Undergraduate Handbook

• Environmental Analysis & Policy Degree Requirement Checklist (fall 2025)
• Environmental Analysis & Policy Electives (updated spring 2025)
• Earth & Environmental Sciences Degree Requirement Checklist (fall 2025)
• Earth & Environmental Sciences Electives (updated spring 2025)

CAS Official Forms and Procedures

Most processes can be completed through MyBU without the use of a form. However, there are cases where forms are still required:

• CAS Change of Expected Graduation
• CAS Intent to Graduate (submit 1 year prior to intended graduation)
• Course Overload Fee Waiver
• Incomplete Grade Report (must be completed with the instructor)
• Major Declaration and Minor Declaration (to add and change majors and minors)
• Part-Time Status Petition (required to enroll in fewer than 12 credits)
• Request for Second Language Proficiency Evaluation (for students proficient in a language to meet the CAS language requirement)

Directed Study Application

Fill out all three sections of the form with your supervising faculty member. Next, the Department chair’s approval is required. Applications submitted to CAS Academic Advising without a Department chair’s signature will be returned to the student.

All applications must be submitted to CAS Academic Advising no later than the last day to add a standard class for the semester in which the Directed Study will occur.

Petition for a Course to Count Toward your Major

Email the Undergraduate Program Coordinator at syamaki@bu.edu

Request for transfer courses to be approved prior to taking the course

Transfer Course Pre-Screen

Database of Courses Previously Approved as BU Equivalents

Departmental Honors is an opportunity to broaden your educational horizons or to deepen your understanding of a specific topic.

Students who maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 by the end of their Junior year are eligible to work toward Honors in the Major. Requirements include:

1. Completion of the two-course sequence of independent study (EE 401 & 402).
2. Composition of an original thesis.
3. Public presentation / defense of that thesis.
4. Attendance at 4 department-sponsored seminars, chosen in consultation with your advisor, during the year of your project.

This process will require you to work with a faculty mentor. With that advisor, the first step is to identify a research project and then complete the application.

Honors in the Major Application Form

Academic

There are a variety of opportunities to get paid for your work, to deepen your research abilities, and to practice teaching!

• Learning Assistants: The LA Program helps you learn teaching methods and practices! As an LA, you assist professors with department classes and help your peers by providing them with knowledgeable and experienced peer educators.
• Lab Employees: Earth & Environment faculty occasionally hire undergraduates to work in their laboratories. Consult with faculty about available opportunities.
• A Directed Study is a CAS course designed for independent research under the guidance of a faculty member! You may choose to take a Directed Study to go into more depth on a specific subject or to explore a topic not normally covered in the curriculum. Apply for a Directed Study
• UROP: The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program engages students in faculty-mentored research projects. Through this program, you can design your own research project and receive funding through BU. You will need a mentor to get started – we highly recommend reaching out to faculty you admire! 
• Community Research: In EE 538, Research for Environmental Agencies and Organizations, students perform research tasks that assist environmental and public health officials in achieving their missions, sometimes continuing projects begun in previous semesters. Team members communicate as needed with government officials, and end the class by presenting their work to them.
• Earth House: In an historic rowhouse on South Campus, the residents at 7 Buswell Street take part in a Living Learning Community, which integrates curriculum with student life and housing. All of the things that students and teachers normally think of as being means to an end of education – eating, commuting, showering – are inverted and transformed in Earth House to become primary topics of inquiry. 

Extracurricular

The Department of Earth & Environment supports multiple student-led organizations that enhance our curricula, provide activities and experience beyond the classroom, and build community among students across the university!

• BU Geological Society (BUGS): The BU Geological Society is a group of students that organizes and sponsors activities that complement classroom study of rocks and geology.
• Environmental Student Organization (ESO): The Environmental Student Organization is a student-run group striving to increase awareness and discussion of environmental issues through a variety of events and projects.
• The Emerald Review: The Emerald Review is an undergraduate student-run annual news publication that covers the science, technology, culture, and politics of the Earth & environment.
• Epsilon Eta:  Epsilon Eta at Boston University is a multi-gender professional environmental fraternity; their mission is to promote a healthy and sustainable environment.
• BU Community Gardens: BU Community Gardens welcomes all who have an interest in plants, agriculture, and local food sources. They tend to several on-campus gardens and harvest fresh fruits and vegetables.

Track your BA requirements with Degree Progress through your MyBU Portal.

Undergraduate Earth & Environment Degree Programs

Bachelor’s Degree Requirements

Apply to Graduate (1 year before intended graduation)

Throughout your time at BU, you will likely have a lot of questions – and we’re here to help answer them!

Dr. Mike Dietze  —  Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Dr. Michael Dietze (dietze@bu.edu) currently serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for Earth & Environment. The DUS works with students’ faculty advisors and with the Undergraduate Coordinator, to assist current and prospective major students. Your faculty advisor will handle most advising issues but may refer students to the DUS for more unusual or difficult questions. The DUS’s functions include the following: 

• Available for meetings in order to provide information about the Major, pre-affiliation course selection, and the affiliation and transfer processes
• Serving as point person for student concerns/issues with advising and curriculum
• Advising students on course substitutions/petitions
• Signing administrative paperwork when the faculty advisor is unavailable

Sayaka Yamaki  —  Undergraduate Program Coordinator

Sayaka Yamaki (yamaki@bu.edu) is the Undergraduate Program Coordinator for Earth & Environment. As the primary advisor for all Earth & Environment undergraduates, she works with the DUS and other faculty to support students throughout their time at BU. Sayaka knows the ins and outs of our curriculum, classes, faculty, and extra-curriculars and can network students with over 1,300+ alumni.

• Answering questions about BU requirements, including the Hub, majors, minors, and affiliated programs
• Tracking students’ academic progress within the majors
• Assisting with college forms such as transfer credit applications, petitions, add/drop forms, etc.
• Facilitating the course registration process each semester
• Career advising: Sayaka hosts Alumni Career Panels and Environmental Career Fairs, connects students to E&E alumni, and can help clarify your career and/or graduate school goals

Dr. Lucy Hutyra  —  Department Chair, Distinguished Professor

Dr. Lucy Hutyra (lrhutyra@bu.edu) is our department chair, meaning she is in charge of all of the big decisions and making sure the department functions.

If you have any issues, whether they be personal, with our faculty/staff, or otherwise, contact Dr. Hutyra and she will step in and help you!