Duguid TBA - TBA |
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677 3 Credits Ecological Restoration
677 Ecological Restoration : 3 Credits : This course is intended as a broad overview of restoration ecology. We use the framework of ecosystem science to understand how and why humans facilitate the recovery of degraded ecosystems. We balance discussions on the theory, background, and application of restoration ecology with topics related to the implementation of restoration projects (e.g., planning, evaluation, and policy). These various concepts are integrated through the discussion of case studies presented by a variety of practitioners and scientists working across different systems (coral reefs, wildlife, fire, wetlands, etc.) and with diverse perspectives so that students get a broad exposure to the breadth and depth of scholarship and work in the field. Limited to 15 : Marlyse Duguid
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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679 3 Credits Plant Ecophysiology
679 Plant Ecophysiology : 3 Credits : This course focuses on the physiological ecology of plants and their interaction with the biotic and abiotic environment, understood through the lens of first principles. We use a quantitative approach to demonstrate the linkages between photosynthesis, growth, and carbon allocation at the tissue and whole plant level, which can then be scaled up to forests and ecosystems. We also focus on specific physiological and anatomical adaptations plants use to survive in the many varied habitats on Earth. Enrollment limited to twenty-four. : Craig Brodersen
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Brodersen TBA - TBA |
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682 3 Credits Environmental Justice/Water Justice
682 Environmental Justice/Water Justice : 3 Credits : The basic premise of this course is that water is about power. Water problems around the world are not being experienced equally by different sectors of society but rather reflect—and exacerbate—underlying current and historical power asymmetries among different communities and identities. These inequalities are not limited to the issue of water rights (who gets how much water) but can be found across the whole range of water issues, from water quality to flooding to the impacts of dams. Likewise, these inequalities are reflected not just in the rules that determine water distribution, but also in the infrastructure, institutions, information, and incentives that form the basis of water management. This course explores the complex intersections of water access, equity, and environmental sustainability rights, and environmental justice. It examines historical and contemporary issues surrounding water distribution, policymaking, and the impact on marginalized communities. Through case studies and critical analysis, students will engage with environmental justice, policymaking, and community action concepts, aiming to foster a deeper understanding of the need for equitable water distribution and governance in a changing climate. : Gerald Torres
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Torres TBA - TBA |
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683 3 or 4 Credits Seminar in Tropical Forest Restoration
683 Seminar in Tropical Forest Restoration : 3 or 4 Credits : This seminar is focused on the biological and social science, management, and policy governing reforestation in tropical regions. Topics covered include the ecology and management of native species plantations and second-growth forests; the social drivers of and barriers to restoration; and the methodological protocols of gathering and assessing social, economic, and cultural values. A particular emphasis is placed on tropical Asia and Latin America. Part of this course is taught online, part in a series of weekly discussions. Optional 1-credit field trip on dry tropical forest restoration, Azuero, Panama. Enrollment limited to twenty : Mark S. Ashton
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Ashton TBA - TBA |
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685 3 Credits Engaging Landholders and Communities in Conserving and Restoring Tropical Forest Landscapes
685 Engaging Landholders and Communities in Conserving and Restoring Tropical Forest Landscapes : 3 Credits : The design and implementation of sustainable land management strategies in tropical forest landscapes must effectively involve the people and communities who manage and govern these regions. In many cases, however, practitioners design projects that focus on technical solutions only and ignore people altogether, or base their projects upon incorrect assumptions about the people at the heart of their interventions. These trends ultimately lead to project failure and can cause a host of adverse unintended consequences that further exacerbate the problems that practitioners were trying to resolve. This pattern is particularly prevalent with recent pledges by global organizations and national governments to plant trillions of trees around the globe in an effort to address the adverse effects of climate change (see The Bonn Challenge and Trillion Trees). While these initiatives are largely well-intended, they largely ignore the socio-cultural and political complexities of the landscapes where the trees would be planted, including whether landholders already plant or protect trees and if they want to increase this practice and how, which species they want to plant or protect and how, and the effects of tree planting on land tenure systems, traditional livelihood strategies and gender dynamics. Little attention is also given to examining who removed the trees from the landscape and why, and whether tree planting is an appropriate solution. This course aims to provide forestry and land conservation students with the tools to think critically about the socio-cultural and political complexities of tropical forest landscapes and to more effectively engage landholders and communities in land management interventions. The course draws upon theoretical considerations in the social sciences literature and the applied experiences of the Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI), a Center & Program of YSE focused on capacity development in tropical forest landscapes. ELTI staff and affiliates have 16 years of experience developing the capacity of people who manage and govern tropical forest landscapes to implement land management strategies that restore and protect tree and forest cover while supporting livelihoods. The program has a diverse collection of applied case studies featuring a range of strategies and approaches that practitioners use to engage landholders and communities on these themes. The course is designed to link YSE students to ELTI team members so they can learn directly from their experiences in a variety of contexts. Students will also interact with selected participants of ELTI’s yearlong online certificate program, Tropical Forest Landscapes: Conservation, Restoration & Sustainable Use, who are practitioners developing applied conservation and restoration projects around the globe. : Eva Garen : Alicia Calle
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Garen Tentative |
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688 3 Credits Forest Management and Operations
688 Forest Management and Operations : 3 Credits : This course will provide students with an opportunity to understand many aspects of forest management, especially as it relates to multiple use forestry. Course content will include understanding and critique of forest inventory, and students will be introduced to growth and yield concepts. Forest planning and optimization for objectives such as forest products and carbon will be covered. Stewardship of forestland will be discussed as will legal aspects to land ownership and forest conservation.
Included in this course is are sections focused on forest operations. Students will gain experience in the diverse elements and aspects of forest harvesting. The course is taught from the perspective of what a forester should know about harvesting which includes logging safety, timber harvesting operations and sale administration, legal dimensions of harvesting, planning and maintaining forest access systems, timber procurement and appraisal, logging costs and analysis, and environmental and social influences. Field experiences will compliment lecture material : Joseph Orefice |
Orefice TBA - TBA |
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692 3 Credits Science and Practice of Temperate Agroforestry
692 Science and Practice of Temperate Agroforestry : 3 Credits : This course explores the science and practices of temperate agroforestry, covering current knowledge of agroforestry science and shedding light on the myths and assumptions that have yet to be tested regarding the integration of trees in agricultural systems. The course begins with an overview of modern agriculture to help us better understand why agroforestry systems have potential to improve the sustainability of farming systems. We also cover the social science regarding agroforestry and why it has not been widely adopted. Silvopasture and forest farming systems are the primary focus, but windbreaks, alley cropping, and riparian forest buffers are also covered. The field of agroforestry has struggled with the promotion of hypothetical practices; this course introduces students to real-world production agroforestry systems and helps them better contribute to financially viable and environmentally sound agricultural operations. : Joseph Orefice
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Orefice TBA - TBA |
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695 1.5 Credits Yale Forest Forum Series: A History of People, Forests, and Forestry
695 Yale Forest Forum Series: A History of People, Forests, and Forestry : 1.5 Credits : Seminar Hosts: The Forest School continues its series on a history of forests, people and forestry for Fall 2025. This Fall’s series will focus on Scientific Forestry from sustained yield to ecosystem management. It will again be co-hosted by The Forest History Society but this semester we will be joined by The Society of American Foresters. The seminar series will include a weekly public webinar hosted by the Yale Forest Forum (YFF).
