Courses

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.

• CAS EE 318: Food Systems, Justice, and Sustainability
  Examines food as connecting people, ecologies, and cultures across global systems. Explores environmental impacts, nutrition, biodiversity, and social justice within food production, distribution, and consumption. Guides students to critically examine how food systems shape—and are shaped by—ecological and social processes. Effective Fall 2026, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
• CAS EE 322: The Politics of Science, Care, and the Environment
  Undergraduate Prerequisite: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - This interdisciplinary course explores political conflicts over environmental problems as conflicts over science and care. Content ranges from concrete cases of U.S. environmental challenges (toxic exposure, wildlife in suburbs), to environmental political theory and the politics of climate change. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry II, Creativity/Innovation.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS EE 347: Water Resources and the Environment
  Examines global water resource systems, with emphasis on questions of culture, development, gender, social inequality, politics. Analyzes social relations and historical legacies that shape water infrastructure, distribution, and meaning. Cases from Africa, Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, South America. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS EE 351: Paleoclimatology and Paleoceanography
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 105 or EE 107 or EE 142 or EE 144. - Examines causes and effects of climate change throughout Earth's history. Topics include ice age climates and glaciations; oceanic history; linkages between Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets; tectonic effects; ice-core, coral, and marine sediment records; El Niño; terrestrial extinctions. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Historical Consciousness
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS EE 360: Introduction to Physical Oceanography
  Prerequisites: CASMA122 or MA124 and CASPY 105 or PY 211 or PY 251; or consent of instructor. This introduction to physical oceanography course introduces concepts, terminology and topics on the physical properties and dynamics of the ocean. Topics include observations, modelling and theory of ocean circulation and how it impacts the Earth's climate system. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Scientific Inquiry II.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Scientific Inquiry II
• CAS EE 365: An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 270 or equivalent. - Emphasizes practical use of geospatial software to collect, interpret, and analyze spatial data through lectures, labs, and projects. Presents the tools, theory, science, and applications of GIS as well as principles of spatial data visualization, cartography and map design. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Scientific Inquiry 2.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Quantitative Reasoning I
  • Scientific Inquiry II
• CAS EE 371: Introduction to Geochemistry
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 105 or EE 107 or EE 142 or EE 144; and CASCH 101 or CH 111 or CH171 or CH131; or equivalent - Chemical features of Earth and the solar system; geochemical cycles, reactions among solids, liquids, and gases; radioactivity and isotope fractionation; water chemistry; origins of ore deposits; applications of geochemistry to regional and global problems. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Scientific Inquiry I
• CAS EE 375: Introduction to Quantitative Environmental Modeling
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 270 or CASMA 115 or CASMA 213 or CDSDS 120; or equivalent. - Introduces students to quantitative models of environmental systems. Emphasizes application of quantitative models to environmental problem solving. Includes computer exercises with examples from current environmental issues such as population growth, pollution transport, and biodiversity. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Quantitative Reasoning 2.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
• CAS EE 400: Environment and Development: A Political Ecology Approach
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: senior standing - Theory and practice of development with an explicit focus on environmental issues. Introduces history of development and the environment; explores select themes in development and environmental studies (e.g., rural livelihoods, conservation, urbanization, and climate change); and considers alternative development paradigms.
• CAS EE 422: Aquatic Optics & Remote Sensing
  An introduction to the use of optical measurements and remote sensing to study the biogeochemistry and water quality of aquatic environments. Covers fundamental concepts and measurements in optics/remote sensing and provides hands-on experience with real data. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS EE 423: Marine Biogeochemistry
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASCH 101 and 102, admission to BUMP or CASEE 144, or consent of instructor. - Oceanic nutrient and biogeochemical cycling in the context of the marine response to global change. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include oceanic productivity, iron limitation, oceanic glacial carbon dioxide budget, biogenic particle fluxes, oceanic glacial- interglacial biogeochemistry. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Scientific Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Scientific Inquiry II
• CAS EE 444: Digital Image Processing - Remote Sensing
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 302 or equivalent - At least introductory statistics (and preferably multivariate statistics) recommended. This course pursues both the algorithms involved in processing remote sensing images and their application. Topics include preprocessing, image transformations, image classification and segmentation, spectral mixture analysis, and change detection. Examples cover a wide range of environmental applications of remote sensing. Students do a project.
• CAS EE 445: Physical Models in Remote Sensing
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 302 or equivalent - Devoted to understanding the physical processes involved in remote sensing. Emphasis based on topics of radiative transfer in the atmosphere, at the surface, and in sensors. Reflectance modeling, advanced sensor systems, and geometric effects.
• CAS EE 446: Remote Sensing of the Lower Atmosphere
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 302 and CASEE 310 or consent of instructor - Remote sensing has transformed the study of Earth's atmosphere. Learn the principles of retrieving meteorological parameters (humidity, temperature, precipitation) and key atmospheric constituents (clouds, greenhouse gases, aerosol) from satellite observations. Explore applications to climate change, disaster monitoring, and public health. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning II.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Quantitative Reasoning II
• CAS EE 460: Resource Economics and Policy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS MA 121 or MA 123 or MA 124, or equivalent; EC 101 or equivalent; or consent of instructor. - Economic and policy analysis of food, energy, and water, and the management of food, energy, water and land resources. Introduces resource economics and static and dynamic optimization as analytical frameworks for understanding the optimal management of scarcity, externalities, and impacts of environmental change on, and adaptation/vulnerability of resource use.
• CAS EE 475: Urban Ecology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASEE100 OR CASEE101) and one of the following: CAS BI 306, CAS BI 443 or GRS BI 643, CAS EE 456 or GRS EE 656, or CAS BI 530 or CAS EE 530; or consent of instructor. - This course explores the biophysical environments and ecology of urban settlements. Key topics covered include the physical environment (particularly climate & water), patterns in human population growth and development, ecosystem structure and function (net primary productivity, soils, nutrients cycling, organismal populations), global change (urban growth, disturbance, climate change), urban environment pollution and management (air and water quality), and sustainable urban development policies and regulations. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Scientific Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Historical Consciousness
  • Scientific Inquiry II
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• CAS EE 483: Environmental and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASPY 211 & (CASMA 123 OR CASMA 127 OR CASMA 129) or consent of instructor. - Large- and small-scale phenomena in oceanic, atmospheric, and landsurface fluids. Properties of gases and liquids; surface body forces; statics; flow analysis; continuity and momentum conservation. Darcy's Law; potential, open channel, and geostrophic flow; dimensional analysis; diffusion, turbulence. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Scientific Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Scientific Inquiry II
• CAS EE 501: Advanced Topics in Remote Sensing
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 302 - Examines advanced concepts in radiative transfer and information extraction relevant to remote sensing. Emphasis on applications of digital image processing to remote sensing problems.
• CAS EE 503: Micrometeorology: Energy and Mass Transfer at the Earth's Surface
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 310, CASMA 121, and CASPY 211. - Modern theories and techniques for measurement and analysis of physical processes occurring at the Earth's surface: radiation regimes; energy and mass exchange; agricultural and forest micrometeorology, remote sensing and modeling of land surface properties and processes.
• CAS EE 505: Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 365 and CASMA 213. - Provides a theoretical and practical introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Introduces the essentials in GIS, methods of data capture and sources of data, nature and characteristics of spatial data and objects, data structures, modeling surfaces, volumes and time, and data uncertainty. Emphasis is on applications. Laboratory exercises included.