School of Environment & Sustainability

Group of students standing in creek

School of Environment & Sustainability

Cooperatively creating a just and ecologically thriving world.  

Welcome to the School of Environment and Sustainability (SEaS) at the University of Cincinnati! We are a community of scholars and students dedicated to understanding and meeting the world’s environmental challenges. The School of Environment and Sustainability is home to the Environmental Studies BS and BA, minors in Environmental Studies and Environmental Analysis and Policy as well as undergraduate and graduate micro-credentials in sustainability and land ethics.

SEaS brings together expertise in the biological and physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities to create a transdisciplinary approach to problem solving both in the classroom and beyond. Students, faculty, and staff in SEaS co-create impactful action that can meet the seemingly insurmountable challenges we face.    

Why Sustainability & Environmental Studies?

Our students are passionate about understanding the ecological, historical, ethical, and cultural contexts of environmental problems. Environmental studies students learn how to communicate effectively and translate scientific knowledge. The program trains students to develop the writing, critical thinking, lab and field-based skills necessary to succeed in environmental and sustainability research, policy, law, planning, natural resource management, wildlife studies, journalism, and other diverse fields. Research, internship, co-op, and study abroad opportunities offer experiential, professional, and hands-on learning. Learn more.

Building the Future

Initiated in the fall of 2023, SEaS is built for the future. Created in response to student and faculty demand for a comprehensive hub of environmental research and teaching, SEaS is also UC’s response to external social and political urgency. We are home to new degree programs in sustainability and our faculty undertakes research that will help solve local and global environmental problems. SEaS continues to develop curricular and research programs that increase the visibility and understanding of environmental issues on campus, in our community, and across the globe.

Ready to launch a career in sustainability? Check out Pursuing a Career in Sustainability and Environmental Protection to discover how the University of Cincinnati empowers students to pursue impactful careers. 

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A&S students experience virtual reality films tied to conservation, sustainability

November 9, 2026

A new world was unlocked this week for creative conservation students in the College of Arts & Sciences. Associate professor Teri Jacobs teaches the class and says she was looking for a way to marry technology and education in an unusual way. Over the summer, she was awarded funding to make her vision a reality, thanks to the A&S Hub for Immersive Environments.

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'Very inspiring'; UC professor wins award for greenhouse-gas research, credits students for her passion

October 30, 2026

Amy Townsend-Small, a College of Arts and Sciences professor, won the 2026 Sustainability Leadership award for her nearly two decades of work looking into the oil and gas industries. Townsend-Small, who teaches for the School of Environment and Sustainability (SEaS), said she studies where methane is emitted through the life cycle of natural gas, and what can be done to reduce emissions. Methane, according to Townsend-Small, is very good at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Specifically, she works to quantify the emissions with the goal to be providing accurate data for policy change.

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UC launches Center for Environmental Engagement

October 5, 2026

UC’s College of Arts and Sciences is launching the Center for Environmental Engagement (CEE), a new interdisciplinary initiative focused on supporting communities that face disproportionate environmental risks. Faculty, students, community partners and environmental practitioners will work together to develop solutions to complex environmental challenges. The center’s mission is to serve the public by connecting communities with resources, subject matter expertise and community-engaged scholarship.

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