Seminar Description: The second part in this series explores the history of “scientific forestry,” tracing its origins in early-modern European views of nature, where scientific expertise was seen as a tool for dominion over the natural world and its colonial expansion. The course examines how European forestry practices influenced the development of forestry in the United States during the nineteenth century and how the profession gained ground in North American universities (including with the founding of the Yale Forest School in 1900). Focusing on the twentieth century, we will trace the transformation of forestry from its early focus on protection and recovery of forests in the West to timber and sustained yield forest management particularly in the South and far West to the development of an ecosystem and ecological approach to managing our nation’s forests. Through this lens, we will evaluate forestry in the United States by considering its successes and also its problematic legacies in relation to Native American dispossession and settler colonialism. From the Eastern United States in the colonial period to the upper Midwest and eventual expansion to the US South and Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century, we will follow the roots of land use and forestry and explore how the profession evolved with advances in modern genetics and ecosystem forestry, culminating in the watershed legislation of the 1970s, including NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Forest Management Act, which laid the foundation for a new era in forest management. : Gary Dunning : Mark S. Ashton |
Dunning TBA - TBA |
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696 1.5 Credits YFF:Tribal Forestry:
696 YFF:Tribal Forestry: : 1.5 Credits : Seminar Series. Tribes and First Nations on the land that is currently called North America have been forest stewards since time immemorial. Tribal forestry practices are diverse and place-based and today may incorporate western science and forest operations into their management along with traditional knowledge and use. In the face of climate change, tribes and First Nations continue to work with institutions, NGOs, and federal and state agencies to support indigenous sovereignty and resilient forested landscapes. In collaboration with the Salish Kootenai College in Montana, this seminar will focus on the current state of tribal forest management and indigenous stewardship with a series of speakers from different tribes, universities, non-profits, and agencies. Beginning with an introduction to tribal forestry and the trust responsibilities, topics will include the history of forest stewardship on tribal lands in North America, federal laws and tribal forestry, contemporary uses of plants and wildlife stewardship, fire, conclusions from the Indian Forest Management Assessment (IFMAT), tribal co-management, and the future of tribal forestry in the face of climate change. : Gary Dunning : Gerald Torres : Marlyse Duguid : Mark S. Ashton
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Dunning TBA - TBA |
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705 3 Credits Global Climate Change: Simple, Serious, and Solvable
705 Global Climate Change: Simple, Serious, and Solvable : 3 Credits : SIMPLE: Earth’s climate is determined by the balance of radiation inputs and outputs at planetary scale. Greenhouse gases produce a radiation imbalance that forces change. Basic physics and paleoclimate agree that modern changes are enormous. SERIOUS: Impacts of 21st Century climate change on weather, drought, fires, famines, and floods pose the greatest threat to ecosystems in millions of years and the worst threat to the global economy since the Black Death. Worse, the changes are essentially permanent. SOLVABLE: Rapid and complete decolonization of the global energy system is feasible and affordable, but politically difficult. We consider economic, policy, and engineering solutions and finish by examine cultural narratives about solutions. : A. Scott Denning
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Denning TBA - TBA |
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706 3 Credits Toxic Organic Chemicals in the Environment
706 Toxic Organic Chemicals in the Environment : 3 Credits :
An overview of the pollution problems posed by toxic organic chemicals, including petroleum, pesticides, PCBs, dioxins, chlorinated solvents, PFAS, brominated compounds, and other emerging contaminants. The course covers the processes governing the environmental fate of organic pollutants (e.g., bioconcentration, biodegradation, groundwater transport), as well as tools for the prevention and remediation of organic pollution. Theory is illustrated with a variety of case studies. Previous knowledge of organic chemistry is not required (but is welcome). : Shimon C. Anisfeld |
Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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708 3 Credits Aquatic Chemistry
708 Aquatic Chemistry : 3 Credits :
A detailed examination of the principles governing chemical reactions in water. Emphasis is on developing the ability to predict the aqueous chemistry of natural and perturbed systems based on a knowledge of their biogeochemical setting. Focus is on inorganic chemistry, and topics include elementary thermodynamics, acid-base equilibria, alkalinity, speciation, solubility, mineral stability, redox chemistry, and surface complexation reactions. Illustrative examples are taken from the aquatic chemistry of estuaries, lakes, rivers, wetlands, soils, aquifers, and the atmosphere. A standard software package used to predict chemical equilibria may also be presented. : TBD Faculty |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
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709 3 Credits Lectures, Discussions and Applications of Soil Science
709 Lectures, Discussions and Applications of Soil Science : 3 Credits :
Topics cover the structure and functioning of soils, and how this relates to soil fertility, carbon accounting, climate feedbacks, and ecosystem function in a changing environment. : Mark Bradford |
Bradford TBA - TBA |
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712 3 Credits Water Management
712 Water Management : 3 Credits :
An exploration of freshwater management at scales ranging from local to global. The course looks at multiple dimensions of the water crisis, including human and ecological impacts; water quality and quantity problems; and infrastructural and governance issues. Theory is illustrated through a variety of case studies. Topics covered include global water resources; flooding; water scarcity; residential, agricultural, and industrial water use; water and health; water justice; impacts of climate change and land-use change; stormwater management; dams and other technologies for water management; human impacts on aquatic ecosystems; water and energy; water economics; water rights; water conflict and cooperation. : Shimon C. Anisfeld |
Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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713 3 Credits Coastal Ecosystems
713 Coastal Ecosystems : 3 Credits :
An examination of the natural processes controlling coastal ecosystems, the anthropogenic threats to the health of these systems, and the potential for restoration. Coverage of estuaries, seagrass meadows, macroalgal forests, rocky shores, coral reefs, and mangrove swamps, with a special emphasis on tidal marshes. The course covers a wide range of physical, chemical, and ecological processes. Anthropogenic impacts covered range from local to global and include chemical pollution, climate change, habitat destruction, hypoxia, invasive species, nutrient enrichment, sea-level rise, and overfishing. : Shimon C. Anisfeld |
Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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716 3 Credits Renewable Energy
716 Renewable Energy : 3 Credits : Introduction to renewable energy, including physical principles, existing and emerging technologies, and interaction with the environment. Energy demand; transmission and storage; generation by hydroelectric, wind, solar, biofuel, and geothermal sources, as well as waves and tidal generation. Includes field trips to conventional, hydroelectric, and wind-power facilities in Connecticut. Prerequisites: high school physics, chemistry, and mathematics; college-level science, engineering, and mathematics recommended. : Michael Oristaglio
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Oristaglio Tentative |
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717 3 Credits Tropical Field Ecology
717 Tropical Field Ecology : 3 Credits : APPLICATIONS DUE TBD (by 5pm EST) for ENV 717 TROPICAL FIELD ECOLOGY
TBD and mandatory field trip to Ecuador over Spring Break You must be available for the entire length of the field trip (no arriving late or leaving early to attend other spring break field courses or for other personal/academic/work commitments). Please find below a course description for Tropical Field Ecology (ENV 717b) for the Spring xxxx semester. The course involves a mandatory field trip to Ecuador over spring break (tentative dates: TBD. In the spring semester, we will meet once per week TBD. Because the appropriate logistics and arrangements must be secured several months in advance, enrollment must be finalized by the end of December. APPLICATION PROCEDURE: If you are interested in taking the course, please read the description below and email Dr. Simon Queenborough (simon.queenborough@yale.edu) with the following information by 5PM, DECEMBER TBD:
Course expenses (including airfare, local transportation, meals, lodging, fees, etc.) for YSE students will be covered by the YSE field trip fund. Students from outside of YSE and Yale College must seek alternative funding. Interested YSE and Yale College students should apply regardless of financial situation, and we will work with selected students individually to ensure participation is possible. SELECTION PROCEDURE:For logistical and financial reasons, enrollment is limited. Top priority will be given to students for whom the course will clearly advance their academic/career goals (i.e., students planning to conduct ecological field research and/or focus on tropical ecosystems in their careers). Some previous coursework in ecology is required, but ENV 752 Ecology & Conservation of Tropical Forests is not a prerequisite this year (we will provide some of this content during pre-trip lectures). You must be available for the entire length of the field trip (no arriving late or leaving early to attend other spring break field courses or for other personal/academic/work commitments). Do not apply if you think you cannot commit to all aspects of the class. _____________________________________________________________________________ ENV 717b, Tropical Field Ecology | 3 credits | Time: TBD | enrollment capped at 12 This course is designed to give students firsthand knowledge of tropical biology and the issues surrounding conservation of biodiversity in the tropics, through a combination of seminar-style discussions and a mandatory 12-day field trip over spring break. The emphasis is on active learning and developing independent research projects carried out during the field trip. Using a case-study approach, topics covered include patterns of biodiversity, tropical forest dynamics, reforestation, species interactions and coevolution, climate change impacts, ecosystem services, and human land use. Students also gain experience with study design, data collection methods, and statistical analysis. We will visit Ecuador, a country famous for its high biological, cultural, and economic diversity. We visit a variety of forest ecosystems and hear from local and international scientists about current research in the field. Students undertake two short research projects and also learn basic identification and natural history of tropical plant, bird, and insect species. Students should expect to live in shared accommodation and spend a major part of each day outside in the natural tropical environment under adverse conditions. Enrollment is limited and course applications will be due in the Fall semester. Priority will be given to students planning to conduct field research in the tropics. Prerequisite: ENV752 Ecology & Conservation of Tropical Forests. : Liza Comita : Simon Queenborough |
Comita TBA - TBA |
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723 3 Credits Wetlands Ecology, Conservation & Management
723 Wetlands Ecology, Conservation & Management : 3 Credits :
Wetlands are ubiquitous. Collectively they cover 370,000 square miles in the United States and globally encompass more than five million square miles. Most points on a map are less than one kilometer from the nearest wetland. Yet wetlands are nearly invisible to most people. In this course we explore wetlands in all of their dimensions, including the critical services they provide to other systems, the rich biodiversity they harbor, and their impact on global climate. Additionally, wetlands are linchpin environments for scientific policy and regulation. The overarching aim of the course is to connect what we know about wetlands from a scientific perspective to the ways in which wetlands matter for people.
