Preparing for the Major

Students from a wide range of backgrounds thrive in the Earth Systems major. Nevertheless, we encourage high school students considering the major to pursue broad and rigorous preparation across the natural sciences, mathematics, writing, and the social sciences. Because the major is highly interdisciplinary and analytically demanding, students benefit especially from strong quantitative preparation, experience with scientific and critical writing, and sustained curiosity about the relationships between environmental and human systems.

Declaring the Major

As part of the declaration process, prospective students should meet with a peer advisor in the Earth Systems Office to create a four-year plan and then declare the major in Axess. Once the declaration is approved, students will be assigned a first-tier advisor to help them select their final academic advisor.