Georgetown Launches Undergraduate Degree on the Environment and Sustainability
December 1 , 2023
Press Contact: Justine Bowe, The Earth Commons: justine.bowe@georgetown.edu
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Georgetown University has launched its first degree program for undergraduate students interested in studying the environment and sustainability.
Starting in spring 2024, first-year students and sophomores can enroll in the core courses of the Joint Environment & Sustainability Program (JESP) and work toward a bachelor of science degree in environment and sustainability offered jointly by the Earth Commons Institute and the College of Arts & Sciences. All incoming Hoyas in the Class of 2028 can also enroll in the JESP program in the fall semester.
“Now more than ever, a liberal arts education should encourage students to pursue their interests passionately while also preparing them to wrestle with the most pressing issues of the day, including the global climate crisis,” said Rosario Ceballo, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. “The Joint Environment & Sustainability Program will not only empower students, but will equip them with an array of scientific and humanistic skills to address the environmental problems of our time.”
Georgetown has offered undergraduate students outlets to pursue studies related to the environment, such as the minor in environmental studies, but JESP is the first standalone four-year degree program in which undergraduates can dedicate the bulk of their studies to the growing fields of the environment and sustainability. After increasing student interest in this area of study, the Earth Commons Institute and the College of Arts & Sciences worked together with the Red House at Georgetown to develop the program.
“Over the last few years, we’ve seen an unprecedented amount of student interest in pursuing studies related to the environment and sustainability,” said Peter Marra, dean of the Earth Commons Institute. “Today’s students and future generations will bear the brunt of the climate crisis and other environmental degradation, and this new degree program will prepare our students to be the leaders of tomorrow our world so desperately needs if we are to reverse the effects of humans on the environment, an environment we as humans are also critically dependent upon.”
Read more about the launch of the new program at the Georgetown University website and the Earth Commons website.
###
Georgetown’s Earth Commons Institute is a hub for environmental and sustainability innovation, research and education to accelerate action on the most pressing issues of our earth. Assembling a team of interdisciplinary experts, researchers, leaders and students, the Earth Commons is transforming the university into a living laboratory and developing scalable solutions for a greener, more sustainable world.