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No matter what major you have chosen, having an understanding of the natural world and the ways in which it interacts with human activities leads to enhanced professional opportunities.

For example, biologists are working to quantify how rises and declines of different species will affect human pursuits and systems. Mathematicians are using algorithms to predict environmental phenomena. Health professionals are treating patients with problems related to the environments in which they live and work. Politicians are devising policies to respond to climate change at the global and local levels. Truly, every field is affected by the human relationship to the natural world…and increasingly so.     

Throughout this first year, your coursework in the Core curriculum encourages you to contemplate human relationships to the environment from historical, economic, scientific, aesthetic and ethical perspectives. You come to see that humans belong to ecosystems and that your future health and livelihood are more dependent than you ever imagined on cycles that involve other organisms, air, water, chemicals and energy.

Learn more about the Core curriculum’s first year experiences and coursework.