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Freidenburg TBA - TBA |
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725 3 Credits Water, Energy, and Food Interconnections in a Changing Climate
725 Water, Energy, and Food Interconnections in a Changing Climate : 3 Credits : Water, energy, and food systems are interconnected. Over-appropriation of freshwater to support irrigated agriculture and to develop non-renewable and renewable energy sources has depleted rivers and aquifers, contributing to growing water scarcity that imperils food and energy security. This problem is exacerbated by climate change, which is lowering precipitation and riverine flows in water-stressed regions, increasing crop-water requirements, and raising energy demands for cooling. This seminar is intended to illuminate the relations between freshwater demand and availability, various forms of energy development, agriculture, and human-induced climate change. An understanding of these relations is needed to manage the often-competing objectives of the water, energy, and food sectors in ways that ensure the long-term health of ecosystems. : James E. Saiers
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Saiers TBA - TBA |
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726 3 Credits Observing Earth from Space
726 Observing Earth from Space : 3 Credits :
A practical introduction to satellite image analysis of Earth’s surface. Topics include the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, satellite-borne radiometers, data transmission and storage, computer image analysis, the merging of satellite imagery with GIS and applicationsto weather and climate, oceanography, surficial geology, ecology and epidemiology, forestry, agriculture, archaeology, and watershed management. : Xuhui Lee |
Lee TBA - TBA |
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730 3 Credits Environmental Data Science in R: Introduction to Data Integration and Machine Learning
730 Environmental Data Science in R: Introduction to Data Integration and Machine Learning : 3 Credits : In today's world, understanding environmental data and making informed decisions based on it is crucial for addressing complex environmental challenges. This course serves as an introductory exploration into the integration of environmental data using R programming language, coupled with machine learning techniques. Participants will gain hands-on experience in handling, analyzing, and interpreting environmental datasets, with a focus on leveraging the power of R for data integration and predictive modeling. : Sparkle Malone
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Malone TBA - TBA |
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734 3 Credits Biological Oceanography
734 Biological Oceanography : 3 Credits :
Exploration of oceanic ecosystems and how these environments function as coupled physical/biological systems. Ocean currents and other physical processes determine where nutrients are available to support primary production and where organisms from plankton to top predators occur. Includes discussion of anthropogenic impacts, such as the effects of fishing and climate change on marine ecosystems. : Mary Beth Decker |
Decker TBA - TBA |
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735 3 Credits Hydrologic Science for Environmental Managers
735 Hydrologic Science for Environmental Managers : 3 Credits : This course examines how natural processes and human actions affect the stocks, flows, and quality of freshwater within rivers, wetlands, soils, and aquifers. The course also covers methods used to assess current water-resource conditions and surveys the science that underpins predictions of future trajectories of freshwater availability and quality as shaped by management and other drivers of change. : James E. Saiers
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Saiers TBA - TBA |
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742 3 Credits Fundamentals of Working with People
742 Fundamentals of Working with People : 3 Credits : Using environmental science to help inform and change human actions is a key challenge for environmental managers. Doing so requires that professionals be able to work across different scales, including: (1) understanding their own values and ways of working, as well as those of others; (2) forming, working in, and leading teams reflecting a diversity of experiences and skills; (3) influencing the actions of the organizations within which they are working; and (4) building and managing collaborative networks with others in other organizations affecting the resource systems about which they care. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the scholarship being done (mostly within management fields) on how best to make these connections, as well as the ways individuals are putting those lessons learned into action. The course also introduces students to the professors, individual courses, workshops and other offerings across Yale that offer deeper dives into specific approaches to working more effectively with people. : Stuart DeCew
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DeCew TBA - TBA |
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744 4 Credits Conservation Science and Landscape Planning
744 Conservation Science and Landscape Planning : 4 Credits :
This advanced course applies ecological principles to understand and manage biodiversity and attendant ecosystem functioning and services in the anthropocene. The course addresses the ethical and functional basis for conservation and fosters thinking about why and how humans ought to share the planet with nonhuman life. It covers scientific principles such as evolution, life-history and the viability of species, species endangerment and extinction risk, the kinds of biodiversity, the spatial distribution of biodiversity, the functional roles of species in ecosystems, vulnerability and risk assessments, and valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services. The course applies these principles to the exploration of such topics as biodiversity’s role in the functioning and sustainability of ecological systems, restoration of environmental damages, conserving biodiversity in dynamic landscapes, adapting landscapes to climate change, balancing conservation with urban development and agriculture, and renewable energy siting. It provides students with the quantitative skills to conduct population viability analyses, geospatial analyses of the distribution of biodiversity across landscapes, vulnerability analyses, and decision-analysis to balance trade-offs among multiple objectives of human land development and biodiversity conservation. Prerequisites: ENV 602aor equivalent course in population or community ecology, ENV 755b or equivalent course in GIS, and ENV 728a or equivalent course in statistical analysis of biological data. A course in economics or applied math for environmental studies is strongly encouraged : Oswald J. Schmitz |
Schmitz TBA - TBA |
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750 3 Credits Writing the World
750 Writing the World : 3 Credits :
This is a practical writing course meant to develop your skills as a writer. But its real subject is perception and the writer’s authority—the relationship between what you notice in the world around you and what, culturally speaking, you’re allowed to notice. What you write during the semester is driven entirely by your own interest and attention. How you write is the question at hand. We’ll be exploring the overlapping habitats of language—present and past—and the natural environment. And, to a lesser extent, we’ll be exploring the character of persuasion in environmental themes. Every member of the class will write every week, and we will all read what everyone writes every week. It makes no difference whether you’re a would-be journalist, scientist, environmental advocate or policy-maker. The goal is to rework your writing and sharpen your perceptions, both sensory and intellectual. Application for interested students will be avaiable in August. : Verlyn Klinkenborg |
Klinkenborg TBA - TBA |
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751 3 Credits Sampling Methodology and Practice
751 Sampling Methodology and Practice : 3 Credits :
TBD : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer |
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
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752 3 Credits Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Forests
752 Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Forests : 3 Credits : Tropical forests contain extraordinarily high biological diversity and provide critical ecosystem services with complex interactions with humans. This course focuses on the structure, function, and diversity of intact and degraded tropical forests, with an emphasis on ecological processes that shape plant and animal communities in these unique and diverse ecosystems. We also discuss the major threats to tropical forests, as well as examples of tropical forest recovery following disturbance. The course involves a mix of lectures, classroom activities, and student-led discussions. Students who successfully complete this course are given priority for ENV 717-Tropical Field Ecology (field trip course). : Liza Comita
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Comita TBA - TBA |
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755 3 Credits Modeling Geographic Space
755 Modeling Geographic Space : 3 Credits :
Modeling Geographic Space teaches the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a collection of hardware and software tools that allow users to visualize and analyze geographic data in its spatial configuration. Geographic data is modeled spatially as drawings of discrete objects (vector) or as images of continuous space (raster). ENV 755 will focus on the latter, mapping the nature and pattern of spatial phenomena: both natural characteristics of the landscape, such as elevation, temperature or rainfall, and abstract, statistical characteristics, like distance, density and flow. Students will learn the theory of geospatial analysis alongside practical methods for acquiring, manipulating, displaying, and analyzing cartographic data. : TBD Faculty |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
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756 3 Credits Modeling Geographic Objects
756 Modeling Geographic Objects : 3 Credits : Modeling Geographic Objects teaches the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a collection of hardware and software tools that allow users to visualize and analyze geographic data in its spatial configuration. Geographic data is is modeled spatially as drawings of discrete objects (vector) or as images of continuous space (raster). MGO will focus on the former, mapping the relationships among objects in space: cities, rivers, buildings, districts, parcels, trees, etc. Students will learn the theory of geospatial analysis alongside practical methods for acquiring, manipulating, displaying, and analyzing cartographic data. : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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757 3 Credits Data Exploration and Analysis
757 Data Exploration and Analysis : 3 Credits : Survey of statistical methods: plots, transformations, regression, analysis of variance, clustering, principal components, contingency tables, and time series analysis. The R computing language and web data sources are used.
Follows Yale College Calendar : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer |
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
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758 3 Credits Multivariate Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences
758 Multivariate Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences : 3 Credits :
An introduction to the analysis of multivariate data. Topics include multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), principal components analysis, cluster analysis, canonical correlation, ordination methods including multidimensional scaling, discriminate analysis, factor analysis, and structural equations modeling. Emphasis is placed on practical application of multivariate techniques to a variety of examples in the natural and social sciences. Students are required to select a dataset early in the term for use throughout the term. There are regular assignments and a final project. Extensive use of computers is required—students may use any combination of R, SAS, SPSS, MINITAB, and STATA. Three hours lecture/discussion. : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer |
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
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759 3 Credits Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science
759 Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science : 3 Credits : Introductory graduate course on the social science of contemporary environmental and natural resource challenges, paying special attention to issues involving power and knowledge. Section I, overview of the course. Section II, disasters and environmental perturbation: pandemics, and the social dimensions of disaster. Section III, power and politics: river restoration in Nepal; the conceptual boundaries of resource systems, and the political ecology of water in Mumbai. Section IV, methods: the dynamics of working within development projects; and a multi-sited study of irrigation in Egypt. Section V, local communities: representing the poor, development discourse, and indigenous peoples and knowledge. The goal of the course is to develop analytic distance from current conservation and development debates and discourse. This is a core course for MEM students in YSE, and a core course in the combined YSE/Anthropology degree program. Enrollment is capped. : Michael R. Dove
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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760 3 Credits Conservation in Practice: An International Perspective
760 Conservation in Practice: An International Perspective : 3 Credits :
This seminar focuses on the practice of wildlife and wildlands conservation, examining key topics from the dual perspectives of academic literature and actual field experiences; bringing together interdisciplinary thinking; and drawing on examples from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America. The thematic outline of the seminar is organized around three fundamental questions in nature conservation: What are we trying to save—and why? How is this being done—and how has it changed over time? What lessons are we learning—and what overarching issues remain problematic? Specific topics include how different players define and value wildness; selection and prioritization of conservation targets; comparisons of various species and landscape conservation approaches; and governance and decision-making in conservation, including ties between conservation and development and community-based conservation. During the term, students work in small teams to assess one of several current case studies—integrating biological, social, economic, and governance considerations—to propose an effective path forward for conservation. Participation and leadership are key, as the seminar is discussion-based and approximately 25% of the sessions are student-led. Evaluation is based on participation, presentations, and a final paper. : Amy Vedder : Bill Weber |
Vedder TBA - TBA |
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761 3 Credits Negotiating International Agreements: The Case of Climate Change
761 Negotiating International Agreements: The Case of Climate Change : 3 Credits : This class is a practical introduction to the negotiation of international agreements, with a focus on climate change. Through the climate lens, students explore cross-cutting features of international agreements, the process of international negotiations, the development of national positions, advocacy of national positions internationally, and the many ways in which differences among negotiating countries are resolved. The seminar also examines the history and substance of the climate change regime, including, inter alia, the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, the 2015 Paris Agreement, the UAE Consensus, and other recent developments. There are two mock negotiations.
