As geographically diverse suggestions, look into Pitzer, Colorado College and Hamilton. Pitzer offers a xeriscaped campus and a consortium population that brings it into your specified enrollment range; Colorado College’s block plan would be especially conducive to field trips; Hamilton offers engaging academics and would be notably strong for environmental policy. Your son’s academic accomplishments could make one or more of these schools potentially accessible as targets, although one or more might be regarded as a reaches due to their low acceptance rates. All of these colleges would be excellent for environmental studies.
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Adding a third vote for Brandeis—my good friend’s son majored in ES, spent a semester in Australia based near the Great Barrier Reef (not sure if this was a Brandeis program, but he got full credit), and is now working at a marketing start-up.
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Whitman may fit the bill, and he’d likely receive a nice merit award as well.
It has a strong environmental studies program, along with opportunities for dual majors, and it has the renowned Semester in the West program
Regarding your other fit markers, I’m linking a recent comment I made on another thread about some of Whitman’s academic, social, and outdoor aspects.
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For a very wild idea, I had a friend who had a wonderful experience at College of the Atlantic in Maine. Perhaps too small, but an interesting place.
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A number of the schools that have been mentioned participate in the National Student Exchange program which allows students to spend up to 2 semesters at a different college while paying the same rate as their home university. They can even do this multiple times. So if a student is interested in environmental impacts of different areas, for instance, they can study in Alaska or Hawaii or Guam or Puerto Rico or a number of American colleges which include the following schools that have been mentioned in this thread:
- Cal State - Monterey Bay
- U. of Idaho
- Salisbury
- Gustavus Adolphus
- St. Olaf
- U. of Montana
- U. of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
- U. of Wyoming
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Michigan Tech fits all of your criteria.
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Thank you for all this detailed information! Excited to visit!
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This is very helpful! Kenyon is 100% on the list.
I think there’s lots of great finds honestly that can work - Truman State or Christopher Newport or others like UC Merced and W Colorado, although likely they are more regional. And yes, there might be bigger (but not huge) schools that have Honors that can be great too - or bigger but smaller campuses, like Pitt or W Washington or others.
At many schools, it appears to be a concurrent major, so you might consider a double - if some schools are requiring that - there’s likely a reason (like being able to find a job).
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My oldest and I visited and really liked St Olaf. I haven’t considered it for this kiddo because of the strong preference for a school without religious affiliation. Also, this one has zero musical inclinations.
As much as I liked it, I didn’t get the vibe of a highly academic vibe. But it’s so hard to tell from a visit alone. Will raise with S.
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When I read doesn’t want a religious school, I’m not sure how a St. Olaf can fit:
Just my opinion:
Thank you for these! I always love your suggestions; I am so glad to get some of my own.
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Washington College in MD has both environmental science and environmental studies, based on the Chesapeake Bat.
The key difference between the majors is your interest in courses and what you plan to do after graduation. With our expansive approach to training all students in the breadth of environmental topics, you can choose courses based on your interests, rather than fulfill requirements for a particular concentration as is often required at other colleges.
Environmental studies and science are the study of the interaction of the human world and the natural world. This tends to be expressed as solving environmental problems, but it can also be studying how humans interact with nature. In either major, you will be prepared with foundational skills and select courses that interest you with hands-on laboratory analysis, critical thinking, and data analysis skills to tackle environmental issues.
Part of a well-rounded education on the environment includes learning how to approach and engage with different ecosystems. As part of your studies, you may choose to complete a year- or semester-long study abroad. Department-specific short-term study abroad opportunitiesover the summer, completing coursework while in another country, are also possible. Spend time at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences to examine the complex ecology of the Bermuda Islands and coral reef ecosystems, the impact humans have had on their natural history, and current environmental concerns and proposed solutions, or immerse yourself in Ecuadorian cultures and examine environmental challenges affecting the country during a short-term study abroad program. Double majoring is possible with either major. To browse our full course offerings, visit our catalog.
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I will check it out - thank you
I would like to build on @Hippobirdy’s excellent post and suggest that the more thought that your son can put into this goal in advance, the more productive his college year’s will be. Here is my experience with this question.
My GD is very concerned about the environment and wants to save the planet. She eventually decided that solutions are going to have to come from the private sector and with those who develop corporate policy. So, she decided to major in Economics with a minor in Environmental Studies. After 4 years at Rice she is now working in corporate consulting. We’ll see where she goes from there.
My niece has a daughter very much like my GD. Her decision was that she wants to be part of the solution, so engineering is what to study in order to do that. She is currently at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) in a 5-year bachelor’s + master’s program in environmental science & engineering.
Two similar kids with ultimately two different decisions and therefore two different directions. Does your son want to be an environmental scientist who studies the environment or an aspect of it? Does he want to become a lawyer who works on environmental issues? Does he want ti work on the policy side for either a corporation or the givernment? Does he want to work in the sphere of advocacy? Does he want to teach others about the environment? Does he want to work in journalism to cover and write about environmental issues? While all of these have the same core interest, the academic paths to be pursued can be very different.
