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It’s course offerings that matter rather than the title of the major, and both ecology and earth/ocean science are exceedingly strong at Princeton; the certificate in environmental science is mere icing on the cake. Any way you look at it, environmental science is taken more seriously at Princeton than at a good many other schools.</p>
<p>On the environmental studies side of things, Princeton offers an excellent environmental policy major as a joint program between the geology department and Woody Woo.</p>
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I don’t know anything about that particular program, but there are many schools with such joint programs with Duke. Some guarantee admission after the student graduates in the normal four years, while others are a 3+2 program (3 years at a LAC for a BA, 2 years at a university for a MS). </p>
<p>In general, I wouldn’t let such things be a deal-breaker. Even a student dead set on environmental science may eventually change his/her mind (I did), and it’s good to have options at the graduate level as well. 3+2 programs are frequently advertised for engineering as well, but in both fields they are rarely used – most students end up not wanting to shave a year off their education.</p>