Permission from the Instructor needed to register : Susan Biniaz |
Biniaz TBA - TBA |
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762 1.5 Credits Foundations of Applied Math for the Environment (FAME) Fall-2 meets Oct 20-Dec 17
762 Foundations of Applied Math for the Environment (FAME) Fall-2 meets Oct 20-Dec 17 : 1.5 Credits : The language of mathematics is an important leg in the stool of interdisciplinary research and analysis, and many graduate courses at YSE involve mathematical content. However, many graduate students have not taken a math course in years, and their math skills are rusty. Furthermore, many graduate-level mathematical concepts may be entirely new. Experience suggests that many students either opt out of taking courses they are truly interested in or muddle through, struggle with the math, and miss important concepts. FAME is meant to help students refresh or acquire new math skills and succeed in content and provide a foundational “toolbox” for graduate-level courses. FAME provides a structured opportunity to learn a range of mathematical concepts used in environmental research. The course assumes that, at a minimum, students took college algebra (and have been exposed to calculus). Concepts are presented heuristically in a “how to” and “why” approach with examples from environmental research and policy questions. The goal is for students to be conversant and have intuition about (i.e., to demystify) why logs, exponents, derivatives, integrals. Also covered is a bit of history of math and an introduction to computer programming. : Eli Fenichel
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Fenichel TBA - TBA |
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763 1.5 Credits Applied Math for Environmental Scientists (AMES) Spring-1 term Jan 12-Feb 27
763 Applied Math for Environmental Scientists (AMES) Spring-1 term Jan 12-Feb 27 : 1.5 Credits : AMES is a continuation of FAME. It is intended for students who wish to round out their graduate level applied math toolbox and start building mathematical models. Topics covered show up in many graduate courses as if students had formal training in them. This provides students with on ramps to important concepts like linear algebra, optimization, stability analysis, and differential equations. This course is especially helpful for students considering or starting a PhD. : Eli Fenichel
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Fenichel TBA - TBA |
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764 3 Credits American Cosmologies
764 American Cosmologies : 3 Credits :
This course equips students to recognize and analyze how moral and cultural worldviews shape the way Americans understand nature, make policy, and define national purpose. Drawing on sociology, philosophy, and religious studies, students will examine how sacred values guide decisions across sectors often seen as technical or rational, from environmental science to land management. The course centers the North American West — not as a regional niche but as a powerful lens for understanding how American belief systems collide, adapt, and endure. We’ll trace these dynamics through public land conflicts, ecotourism, spiritual movements, unlikely forms of cooperation, and cultural responses to death and extinction. Students will learn to analyze cultural systems, write persuasively, build confidence speaking, and engage across political and moral divides with nuance and clarity. Don’t take this course if you’re not ready to do heavy reading, challenge your assumptions, and engage in open debate. |
Farrell TBA - TBA |
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767 3 Credits Tools for Conservation Project Design & Management
767 Tools for Conservation Project Design & Management : 3 Credits : As wildlife and wildland conservation programs have multiplied and grown in size, conservation organizations have sought methods to improve strategic project planning, assessment of progress, cross-project comparison, learning of lessons, and transparency for donors. To address these challenges, major nonprofit organizations have collaboratively designed a set of decision-support tools for planning field projects and programs and for monitoring their progress, summarized in the “Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation” (http://cmp-openstandards.org). Use of these tools has allowed organizations to more clearly articulate strategies, define priority actions, critically assess success, manage adaptively, and derive lessons—all of which help to improve effectiveness. Students in this course explore a mutually reinforcing suite of these project tools: their underlying principles are introduced, students practice the techniques, and current case studies from field conservation are examined to explore tool utility. Students synthesize use of these design tools in a final project design focused on a single case study of their choice. The suite of decision-support tools covered includes situation (logic) models for project design, stakeholder assessments, threats and opportunities analysis, conservation target identification, and monitoring frameworks. Students gain experience in design of projects and their monitoring, as well as familiarity with budgeting. Evaluation is based on class participation, regular assignments, and a final project design paper. : Amy Vedder : Bill Weber
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Vedder TBA - TBA |
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771 3 Credits Fundamentals of Green Engineering and Green Chemistry
771 Fundamentals of Green Engineering and Green Chemistry : 3 Credits :
There is a broad desire to ensure that consumer products, manufacturing processes, and material and energy systems are compatible with public health, environmental sustainability, and this course provides the fundamental knowledge on the frameworks, methods, tools, and techniques of how to design for sustainability. Through an understanding of the conceptual contracts and the application to real-world case studies, students will understand the impacts of design on health (including toxic and eco-toxic effects) and the ways to ensure that new products, processes, and systems can be constructed through the principles of green engineering and green chemistry. This is a course of fundamentals that set the foundation for more advanced investigations in sustainable design and therefore there are no pre-requisites. : Paul Anastas : Julie Zimmerman : Hanno Erythropel |
Anastas Tentative |
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773 3 Credits Air Pollution Control (APC)
773 Air Pollution Control (APC) : 3 Credits :
An overview of air quality problems worldwide with a focus on emissions, chemistry, transport, and other processes that govern dynamic behavior in the atmosphere. Quantitative assessment of the determining factors of air pollution (e.g., transportation and other combustion–related sources, chemical transformations), climate change, photochemical “smog,” pollutant measurement techniques, and air quality management strategies. : Drew Gentner |
Gentner TBA - TBA |
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775 3 Credits Federal Indian Law
775 Federal Indian Law : 3 Credits : This course will cover the basics of federal Indian law. It will not address the substantive content of tribal law. Tribal law is a specialized study arising from the exercise of the legal authority that the tribes retain. This course is designed to lay the ground work for a deep understanding of what kinds of sovereignty Indian nations may exercise within the framework of our legal system.
Normally, courses of this type begin with an historical exploration of the foundations of the relations between Indian and non-Indian peoples. Instead, we will begin with questions that are current and sketch out, roughly, where we are now. Typically, we start with cases pending before or recently decided by the Supreme Court. We use the Marshall Trilogy to build from the present back to the origins to see how the doctrines reflect the positive aspects of the legal expression of contact between Europe and the native nations of the Western hemisphere as well as the more malign aspects. We will also situate the doctrinal evolution of federal Indian law with the struggle over colonialism as expressed in the insular cases. We will not neglect the history; it will prove critical for understanding the ways in which federal Indian law is sui generis in domestic jurisprudence, but we will see how that history is always haunted by the specter of colonialism, extra-legality, and finally international legal norms. Every student must complete the discussion question requirements to sit for the examination or to submit a paper. Follows Law School Calendar : TBD Faculty |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
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776 3 Credits Narratives of “Framing” Climate Migration: Scientific Evidence, Unheard Voices, and Responsibilities
776 Narratives of “Framing” Climate Migration: Scientific Evidence, Unheard Voices, and Responsibilities : 3 Credits :
This intensive fall seminar is designed for students from diverse disciplines with experience in summer fieldwork data collection to analyze and produce various outputs that facilitate a deeper understanding of climate migration. The course explores the complex relationship between climate change and migration, focusing on hands-on quantitative and qualitative data manipulation and analysis of the attribution of environmental/climate change drivers, the experiences of migrants, the responses of host communities, and the rise of a conservative, negative narrative on climate migration. Legal frameworks and human rights perspectives are central to understanding the challenges and opportunities for climate migrants. At the end of the course, we expect students to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse challenges and opportunities within attribution science, as well as the human rights, policy, political, and financial frameworks at the intersection of climate change and migration, through data preprocessing, the use of different tools, analysis, documenting and writing. The course enables students to develop the skills and perspectives needed to pursue inclusive, interactive, solution-oriented approaches to climate migration challenges. : Michel Gelobter : TBD Faculty |
Gelobter TBA - TBA |
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782 3 Credits Globalization Space: International Infrastructure and Extrastatecraft
782 Globalization Space: International Infrastructure and Extrastatecraft : 3 Credits : Infrastructure space as a primary medium of change in global polity. Networks of trade, energy, communication, transportation, spatial products, finance, management, and labor, as well as new strains of political opportunity that reside within their spatial disposition. Case studies include free zones and automated ports around the world, satellite urbanism in South Asia, high-speed rail in Japan and the Middle East, agripoles in southern Spain, fiber optic submarine cable in East Africa, spatial products of tourism in North Korea, and management platforms of the International Organization for Standardization. : Keller Easterling
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Easterling Tentative |
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789 3 Credits Energy and Development
789 Energy and Development : 3 Credits : This 3 credit course delves into the relationship between energy use and economic development, at a household, national and global scale. The course will provide both a quantitative and qualitative understanding of poverty, energy demand, and the relationship between the two. Students will grapple with different income and multidimensional poverty and living standards indicators, GDP and its limitations as a human development measure. We will learn about energy poverty in various parts of the world, energy consumption patterns with rising income. Students will be exposed to cutting edge research on living standards measures and their embodied energy needs. Students will study actual household survey and national statistics data on consumption and energy use. We will cover basic models for household energy transitions, and appliance diffusion. This is a seminar course, wherein students will be expected to present readings in class. The course involves one term project and presentation which may be quantitative or qualitative. Basic math, excel and microeconomics are required. Those selecting technical projects should have basic R or other data manipulation skills. : Narasimha Rao
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Rao TBA - TBA |
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792 3 Credits Climate Change Communication
792 Climate Change Communication : 3 Credits : This graduate-level course explores theories, methods, and strategies for effectively communicating about climate change to diverse audiences. Students analyze the psychological, social, cultural, and political factors influencing public perceptions of climate change and assess how communication can motivate climate action. The course also emphasizes practical skills, including developing targeted communication campaigns, dealing with misinformation, and utilizing evidence-based communication frameworks. : Anthony Leiserowitz
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Leiserowitz TBA - TBA |
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793 3 Credits Abrupt Climate Change and Societal Collapse
793 Abrupt Climate Change and Societal Collapse : 3 Credits :
Collapse documented in the archaeological and early historical records of the Old and New Worlds, including Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Europe. Analysis of politicoeconomic vulnerabilities, resiliencies, and adaptations in the face of abrupt climate change, anthropogenic environmental degradation, resource depletion, “barbarian” incursions, or class conflict. : Harvey Weiss |
Weiss Tentative |
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795 3 Credits Nature as Capital: Merging Ecological and Economic Models
795 Nature as Capital: Merging Ecological and Economic Models : 3 Credits :
Students learnconcepts and develop skills in natural resource economicsincluding thinking about natural resources as capital assets with a specific link to quantitative measures that may be useful in assessing sustainability. Students gain a working knowledge of concepts necessary to apply capital theory to ecosystems and develop a skill set sufficient to build dynamic bioeconomic models that can help them approximate the value of changes in ecosystems. Students also learn computational toolsin Excel and Rin dynamic optimization, which are useful for forward-looking decision-making. Application focus on natural resources and conservation questions. : Eli Fenichel |
