Kent State University’s environmental studies major is growing by adding new courses and accepting more students interested in the field.

The major has expanded since its creation in 2017, said Director of Environmental Studies David Kaplan.

“It has grown to have about 220 students who major in the field, and 30 students who minor in the field,” he said.

Several new courses were added to the major in 2023, including an environmental justice course.

“We added a whole bunch of new courses that students could take in order to fulfill their major requirements.” Kaplan said. “They have many, many more options than they did before.”

An important element of the major is teaching students how to explain environmental phenomena to the public, he said. The major has grown because of students’ interest in what it stands for.

“I think a lot of it is just students who wanted this program in the first place,” he said. “It wasn’t available, and then once it became available, students had jumped to it.”

Students are really devoted to the major, Kaplan said.

“Students came into the university with this passion. This is a way that we developed [the major],” Kaplan said, “for those students to practice the passion, to be able to act on what they already were interested in and have a program that addresses these interests.”

More information on the environmental studies major and minor can be found on the Kent State Department of Geography’s website.

Aaron Cousin is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].