The Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences has put forward a proposal for a bachelor’s degree in Climate Change and Solutions.
The degree focuses not only on the science behind climate change but also on the history behind climate phenomena and the real-world application of mitigation strategies.
Climate Change and Solutions is the degree name the faculty settled on based on student feedback.
“A lot of students were very adamant that they didn’t want a degree name or a degree focus just on the science. They are kind of getting sick of the science – they want the solutions,” said Alistair Smith, chair of the ESS department.
The degree program was first conceptualized following the passage of H.R.5376, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included climate change as a key issue to address.
The Inflation Reduction Act inspired multiple degree programs at universities across the country including Iowa State University. The Iowa curriculum was used as a model for UI to improve upon.
UI’s curriculum development has progressed quickly: the proposal was drafted at the start of this academic year and has already passed Faculty Senate.
After Smith and his team created a tentative degree plan, they reached out to the Environmental Science Program in the College of Natural Resources.
“They took what we proposed and made it even better,” Smith said. “It’s a much better degree and we couldn’t have gotten there if it wasn’t for working with people in other units.”
Climate Change and Solutions is a four-year curriculum made up entirely of classes already taught at the university. There is no need for new faculty.
Required coursework includes the fundamental science explaining climate change and its history. There is also a social science requirement including climate change fiction, international policy and social science electives.
“Just as we invest in forestry and computer science and economics and ag … we need to be prepared to deal with climate change and offer those solutions,” said Tim Bartholomaus, glaciologist and professor in ESS.
Bartholomaus teaches classes like “Glaciology and the Dynamic Frozen Earth,” a course which teaches students how to do things like estimate water content in snowpack. This class is part of the Climate Change and Solutions curriculum.
Sustainability is an emerging sector that doesn’t have a set number of job openings. However, both Smith and Bartholomaus are optimistic about job outcomes for students in the program.
“Tenured faculty are giving up jobs to go into startups,” Smith said. “There seems to be a large number of startups that are appearing right now focusing on solutions to climate change.”
Another important consideration for UI creating a climate change-centered degree is the expert faculty in the ESS department.
Jeffrey Hicke is a globally renowned climate scientist who has served as a coordinating lead author for the North America chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Students who decide to study climate change at UI will have the opportunity to take classes with a leader in the field, a major benefit to recruitment and climate change professionals in Idaho’s future.
The degree proposal passed the Faculty Senate with 24 in favor and one against on Feb. 14.
It is now waiting for the provost to sign off before it will be sent to the State Board of Education for approval. Pending approval by the board and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, the degree will officially be the first climate change-specific bachelor’s degree in the state.
Smith anticipates that the first Climate Change and Solutions cohort will start in fall 2023.
“I don’t want to just be looking to our neighbors to answer our water problems and our forest problems. I want Idaho’s citizens and Idaho’s population to be prepared to deal with these challenges,” Bartholomaus said.
Katie Hettinga can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @katie_hettinga