Fenichel TBA - TBA |
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796 3 Credits Biopolitics of Human-Nonhuman Relations
796 Biopolitics of Human-Nonhuman Relations : 3 Credits : Advanced graduate seminar on the ‘post-humanist’ turn toward multi-species ethnography. Section I, introduction to the course. Section II, perspectivism: ontological theory and multi-species ethnography; human consciousness and the environment; and mimesis in human-prey relations. Section III, entanglements: translating indigenous knowledge; the history of natural history; and the politics of environmentalism. Section IV, metaphors: non-human imagery in political discourses; and geologic/volcanic imagery. Section V, student selections of readings; and student presentations of their seminar papers. Section VI, conclusion: plants as teachers; and a lecture by the course TF. Three hour lecture/seminar. Enrollment capped. : Michael R. Dove
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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800 3 Credits Energy Economics and Policy Analysis
800 Energy Economics and Policy Analysis : 3 Credits :
This course examines energy policy issues that pertain to the environment, with a focus on providing tools for analyzing these issues. A primary objective is to apply economics to particular issues of energy markets, environmental impacts, investment in renewables, and other energy issues such as transportation and energy efficiency. We cover the economic and technical considerations behind a particular energy policy issue and then discuss a related article or case study. : Kenneth Gillingham |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
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805 1.5 Credits Seminar on Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
805 Seminar on Environmental and Natural Resource Economics : 1.5 Credits :
This seminar is based on outside speakers and internal student/faculty presentations oriented toward original research in the field of environmental and natural resource economics and policy. Presentations are aimed at the doctoral level, but interested master’s students may enroll with permission of the instructors. : Kenneth Gillingham : Matthew J. Kotchen |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
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807 3 Credits Corporate Sustainability: Strategy and Management
807 Corporate Sustainability: Strategy and Management : 3 Credits :
This survey course focuses on the policy and business logic for making environmental issues and sustainability a core focus of corporate strategy and management. Students are asked to analyze when and how sustainability leadership can translate into competitive advantage by helping to cut costs, reduce risk, drive growth, and promote brand identity and intangible value. The course combines lectures, case studies, and class discussions on management theory and tools, the legal and regulatory frameworks that shape the business-environment interface, and the evolving role of business in society, including how to deal with a world of diverse stakeholders, increasing transparency, and rising expectations related to corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Self-scheduled examination. |
Esty TBA - TBA |
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811 3 Credits ESG Controller
811 ESG Controller : 3 Credits : This is an applied course on the metrics, indicators and tools used by businesses to implement strategically relevant Corporate Social and Environmentally Responsibility (CR) or Sustainability programs. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the knowledge and tools used by practitioners in CR. Although this course explores details of the CR strategy implementation, it is designed to link CR to the overall business drivers and is therefore relevant for any potential corporate manager or consultant. Non-SOM students taking a YSOM course will be assessed a fee for copyright charges. The fee is $30.00 for a full semester course and $15.00 for a ½ semester course. Students enrolled in either the YSOM course number or the cross-listed course number will be charged. : Todd Cort
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Cort TBA - TBA |
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814 3 Credits Energy Systems Analysis
814 Energy Systems Analysis : 3 Credits :
This 3-credit lecture course offers an overview of all aspects of energy systems and their interaction with society and the environment. The course will provide students with a comprehensive theoretical and empirical knowledge base about energy systems in the world. This course will describe and explain the basics of energy and the laws that govern it, the different components of an energy system (supply technologies, delivery systems, and demand), the institutions that govern the energy sectors, the role of energy in development, its impact on climate change and an understanding of the key challenges of an energy transition towards a sustainable future. The course will have a specific emphasis on electricity systems, how they are operated and governed, and how they have to be transformed to tackle climate change. Students will receive a unique exposure to energy issues in the Global South. This course will provide students with basic analytical tools and knowledge to formulate and solve energy-related decisions at an individual, national and global scale, and to understand and critique ongoing policy dialogues on energy and climate. : Narasimha Rao |
Rao TBA - TBA |
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816 3 Credits Electric Utilities: an Industry in Transition
816 Electric Utilities: an Industry in Transition : 3 Credits : The U.S. electric utility industry is a $400 billion business with capital expenditures on the order of $100 billion per year to replace aging infrastructure, implement new technologies, and meet new regulatory requirements. A reliable electricity infrastructure is essential for the U.S. economy and the health and safety of its citizens. The electric industry also has a significant impact on the environment. In the United States, electric power generation is responsible for about 40 percent of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas. Electric utilities in the United States are at a crossroads. Technological innovations, improving economics, and regulatory incentives provide a transformational opportunity to implement demand-side resources and distributed energy technologies that will both lower emissions and improve service to customers. Such significant changes could, however, disrupt existing utility business models and therefore may not be fully supported by incumbent utilities. This course focuses on the issues, challenges, risks, and trade-offs associated with moving the U.S. utility industry toward a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. We explore how utilities are regulated and how economic factors and regulatory policies influence outcomes and opportunities to align customer, environmental, and utility shareholder interests to craft win-win-win solutions. : John Rhodes
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Rhodes TBA - TBA |
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819 3 Credits Measuring and Visualizing Urban Environments
819 Measuring and Visualizing Urban Environments : 3 Credits : Cities are central to addressing some of the most pressing sustainability challenges of our time. Access to data is transforming how we study them, offering new opportunities to make data actionable for policy through analysis and visualization. This course explores a series of urban sustainability challenges, focusing on how innovative data sources and tools can be harnessed to address them. Through hands-on workshops, students will explore and analyze urban data from sources such as street networks, sensors, drones, images, and GPS data. The course emphasizes environmental challenges, including the interplay between the built environment, vegetation, and heat, and the influence of urban policies on climate resilience. It also delves into societal concerns like equitable access to services and socioeconomic segregation in cities. Students will learn to effectively collect, analyze, and visualize large spatial datasets, gaining practical skills in spatial analysis, computer vision, network analysis, and more. The course concludes with a final project, allowing students to apply their skills to urban problems. : Arianna Salazar Miranda
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Salazar Miranda TBA - TBA |
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821 3 Credits Environmental Policymaking: From Local to Global
821 Environmental Policymaking: From Local to Global : 3 Credits : This course focuses on policymaking around environmental issues. We will explore and analyze institutions at all levels of government, from community management of forests to global management of greenhouse gas emissions. We will also explore a variety of environmental case studies. Students will learn to examine issues and institutions through the lens of the actors involved, their incentives, and the information they have. The course will include a simulation taking place over multiple weeks where students will negotiate an international environmental agreement
by application (tbd) : Luke Sanford |
Sanford TBA - TBA |
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822 1.5 Credits Strategic Communication: Delivering Effective Presentations(see description for section times and dates)
822 Strategic Communication: Delivering Effective Presentations(see description for section times and dates) : 1.5 Credits : Must get permission from Instructor to enroll in course - Cannot add this course to online worksheet
Enrollment cap of 6 YSE students per section. F&ES students are asked to submit a statement of interest to Professor Reich. 2 Sections available in Fall-2 Section -01: T/Th 10:10-11:30 - Evans Hall Section -02: T/Th 1:00-2:20 - Evans Hall The focus of this course is to increase one's competencies in oral communication and presentation. Developing and executing effective communication strategies is essential in a variety of business settings. Business leaders are often expected to present their message with confidence and clarity to employees, clients, partners, investors and the public. This highly interactive, practical course will help students develop confidence in public speaking through weekly presentations and assignments, lectures and discussions, guest speakers, simulated activities, and filmed feedback. Students will be given the opportunity to present both individually and as part of a team. We will explore the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion: audience analysis, message construction, communicator credibility, and delivery. Students at all levels of mastery of public speaking will benefit from this course. Enrollment is limited to 36. Students are required to attend the first class session in order to remain enrolled or to bid for the course. : Taly Reich |
Reich Tentative |
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823 2 Credits Energy Law and Policy (Follows Law School Calendar)
823 Energy Law and Policy (Follows Law School Calendar) : 2 Credits :
This course explores the troubled intersection between energy, environmental, economic and national security policies. We consider a diverse range of regulatory approaches to minimize adverse environmental effects of various forms of energy development. These include emerging issues regarding climate change and promoting renewable energy, hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), regulation of off-shore drilling and lessons from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, liability for natural resources and other damages from oil spills under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90), the Fukushima, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear accidents and the role of nuclear energy, if any, going forward. We also cover the basics of utility rate setting and the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency (FERC). We conclude by considering the geopolitical implications of various energy policies. There are no prerequisites. Supervised Analytic Writing or Substantial Paper credit available for three credits, or a shorter seminar paper or self-scheduled essay exam for two credits. Self-scheduled examination or paper option : TBD Faculty |
Faculty Tentative |
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824 3 Credits Environmental Law and Policy
824 Environmental Law and Policy : 3 Credits :
Introduction to the legal requirements and policy underpinnings of the basic U.S. laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and various statutes governing waste, food safety, and toxic substances. This course will examine and evaluate current approaches to pollution control and resource management as well as the "next generation" of regulatory strategies, including economic incentives, voluntary emissions reductions, and information disclosure requirements. Mechanisms for addressing environmental issues at the local, regional, and global levels will also be considered. Scheduled examination : Robert Klee |
Klee TBA - TBA |
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828 3 Credits Risk Assessment & Management: Climate Change
828 Risk Assessment & Management: Climate Change : 3 Credits :
This course focuses on the concept of environmental and health risks and their management by both the public and private sectors. Risk assessments have become the primary form of rational analysis that governments and corporations rely upon to identify, prioritize, and manage environmental and health threats. The class examines a series of environmental challenges dimensions of risk in each case including magnitude, distribution, duration, reversibility, and probability. Each case also considers past and potential policy types to assure a safe, healthy, just, and sustainable future. These range from prohibition, regulation, tax adjustments, trading programs, subsidies, certification, transparency requirements, buffer zone specification, transboundary contamination management, among others. Special attention is given to those at special risk including the young and elderly, minorities experiencing discrimination, poorer populations without the resources to self-manage environmental dangers, those living in high hazard areas, and those with background illnesses. : John P. Wargo |
Wargo TBA - TBA |