There are a myriad of small and medium sized colleges which meet your criteria. Two which immediately jump out at me are Dickinson College (2300 enrollment, Carlisle, PA) and Wesleyan University (3000, Middletown, CT)
It’s nice to know that the college you attend not only talks the talk but also walks the walk. Dickinson was one of the very first colleges to be recognized as a green campus. In 2007, Dickinson signed on to the ACUPCC (American Colleges and Universities Presidents Climate Commitment). In so doing, they committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2020. They achieved that and they did it by a variety of actions: for example, wind energy, rain water recycling, campus farm, etc. Just walking around the campus is a study in sustainability. Their commitment to climate sustainability on their campus goes back many decades, but it is also available on the academic side in well over 100 courses in a variety of fields as well. Dickinson has a major in Sustainability and another in Environmental Studies & Environmental Science. They also have a variety of related majors, such as Geosciences, Food Studies, Health Studies, Law & Policy; Law, Justice, & Society; and Science, Technology, & Culture. At the core of all that is available on campus for sustainability and the environment is The Center for Sustainability Education (founded, 2008), charged with maintaining sustainability as a focus of study ar Dickinson. It’s good to know that for those who choose to pursue a legal career as their path to work for sustainability, Dickinson has a 3+3 program with Penn State to complete a bachelor’s + JD in 6 years. An especially nice feature if this program is that students in this program still spend 4 years on the Dickinson campus where their senior year also becomes their first year of law school.
Wesleyan also has a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental education. Like Dickinson, they also demonstrate this through campus practices such as their green roofs project and their student farm. The most prominent feature of their commitment is the Bailey College of the Environment. Available through this college is the Environmental Studies Linked major (ENVS). Through this program, any major on campus can be combined with ENVS to in effect create a double major whereby a student looks at the environment through the lens of his/her major’s discipline. As Wesleyan has an open curriculum with only a handful of distribution requirements, there is no problem in accommodating the amount of course work needed to complete the double major. Wesleyan offers majors specifically focused on sustainability, i.e. Environmental Studies and Earth & Environmental Sciences. They also offer related majors such as Animal Stufues, Archaeology, Chemistry, Civic Engagement, and Infomatics & Modeling.
Of course, if a student chooses the Engineering path, then these two colleges would not be places to consider. There are many colleges today which offer programs in environmental engineering.
Best of luck with your planning. 
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Wesleyan was the first college that popped into my little mind. We know two recent grads who majored in something like environmental studies (I’m not sure their exact major, but this was their interest).
You already have University of Washington on your list, and that’s another good one.
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Not sure if anyone mentioned the Claremont schools - but from a Pitzer, who calls their major Environmental Analysis to a Pomona that has the major.
Both are reachier with Pitzer less so and perhaps the SAT will impact - but if you have both a tiny and mid size schools all in one. Edit - I see @merc81 and @goldbug mentioned Pitzer but here are the majors.
Pitzer’s majors are:
- Choose from four tracks of study: Environment & Society, Environmental Policy, Sustainability & the Built Environment, or Environmental Science.
Since you said off the wall stuff is something to look at, how about Bentley, a bus school in Boston that has terrific career outcomes and has a Sustainability Science degree, that comes with a business minor. Given so many schools use ES as a concurrent major (they’re telling you, ES itself, isn’t enough, this program comes with a business minor required and it might provide necessary skills. Similarly, Babson has a concentration in environmental sustainability, but it’s a business degree. But Bentley and Babson might be better suited from a “career” enhancing POV. It appears Bentley has the major you want with a required business minor whereas Babson is a business major but Sustainability is a concentration within it. Just two that might be a bit off the wall but have better career prospects than the rest. Bentley would seem to fit ES better but I linked both below.
U South Dakota is an odd choice, but i came across them in regards to being one of 21 included in a new Carnegie classification for Sustainability. With wind farms through the midwest, maybe it’s worth a look.
Finally, completely nuts and off the wall but it popped in a top programs look, if the topics were of interest and it has some interests ones like Salmon, People and Place, or a required class in Mammalogy or Ornithology, U of Alaska Fairbanks program in Wildlife Ecology and Society B.A. looks extremely interesting.
Sustainability Science Major (B.A.) | Bentley University Catalogues
Undergraduate Environmental Sustainability Program | Babson College
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One note on the Carnegie Classification and 21 schools just mentioned above with U of South Dakota.
The Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability is an innovative initiative designed to recognize and celebrate higher education institutions that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and climate action as integral to their academic missions. This classification provides a rigorous framework for assessing and advancing sustainability efforts in curriculum, research, operations, and community engagement.
The schools are - and I bolded the ones that may achieve your criteria - well I bolded the whole line, not just the school line. I’ll italicize too.
Bennett College – Greensboro, North Carolina
Boise State University – Boise, Idaho
Carleton College – Northfield, Minnesota
Clarkson University – Potsdam, New York
Dillard University – New Orleans, Louisiana
George Mason University – Fairfax, Virginia
Morehouse College – Atlanta, Georgia
Mt. San Antonio College – Walnut, California
Pima Community College – Tucson, Arizona
Santa Rosa Junior College – Santa Rosa, California
Sullivan County Community College – Loch Sheldrake, New York
Tohono O’odham Community College – Sells, Arizona
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón – San Juan, Puerto Rico
University of Arizona – Tucson, Arizona
University of California, Merced – Merced, California They have an interesting program in he undergraduate major in Management of Innovation, Sustainability and Technology (MIST) combines fundamental coursework in leadership, communications, organizations, entrepreneurship, finance, policy, data analytics, technology management, and sustainable innovation.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln – Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Las Vegas, Nevada
University of Puerto Rico at Utuado – Utuado, Puerto Rico
University of South Dakota – Vermillion, South Dakota
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Eau Claire, Wisconsin - I’m not seeing a related major here but there is likely something
Xavier University of Louisiana – New Orleans, Louisiana
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One variation of this would be a data science major with environmental studies as an applied domain. Such an approach would not preclude full majors in both of this fields.
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Great. If you want more information about Kenyon, I’ll be happy to provide it. My daughter is a very happy ‘24 graduate, although she majored in different areas.
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