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The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS EE 107: Introduction to Climate and Earth System Science
    Introduction to the Earth as an integrated system composed of interacting biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere subsystems. Major themes include earth system stability, instability and capacity for change on all time scales, including human-induced climate change. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 142: Introduction to Beach and Shoreline Processes
    Coastal processes including tidal currents, wave action, longshore transport, and estuarine circulation; barrier island and spit formation; study of beaches, dunes, and marshes; effects of tectonics, glaciers, and rivers on beaches and coastal morphology. Cape Cod field trip. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 144: Introduction to Oceanography
    Undergraduate Corequisites: (CASMR144)is required of all Marine Science majors registering for CAS EE 144. - Examines the physical, geological, chemical, and biological processes that govern that oceans with a focus on how the ocean is impacted by and also moderates the pace of global change. Dynamic nature of the oceans on both a short- and a long-term scale is emphasized. Marine Science majors are required to register for co-req CAS MR 144 as well. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 150: Sustainable Energy: Technology, Resources, Society and Environment
    Examines the social, environmental, and technological aspects of renewable and nonrenewable energy systems, their historical evolution and implications for the future. Discusses energy issues in context of globalization, climate change, and sustainable development. Explores lifestyle and policy decisions related to energy issues. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Scientific Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 201: World Regional Geography
    Overview of the special combination of environmental, historical, economic, and organizational qualities of the regions of the Old World, including Western and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, East and South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Emphasis on current issues of regional and global development. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 230: Environmental Humanities and Society
    Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Introduces students to Environmental Humanities as an interdisciplinary field exploring our understandings of diverse social, cultural, and aesthetic relationships to lived environments, environmental change, and environmental justice. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Ethical Reasoning, Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS EE 250: The Fate of Nations: Climate, Resources, and Institutions
    Relationships among environment (e.g., climate), natural resources (e.g., energy, water), and human societies (hunter-gatherers to industrial economies). Principles from thermodynamics, climatology, ecology, and economics used to evaluate the role of environment and resources in the success and failure of societies. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS EE 270: Data, Models, and Analysis in Earth & Environment
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 107 or CASEE 100 (or equivalent), or consent of instructor. - Introduces key questions, types and sources of data, and analytical methods in earth and environment, and introduces students to an array of quantitative methods from both the natural and social-science disciplines. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas Quantitative Reasoning I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 292: Fundamentals of International Economics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASEC101 & CASEC102) - Covers basic principles of international economics, including trade, international finance, exchange rates, currency markets, economic policy, the role of institutions, and financial crises. Examines both theoretical frameworks and applications, with an emphasis on Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry 1, Quantitative Reasoning 1.
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 300: Earth's Rocky Materials
    Utilizing an Earth Systems approach, this course begins with the mineral phases of the core and mantle. Crustal mineralogy and petrology follow, examining how minerals and the rocks that contain them are produced by magmatic, metamorphic, hypothermal, and surface processes. Weekly two-hour labs and a required field trip. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I.
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Scientific Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 302: Remote Sensing of Environment
    Introduction to sensor systems, methodology of remote sensing, and basic concept of image analysis. Presents the ways in which remotely sensed data can be used in scientific investigations and resource management. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Scientific Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS EE 304: Environmentally Sustainable Development
    Traces the emergence of sustainable development as a defining challenge of our times. Surveys and evaluates approaches for balancing ecological sustainability and human development in various parts of the world and at the global level. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 305: Rock Deformation and Structure
    Foundations of rock deformation and structural geology in a plate tectonics context. Emphasizes identification and analysis of rock structures in hand sample and in the field, collection and interpretation of 2D and 3D structural data, and synthesis of geologic histories. Effective Fall 2026, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Scientific Inquiry 2.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Scientific Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 307: Biogeography
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: BI 107 and EE 101 - Analysis of local, regional, and global distributions of plants and animals. Environmental and human influences on those distributions considered; changes resulting from geologically recent climatic fluctuations. Field trips. Also offered as BI 307. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Scientific Inquiry 1.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 309: Ecological Economics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 100 and CASEC 101. - Introduction and critical analysis of the economic and ecological foundations of sustainability. Applications to biodiversity, land use, energy, climate change, resource curse, ecological footprint, and planetary boundaries. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 310: Climate and the Environment
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASMA 122 or MA 124 and PY 211; or consent of instructor. - This course provides a qualitative and quantitative introduction to climate processes and their impact on the environment. Topics include atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics; the global energy balance; the general circulation of the atmosphere and ocean; and climate feedbacks and forcings. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • CAS EE 312: The Climate Consensus: Science Behind Global and U.S. Assessments
    This course offers a comprehensive view of climate change, its science, risks, impacts, mitigation, and adaptation strategies based on the latest IPCC reports. A dedicated section addresses how climate change affects U.S. agriculture, water resources, energy, and human health. Effective Spring 2027, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning 1, Scientific Inquiry 2, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Scientific Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 315: Glaciers and Climate
    Prerequisites: one prior CASEE 100-level course. - Gain insight into modern, human-driven climate change by understanding the causes and consequences of Ice Age climate change and how we can reconstruct it from glacial landforms and other proxy records. Field trip the last weekend of April. Effective Spring 2027, this course fulfills a single requirement in the following BU Hub area: Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS EE 316: Historical Geology
    Explores the Earth through geologic time beginning with the origin of the universe, the solar system, the Earth, and the evolution of life on our planet. It then proceeds to the rock record on Earth from the oldest to recent.
  • CAS EE 317: Introduction to Hydrology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 105 or EE 107 or EE 142 or EE 144; CASMA 121, 123, or 127, or consent of instructor. - Introduction to the science of hydrology and to the role of water as a resource, a hazard, and an integral component of the Earth's climatic, biological, and geological systems. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning 1, Scientific Inquiry 1, Teamwork/Collaboration. Effective Spring 2027, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Quantitative Reasoning 1, Scientific Inquiry 1.
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Scientific Inquiry I

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