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831 3 Credits Urban Planning Strategies for Sustainable Development
831 Urban Planning Strategies for Sustainable Development : 3 Credits : This class explores how urban planning strategies shape the function and sustainability of cities. Students will examine key approaches, including proximity-based planning (such as the 15-minute city, superblocks, and transit-oriented development) and community-driven interventions (such as tactical urbanism and informal mobility). Through lectures and case studies, the course will trace the historical origins and evolution of these strategies, the motivations behind their adoption, and their intended and unintended impacts on urban sustainability. In a final project, students will synthesize comparative evidence to evaluate the conditions that shape the effectiveness of these strategies. The course provides knowledge relevant for careers in policy, environmental management, urban planning, and related fields. : Arianna Salazar Miranda
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Salazar Miranda TBA - TBA |
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834 3 Credits Environmental Economics and Policy
834 Environmental Economics and Policy : 3 Credits : This is a course in environmental and natural resource economics and policy. It covers both general methodological principles and specific applications. Rather than serving as a standard course in environmental and natural resource economics, the material is tailored specifically to master’s students pursuing professional degrees in environmental management. The course therefore has a focus on environmental problem solving in the real world. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: evaluation of environmental policies (e.g., standards, taxes, cap-and-trade); cost-benefit analysis and its critiques; nonmarket valuation (ecosystem services, revealed and stated preferences); discounting and macroeconomic perspectives on climate change; management of nonrenewable resources (oil, minerals, etc.); management of renewable resources (forests, fisheries, etc.); land and biodiversity conservation; the relationship between development, trade, and the environment; strategic incentives for international environmental agreements; and environmental behavioral economics. : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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835 1.5 Credits Seminar on Land Use Planning (Fall-1 term Aug 27-Oct 10)
835 Seminar on Land Use Planning (Fall-1 term Aug 27-Oct 10) : 1.5 Credits : Land use control exercised by state and local governments determines where development occurs on the American landscape, the preservation of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases, the conservation of energy, and the shape and livability of cities and towns. The exercise of legal authority to plan and regulate the development and conservation of privately owned land plays a key role in meeting the needs of the nation’s growing population for equitable housing, energy, and nonresidential development as well as ensuring that critical environmental functions are protected from the adverse impacts of land development. This course explores the multifaceted discipline of land use and urban planning and their associated ecological implications. Numerous land use strategies are discussed, including identifying and defining climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, including affordable housing, community revitalization, energy development and siting, equitable community engagement, transit-oriented development, building and neighborhood energy conservation, distressed building remediation, jobs and housing balance, coastal resiliency, and biological carbon sequestration. The course also explores how recent events impact these planning issues. The focus is on exposing students to the basics of land use and urban planning, especially in the United States but also internationally, and serving as an introduction for a YSE curricular concentration in land use. The majority of classes will highlight guest speakers who are professionals involved in sustainable development, land conservation, smart growth, renewable energy, and climate change management. Some synchronized classes are held online to accommodate guest speakers around the country and outside of the U.S. : Jessica Bacher
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
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835E 1.5 Credits Seminar on Land Use Planning (Online)
835E Seminar on Land Use Planning (Online) : 1.5 Credits : Land use control exercised by state and local governments determines where development occurs on the American landscape, the preservation of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases, the conservation of energy, and the shape and livability of cities and towns. The exercise of legal authority to plan and regulate the development and conservation of privately owned land plays a key role in meeting the needs of the nation’s growing population for equitable housing, energy, and nonresidential development as well as ensuring that critical environmental functions are protected from the adverse impacts of land development. This course explores the multifaceted discipline of land use and urban planning and their associated ecological implications. Numerous land use strategies are discussed, including identifying and defining climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, including affordable housing, community revitalization, energy development and siting, equitable community engagement, transit-oriented development, building and neighborhood energy conservation, distressed building remediation, jobs and housing balance, coastal resiliency, and biological carbon sequestration. The class will also explore how recent events impact these planning issues. The focus of this seminar is to expose students to the basics of land use and urban planning, especially in the U.S. but also internationally, and to serve as an introduction for a YSE curricular concentration in land use. Guest speakers are professionals involved in sustainable development, land conservation, smart growth, renewable energy, and climate change management. : Jessica Bacher
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
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836 3 Credits Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development
836 Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development : 3 Credits :
An interdisciplinary examination of agrarian societies, contemporary and historical, Western and non-Western. Major analytical perspectives from anthropology, economics, history, political science, and environmental studies are used to develop a meaning-centered and historically grounded account of the transformations of rural society. Team-taught. : TBD Faculty : Elisabeth Wood |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
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840 3 Credits Climate Change Policy and Perspectives
840 Climate Change Policy and Perspectives : 3 Credits : This course examines the scientific, economic, legal, political, institutional, and historic underpinnings of climate change and the related policy challenge of developing the energy system needed to support a prosperous and sustainable modern society. Particular attention is given to analyzing the existing framework of treaties, law, regulations, and policy—and the incentives they have created—which have done little over the past several decades to change the world’s trajectory with regard to the build-up of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. What would a twenty-first-century policy framework that is designed to deliver a sustainable energy future and a successful response to climate change look like? How would such a framework address issues of equity? How might incentives be structured to engage the business community and deliver the innovation needed in many domains? While designed as a lecture course, class sessions are highly interactive. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. : Robert Klee
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Klee TBA - TBA |
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850 3 Credits International Organizations and Conferences
850 International Organizations and Conferences : 3 Credits :
This course focuses on the historic, present, and future roles of international environmental conferences. Through guest speakers, assigned readings, and discussions, students explore conferences including IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, UNFCCC’s climate change conference, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Students, along with visiting alumni and guest speakers, discuss the roles and impacts of the various conferences in international environmental decision-making and the future of international conferences in a post-COVID world. The course also assesses the potential for improved equity, justice, and inclusion in international conferences, organizations, and their secretariats. Students attending fall conferences (in person or virtually) develop work plans to be completed during the conference under the guidance of their host delegations and the instructor. : Peter Boyd |
Boyd TBA - TBA |
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853 3 Credits International Trade Law and Policy
853 International Trade Law and Policy : 3 Credits : This course explores the laws, policies, economic theories, and negotiating practices that undergird international trade. Particular emphasis is placed on the governance structures that regulate the trading system including multilateral institutions (particularly the World Trade Organization) and domestic trade policy entities (including the US Trade Representative and the International Trade Commission). The course explores the rules and principles of the Global Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as well as the Global Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and regional accords such as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Special focus is given to the recent backlash against trade liberalization—and globalization more generally—and how the system of international economic law has addressed the integration of new issues including climate change, environmental protection more broadly, inequality, human rights, worker impacts, labor rights, and public health. Follows Yale Law School calendar. Limited to sixteen : Daniel C. Esty : Gary Horlick
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Esty TBA - TBA |
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854 3 Credits Food Systems Transformation and Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals in the Global South
854 Food Systems Transformation and Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals in the Global
South : 3 Credits : This course will provide a helpful framing to understand both why and how food systems transformation can accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the global south. The course will focus on drivers of unsustainability and obstacles to sustainable food systems that meet food security in terms of food availability, accessibility and utilization. The course will take a solutions-oriented approach to illustrating the ways in which food systems transformation is uniquely positioned to holistically address the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. It will examine the multiplicity of entry points that food systems transformation offers for fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth, reversing harmful environmental trends, and enhancing the resilience of the poorest and most vulnerable populations. The course will explore tensions at play notably how small-scale farmers often practice unsustainable agriculture so that they can continue their livelihoods while their sustainable future is threatened. We will explore the effects of climate change and how to build resilience in agriculture and food systems. Through weekly readings, discussions, and problem- solving sessions, students will be equipped with the knowledge and tools required to apply systems thinking to complex food systems challenges in an integrated manner for people, the planet, prosperity, and peace. : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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878 3 Credits Climate and Society: Past to Present
878 Climate and Society: Past to Present : 3 Credits : Seminar on the major traditions of thought and debate regarding climate, climate change, and society, drawing largely on the social sciences and humanities. Section I, overview of the course. Section II, disaster: the social origins of disastrous events; and the attribution of societal ‘collapse’ to extreme climatic events. Section III, causality: the revelatory character of climatic perturbation; politics and the history of efforts to control weather/climate; and 19th-20th century theories of environmental determinism. Section IV, history and culture: the ancient tradition of explaining differences among people in terms of differences in climate; and cross-cultural differences in views of climate. Section V, knowledge: the study of folk knowledge of climate; and local views of climatic perturbation and change. Section VI, politics: knowledge, humor, and symbolism in North-South climate debates. The goal of the course is to examine the embedded historical, cultural, and political drivers of current climate change debates and discourses. This course can be applied towards Yale College distributional requirements in Social Science and Writing. The course is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Enrollment capped. : Michael R. Dove
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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884 3 Credits Industrial Ecology
884 Industrial Ecology : 3 Credits :
Industrial ecology studies (1) the flows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities, (2) the effects of these flows on the environment, and (3) the influences of economic, political, regulatory, and social factors on the flow, use, and transformation of resources. The goals of the course are to define and describe industrial ecology; to demonstrate the relationships among production, consumption, sustainability, and industrial ecology in diverse settings, from firms to cities to international trade flows; to show how industrial ecology serves as a framework for the consideration of environmental and sustainability-related aspects of science, technology, and policy; and to define and describe tools, applications, and implications of industrial ecology.
