Academic and Training Program Hub

Interested in knowing what it takes to create sustainable communities today and for future generations? Learn about it all, from urban planning to land development. The Sustainable Communities Emphasis of the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Built Environments program guides students to discover how local and regional planning creates more sustainable communities. Students explore climate action planning, transportation planning and urban development and build critical thinking skills and a solutions-based approach to navigate the urban challenges of the present and future. Students also learn how planning impacts and is influenced by the environment, and how to make cities more sustainable and resilient. This program prepares students to begin careers in sustainable communities and also serves as a strong launchpad for graduate studies.

EOC is an interdisciplinary field that combines elements of geology, oceanography, atmospheric science, and environmental studies to investigate the complex interactions between the Earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and climate. Students in this major engage in the study of ocean currents, climate patterns, geological processes, and the impact of human activities on Earth's ecosystems.

Expand your scientific skills with expert faculty and conduct research to solve environmental and resource use problems. Choose your focus: environmental science or soil and water science.

Our flexible master's program is tailored to your career goals, emphasizing an interdisciplinary scientific approach in environmental, soil and water science.

This path in our environmental science major emphasizes solving issues to help sustain Earth's natural systems. Examine how the hydrosphere, atmosphere and soil function together as vital integrated systems to sustain Earth and how to protect it from further human caused disturbance and degradation, from climate change to pollution.

This path in our environmental science major teaches you about environmental laws, science communication, and environmental justice. Learn how to apply principles from the natural and social sciences, and humanities to address complex environmental problems where humans and the environment meet.

Preserving our planet's precious resources and learning innovative ways to use them wisely in the future calls for visionary leaders. You could be one of them. Geography is the study of Earth's physical features and the complicated relationship between humans and the environment. The interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Geography with an emphasis in Water, Environment and Society takes this a step further. Students explore the broad scope of water supply and demand - a theme that has emerged as a critical planning issue in communities in the Western U.S. and around the world - at a school recognized as the world's No. 1 program in water resources by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Courses examine key questions facing policymakers and train students in the methods decision-makers use to address these issues, including remote sensing, geographic information science (GIS) and field methods. Students are encouraged to pursue internships and have access to research opportunities at renowned facilities and organizations, including the Water Resources Research Center, Arizona Project WET and Biosphere 2.

The Arid Lands Resource Sciences GIDP provides an exciting transdisciplinary environment in which to pursue unique research interests related to the long-term sustainable use of arid and semiarid lands. This PhD program offers a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum that is individually tailored to meet each student’s particular focus. Indeed, the opportunity for students to develop their own program of study is noted among our students as one of the greatest strengths of the program. Because the sustainable use of arid lands cannot be adequately understood or achieved through the tools available in any single discipline, students in the program are trained in two or more of the physical, biological, resource, agricultural, and social sciences as they specifically relate to each student’s area of study.The breadth of research opportunities the Arid Lands Resource Sciences PhD program provides can be recognized through the research performed by its graduates and current students. Some of these areas include international development; famine, famine early warning systems, and food security; land use, history, change, degradation, desertification, management, and policy; sustainable agriculture and farming systems; remote sensing and spatial analysis; carbon sequestration; political-ecology of natural resources; ethnoecology and other ethno-sciences; economic and agricultural policy and development; economic botany; borderlands issues; globalization; civil conflict; and urban development as they relate to the arid and semi-arid lands of the world.