Explore the basic principles of ecology, including the structure and function of various ecosystems. You’ll do both lab work and fieldwork, with courses focusing on specific ecosystems, such as the agroecology of Simon’s Rock Community Garden and the aquatic ecology of local ponds, streams, and the majestic Hudson River.
Students with a concentration in ecology may enter into such fields as environmental conservation, environmental management, ecological consultancy, and education.
This series of courses is an introduction to the theory and practice of political ecology through applied work that focuses on particular topics. Political ecology, a growing discipline with roots in the fields of cultural ecology and political economy, is the study of how political and economic forces affect the utilization of natural resources in the world’s most powerful “core” areas and in the geographically and often politically marginalized “peripheries.” In this course the instructor and the students engage in collaborative research and writing.