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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893 3 Credits Principles of Risk Assessment
893 Principles of Risk Assessment : 3 Credits :
This course introduces students to the nomenclature, concepts, and basic skills of quantitative risk assessment (QRA). The goal is to provide an understanding necessary to read and critically evaluate QRA. Emphasis is on the intellectual and conceptual basis of risk assessment, particularly its dependence on toxicology and epidemiology, rather than its mathematical constructs and statistical models. Specific cases consider the use of risk assessment for setting occupational exposure limits, establishing community exposure limits, and quantifying the hazards of environmental exposures to chemicals in air and drinking water. : Vasilis Vasiliou |
Vasiliou Tentative |
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894 3 Credits Green Building: Issues and Perspectives
894 Green Building: Issues and Perspectives : 3 Credits :
Our built environment shapes the planet, our communities, and each of us. Green buildings seek to minimize environmental impacts, strengthen the fabric of our cities and towns, and make our work and our homes more productive and fulfilling. This course is an applied course, exploring both the technical and the social-business-political aspects of buildings. Topics range from building science (hygrothermal performance of building enclosures) to indoor environmental quality; from product certifications to resilience (robust buildings and communities in the face of disasters and extended service outages). The purpose of the course is to build a solid background in the processes and issues related to green buildings, equipping students with practical knowledge about the built environment. Extensive use is made of resources from BuildingGreen, Inc., one of the leading information companies supporting green building and green building professionals. The course takes a “joint-discovery” approach with substantial emphasis on research and group project work, some fieldwork, and online individual testing. There are too many topics within green building to cover in one term, so the course is broken down into two sections. The first six weeks focus on the following topics, led by the instructor and/or an expert guest lecturer: building science, materials, indoor environmental quality, rating programs and systems, resilience, systems integration. The second half of the course focuses on selected topics driven by students and their particular interest/academic focus. The class meets once a week, with the instructor available to students that same day. Enrollment limited to twenty-four. : Melissa Kops |
Kops TBA - TBA |
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896 3 Credits Public Health Toxicology
896 Public Health Toxicology : 3 Credits :
This course is designed to serve as a foundation for understanding environmental toxicology. It includes basic principles of toxicology, mechanisms of toxicity and cellular defense, and the fundamental interactions between chemicals and biological systems. Human exposure to foreign chemicals and their adverse effects are considered, as is the importance of federal and state agencies in protecting public health. Through the use of case studies, the course provides insights into prevention of mortality and morbidity resulting from environmental exposure to toxic substances, the fundamentals of risk assessment and regulatory toxicology, and the causes underlying the variability in susceptibility of people to chemicals. : Vasilis Vasiliou |
Vasiliou Tentative |
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900 3 Credits Doctoral Student Seminar and Responsible Conduct of Research
900 Doctoral Student Seminar and Responsible Conduct of Research : 3 Credits :
This course provides the foundation for doctoral study at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. As a major part of the course, students will learn what it means to do scholarly research as well as become adept with philosophy of science and research methodology and proposal writing, as a basis for exploring diverse approaches to formulating and addressing research questions. Students will work with their advisers to put these concepts and principles into practice to develop the basis for their dissertation research (including building bibliography, identifying and crafting research questions, formulating research hypotheses and drafting a research proposal). Students will further learn about funding opportunities and procedures for submitting grants. The course will also cover professional ethics and responsible conduct of research, including ethical approaches to inquiry and measurement, data acquisition and management, authorship and publication, peer review, conflicts of interest, mentoring, collaborative research, and animal and human subjects research. Finally, the course will explore ethical ways to advocate for the application of scholarly knowledge in the interest of environmental problem solving. Weekly assigned readings will support concepts and issues addressed in class. Students will present their embryonic research ideas in class and use feedback from the group to further develop their ideas : Michelle L. Bell |
Bell TBA - TBA |
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902 1 Credit Environmental Anthropology Colloquy
902 Environmental Anthropology Colloquy : 1 Credit :
1 course credit/credit/fail. A biweekly seminar for Dove doctoral advisees and students in the combined YSE/Anthropology doctoral program. Presentation and discussion of grant proposals, dissertation prospectuses, and dissertation chapters; trial runs of conference presentations and job talks; discussion of comprehensive exams, grantsmanship, fieldwork, data analysis, writing and publishing, and the job search; and collaborative writing and publishing projects. : Michael R. Dove |
Dove TBA - TBA |
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910 3 Credits Survival Skills for Doctoral Students
910 Survival Skills for Doctoral Students : 3 Credits : credit/fail. This course is aimed at preparing advanced doctoral students for successful and rewarding careers in ecology and environmental science. Students learn about academic and non-academic careers from readings of and presentations by scientists in those positions. Students identify important steps toward planning and launching their career paths, and skills for being effective in these positions; and they develop their own career plan, curriculum vitae, teaching and research plans, and critiques of professional web pages. Finally, the course exposes students to resources and opportunities for continuing to apply and polish their skills. : William Lauenroth : Indy Burke
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Lauenroth Tentative |
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951 3.0 Credits Strategic Environmental Communication
951 Strategic Environmental Communication : 3.0 Credits : Strategic communication is a powerful means of achieving an organization’s mission, especially when informed by insights into human behavior and social systems. By the end of this course, students are able to develop communication strategies and apply insights from the social and behavioral sciences to improve the effectiveness of their communication campaigns. Enrollment limited to twelve. : Anthony Leiserowitz
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Leiserowitz TBA - TBA |
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953 3 Credits Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting
953 Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting : 3 Credits :
The intended outcome of this course is to provide you with a ‘capstone’ experience; consulting to established organizations confronting real-life challenges at the intersection of business and environmental sustainability. The course is designed for you to apply tools and insights gained in this and other courses to a defined project, creating deliverables that will be useful to the partner organizations. |
Boyd TBA - TBA |
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954 3 Credits Management Plans for Protected Areas (includes Friday and Saturday Field trips)
954 Management Plans for Protected Areas (includes Friday and Saturday Field trips) : 3 Credits :
A seminar that comprises the documentation of land use history and zoning, mapping and interpretation, and the collection and analysis of socioeconomic, biological, and physical information for the construction of management plans. Plans are constructed for private small-holders within the Quiet Corner Initiative partnership managed by the Yale School Forests. In the past plans have been completed for the Nature Conservancy; Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations; town land trusts; city parks and woodlands of New Haven, New York, and Boston; and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Prerequisite: ENV 659b or 660a, or permission of the instructor. Ten days fieldwork. |
Ashton TBA - TBA |
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955 1 or 3 Credits Seminar in Research Analysis, Writing and Communication in Forest Ecology
955 Seminar in Research Analysis, Writing and Communication in Forest Ecology : 1 or 3 Credits :
A seminar for students in their second year working on research projects. Students start by working through the peer-review publication process. They identify the scope and scale of the appropriate journal for their work. They then work on their projects, which comprise data and projects in applied forest ecology. Discussions involve rationale and hypothesis testing for a project, data analysis techniques, and reporting and interpretation of results. It is expected that manuscripts developed in the course are worthy of publication and that oral presentations are of a caliber for subject-area conferences and meetings. Extensive training in writing and presenting work is provided. |
Ashton TBA - TBA |
Ashton TBA - TBA |
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956 3 Credits Strategies for Land Conservation
956 Strategies for Land Conservation : 3 Credits :
This is a professional seminar on private land conservation strategies and techniques, with particular emphasis on the legal, financial, and management tools used in the United States. The seminar is built around presentations by guest speakers from land conservation organizations. Speakers are assigned topics across the land conservation spectrum, from identification of target sites, through the acquisition process, to ongoing stewardship of the land after the deal is done. The tools used to protect land are discussed, including the basics of real estate law, conservation finance, and project/organization management. Students are required to undertake a clinical project with a local land conservation organization. Enrollment limited to twenty-five; preference to second-year students if limit reached. : Bradford S. Gentry |
Gentry TBA - TBA |
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957 3 Credits Field Skills in Land Stewardship
957 Field Skills in Land Stewardship : 3 Credits : See ENV 954 for description.
Must register for both ENV 954 & 957 at the same time. : Mark S. Ashton |
Ashton TBA - TBA |
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959 3 Credits Clinic in Climate Justice, and Public Health
959 Clinic in Climate Justice, and Public Health : 3 Credits : In the course, interdisciplinary student teams carry out applied projects at the intersection of climate justice, law and public policy, and public health. Each team works with a partner organization (e.g., state agency, community organization, other nongovernmental organization) to study, design, and implement a project, typically through community-based participatory research practices. The course affords the opportunity to have a real-world impact by applying concepts and competencies learned in the classroom. This course should be of interest to graduate and professional students across the University and is open to Yale College juniors and seniors. In addition, this course is one of the options available to students to fulfill the practice requirement for the M.P.H. degree at YSPH and the capstone requirement for the M.E.M. degree at YSE. Students who plan to enroll must complete an application, which will be used to match each student with a clinic project. Check the course’s Canvas site or contact the instructor for more information.
