Columbia faculty guide you through research, course work, and field trips, as you focus on the physical, biological, and social sciences that underlie Planet Earth and the discovery of worlds beyond. Earth Systems Science and Policy Programs Earth Semester 16 credits offered. Summer programs focus on the human impact on the environment. Concerns about greenhouse gases, energy sustainability, water management, and the conservation of biodiversity are explored. Other summer and semester programs focus on astronomy.
Financial aid is available.
Earth Semester uses the study of planetary ecosystems to provide a common orientation for learning in several disciplines. Concerns about greenhouse gases, energy sustainability, water management, and conservation of biodiversity are explored. Students learn skills that will help structure student interactions with the Earth and its inhabitants throughout their lives. Earth Semester labs include work in field sites which may include the Sea of Cortez, the Grand Canyon, the Santa Catalina Mountains, the Mojave Desert and other destinations where students learn directly from their surroundings. Our students come from colleges and universities across the United States and around the world.