Prerequisite: EHS 547 or permission of the instructor. Not open to auditors |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
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962 3 Credits Public Lands and Tribal Natural Resources
962 Public Lands and Tribal Natural Resources : 3 Credits : This is a graduate-level course. This course has no prerequisites. Admission to the course requires an application. It is designed for students at the Yale School of the Environment, the Law School, the School of Management, and the Divinity School. The course is open to Yale College undergraduates and graduate students from elsewhere in Yale with the approval of the instructor. This course will build upon a foundation of understanding of Tribal resource management and federal Indian law, the trust duty and tribal sovereignty and focus on the depth of Tribal co- management strategies and partnership building. The course will utilize the Bears Ears as a case study and discuss Tribal resources related topics including private philanthropy and conservation, forestry, water, multi-stakeholder activism, congressional relations, political considerations and outdoor retailers. We will also investigate the relations between tribes, states, and private actors in this sector. : Patrick Gonzalez-Rogers : TBD Faculty
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Gonzalez-Rogers TBA - TBA |
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965 3 Credits Regenerative Agriculture & Just Food Systems Lab
965 Regenerative Agriculture & Just Food Systems Lab : 3 Credits : By Application only
Application Link: TBD Course description: The Regenerative Agriculture & Just Food Systems Lab capstone is a project-based clinic course for students to work with external businesses and organizations to support a just and thriving agricultural community and food system for people and the planet. The Lab hosts four semester-long projects centered on regenerative and just solutions in agriculture and the food system locally, nationally, and globally. The Lab engages with deeply challenging questions facing agricultural communities and producer-consumer networks today, encouraged by the prospect that regenerative approaches may hold the promise of repairing long-standing patterns of social, economic, and ecological exploitation and have a positive impact on the climate crisis. The Lab explores and supports work in regenerative agriculture and just food systems such as (a) community and smallholder farmer-centered approaches that are climate resilient and employ just practices for workers and people, (b) operational or business planning for land-based agriculture, agroforestry, and/or ocean farming, (c) equitable and resilient business models, and (d) reparative finance and investing practices. Our clients for the fall semester are:
: Tagan Engel |
Engel TBA - TBA |
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966 3 Credits Sustainability Implementation: Change Management in Institutional Settings
966 Sustainability Implementation: Change Management in Institutional Settings : 3 Credits : This course is capped at 20 students. Interested students should register no later than August 27. If more than 20 students register, priority (in order) will be given to YSE students in their second year or beyond, YSE students in their first year, students from other Yale graduate schools, and finally Yale College students. Final enrollment decisions will be shared by end-of-day on August 28.
Yale’s formal sustainability efforts are nearing the two-decade mark, with the Office of Sustainability established in 2005, but the work to make the campus more sustainable has been going on far longer. From sending food scraps to pig farmers in the 1800s, to responding to energy crises and crashes with infrastructure changes, to establishing early recycling programs in the 1980s, the University’s work has deep roots, if not always the comprehensive impact some would desire. This YSE Capstone course provides students with the opportunity to learn about this long history of effort to improve the University’s sustainability and engage in the real act of change management in current efforts on campus. Exploring change management theory and learning from many on campus experts, students work in groups, bringing a diversity of experiences and knowledge to the table to tackle real and wicked problems in our midst. In taking on these timely projects, students have the opportunity to tangibly impact Yale’s ongoing efforts to fully embrace sustainable operations while experiencing the friction, joy, disappointment, learning, and challenge that are all part of working to make real change happen. : Sara Smiley Smith : Lindsay Crum |
Smiley Smith TBA - TBA |
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969 3 Credits Housing Connecticut: Developing Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods
969 Housing Connecticut: Developing Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods : 3 Credits : In this interdisciplinary clinic taught between the School of Architecture, School of Law, and School of Management, and organized by the Yale Urban Design Workshop, students will gain hands-on, practical experience in architectural and urban development and social entrepreneurship while contributing novel, concrete solutions to the housing affordability crisis in Connecticut. Working in teams directly with local community-based non-profits, students will co-create detailed development proposals and architectural designs anchored by affordable housing, and which may also engage with a range of community development issues including environmental justice, sustainability, resilience, social equity, identity, food scarcity, mobility, and health. Through seminars and workshops with Yale faculty and guest practitioners, students will be introduced to the history, theory, issues, and contemporary practices in the field, and will get direct feedback on their work. Offered in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) as part of the Connecticut Plan for Healthy Cities, student projects will center on community wealth building and equitable economic recovery by proposing multi-sector, place-based projects that focus on housing, health, and economic development. Proposals may have the opportunity to receive funding from the State of Connecticut both towards the implementation of rapidly deployed pilot projects during the course period, as well as towards predevelopment activities for larger projects, such as housing rehabilitation or new building construction. : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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970 3 Credits Environmental Protection Clinic Policy and Advocacy (Follows Law School Calendar)
970 Environmental Protection Clinic Policy and Advocacy (Follows Law School Calendar) : 3 Credits :
Follows Law School Calendar |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
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971 3 Credits Land Use Clinic
971 Land Use Clinic : 3 Credits : The clinic includes a field trip over spring break and is available by application only. Applications are available at the beginning of the fall semester, and selections are made no later than November 1.
Land use control exercised by state and local governments determines where development occurs on the American landscape, the preservation of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases, the conservation of energy, and the shape and livability of cities and towns. The exercise of legal authority to plan and regulate the development and conservation of privately owned land plays a key role in meeting the needs of the nation’s growing population for equitable housing, energy, and nonresidential development as well as ensuring that critical environmental functions are protected from the adverse impacts of land development. This course explores the multifaceted discipline of land use and urban planning and their associated ecological implications. Numerous land use strategies are discussed, including identifying and defining climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, including affordable housing, community revitalization, energy development and siting, equitable community engagement, transit-oriented development, building and neighborhood energy conservation, distressed building remediation, jobs and housing balance, coastal resiliency, and biological carbon sequestration. The course also explores how recent events impact these planning issues. The focus is on exposing students to the basics of land use and urban planning, especially in the United States but also internationally, and serving as an introduction for a YSE curricular concentration in land use. Guest speakers are professionals involved in sustainable development, land conservation, smart growth, renewable energy, and climate change management. : Jessica Bacher |
Bacher TBA - TBA |
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972 1-4 Credits Advanced Environmental Protection Clinic (Follows Law School Calendar)
972 Advanced Environmental Protection Clinic (Follows Law School Calendar) : 1-4 Credits : Follows Law School Calendar
Open only to students who have successfully completed the Environmental Protection Clinic (ENV 970). No statement of interest required. Attendance at clinic seminar is optional, except for several dates during the semester (see syllabus).For all questions, please e-mail samuel.whillans@yale.edu : Douglas Kysar : Elizabeth Suatoni : TBD Faculty |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
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975 3 Credits Western Lands and Communities Field Clinic: Research to Practice
975 Western Lands and Communities Field Clinic: Research to Practice : 3 Credits : This project-based course is for students engaged in social research, humanities study, applied management, natural science, and/or conservation policy in Western U.S. landscapes. Western lands and communities face growing ecological, cultural, economic, and social equity problems that require integrated solutions. Working individually or in small teams, students will complete self-driven projects. There are two options for these projects: (1) scholarly research, or (2) applied research for a practitioner-client. Students conducting scholarly research will hone and apply skills for data collection, analysis, and scholarly writing for publication. Applied students will engage in similar work, but they'll establish a relationship with a client of their choosing and carry out a project with concrete deliverables informed by the needs of that client (e.g., NGOs, federal land agencies, Native Nations, local governments, etc.). The course counts toward the MEM Capstone, if desired. There is a mandatory field trip for experiential learning during spring break. As such, the course is capped at 12 and requires an application. No preference is given to a particular field of study. Some preference is given to students having prior experience with Western lands and communities.
Application Information - TBD : Justin Farrell |
Farrell TBA - TBA |
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979 3 Credits Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors
979 Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors : 3 Credits : Recent scientific reports from the IPCC and the US National Climate Assessment on the impacts of global warming provide a stark warning of the future our planet faces unless we make dramatic and meaningful greenhouse gas reductions by 2030—approximately 50 percent reductions below 2010 levels. The scale and scope of the challenge will require concerted effort from across all parts of civil society. This client-based capstone course will explore how states, cities, companies, and/or institutions can meaningfully engage in decarbonization to address the climate crisis. Students will work in teams with clients from the government, private, non-profit, and academic sectors. Clients are updated every year, but recent representative clients have included the State of Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the City of Ithaca, the U.S. Climate Alliance, Sustainable CT, Yale University, a clean energy angel investor fund, and similar organizations. Students analyze, model, and/or implement decarbonization policies and programs in key sectors, including electricity, buildings, transportation, materials management, and/or carbon capture and sequestration. The course starts with introductory sessions on the climate crisis, as well as sessions on teamwork and consulting skills. Most classes are split between a seminar-style discussion led by one of our client/hosts on their innovative subnational decarbonization activities, and time for students to work on their projects, with opportunities for feedback and guidance from the instructor and each other. At the end of the term, the students present their findings and recommendations to their client/hosts and each other. : Robert Klee
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Klee TBA - TBA |
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982 3 Credits Bio-inspired Design and Engineering
982 Bio-inspired Design and Engineering : 3 Credits :
Study of green engineering, focusing on key approaches to advancing sustainability through engineering design. Topics include current design, manufacturing, and disposal processes; toxicity and benign alternatives; policy implications; pollution prevention and source reduction; separations and disassembly; material and energy efficiencies and flows; systems analysis; biomimicry; and life cycle design, management, and analysis. : Julie Zimmerman |
Zimmerman TBA - TBA |
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991 1-4 Credits Advanced Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab
991 Advanced Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab : 1-4 Credits : Follows the Yale Law School Calendar.
Open only to students who have successfully completed ENV 981, Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab (CAFE Lab).Paper required. Enrollment limited to nine. Permission of the instructors required. In addition to listing this course among experiential permission selections, interested students should submit a brief statement describing the project they intend to pursue through the Advanced CAFE Lab. Statements should be submitted by 4:30 pm on the last day of the bidding period of the Yale Law school. Note:The instructors will set a regular meeting time once the students have set their schedules. : Douglas Kysar : TBD Faculty |
Tentative (No Semester) |