Environmental Science & Sustainability: What’s the Difference?
Chatham offers both environmental science and sustainability majors for our students—two fields that are relatively new and sometimes conflated as the same thing. That said, environmental science and sustainability are closely related and certainly informed by each other. But, when you’re choosing between studying one or the other, it is important to know the key differences between these areas of study. Below, we break down some of the distinguishing factors between environmental science and sustainability both from a cultural standpoint and an academic standpoint. Check it out—
Let’s start with the true-blue definitions
In order to define the difference between environmental science and sustainability, we turned to an expert: the Encyclopedia Britannica. Here are the respective formal definitions of each field.
Environmental Science: "Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that draws on ecology, geology, meteorology, biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics to study environmental problems and human impacts on the environment. It is a quantitative discipline with both applied and theoretical aspects and has been influential in informing the policies of governments around the world.”
Sustainability: “Sustainability is the long-term viability of a community, set of social institutions, or societal practice. In general, sustainability is understood as a form of intergenerational ethics in which the environmental and economic actions taken by present persons do not diminish the opportunities of future persons to enjoy similar levels of wealth, utility, or welfare. The idea of sustainability rose to prominence with the modern environmental movement, which rebuked the unsustainable character of contemporary societies where patterns of resource use, growth, and consumption threatened the integrity of ecosystems and the well-being of future generations. Sustainability is presented as an alternative to short-term, myopic, and wasteful behaviors. It can serve as a standard against which existing institutions are to be judged and as an objective toward which society should move.”
“Environmental science and sustainability are natural partners. Scientists gather and analyze the data to assess how our natural systems are functioning, and sustainability specialists coordinate that information to generate sustainable, innovative, and equitable answers to today’s environmental, economic, and social justice challenges.”
How do these fields look different academically?
From an academic standpoint, there are definitely similarities, but largely, the two fields are quite divergent. At Chatham, our environmental science major focuses heavily on providing students with an interdisciplinary, scientific perspective that will help them used evidence-based approaches to combat environmental degradation. The environmental science curriculum includes biology, chemistry, ecology, botany, microbiology, organic chemistry, and soil science, among other courses. It’s a science-rich curriculum that also features more skills-based courses like statistics and geographic information systems.
While our sustainability major also includes science components like integrative chemistry and ecology, there is a greater emphasis placed on sustainability within societal contexts, including in the corporate and political spheres. The sustainability major is wide-ranging and offers different tracks of emphasis: Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Energy and Urban Systems, and Sustainable Business, each of which have their own unique coursework.
All that said, if you’re having a hard time choosing between these two fields, you could always opt to select one as your major and one as your minor. If there are areas from each sector that you’d like to incorporate into your education, be sure to select extracurricular courses that appeal to those specific interests.
What are the different career prospects?
We know it’s a bit of a cliché to say that the options are endless, but in this case, there are a seemingly infinite number of different career paths you can take. If you earn a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science or Sustainability, you could opt to then pursue your master’s and/or Ph.D. in the same or similar fields. With a masters level degree, you’ll have even more options within the academia sector. That said, with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science you could go on to work in a variety of settings. According to an article by Ilana Kowarski from US News and World Report, “You could work in government agencies or in a manufacturing company, a mining firm or non-governmental organization, a conservatory or at sea, in a laboratory or a zoo." Chatham environmental science grads have gone on to work as lawyers, scientists, non-profit consultants, educators, and plenty more.
With a degree in sustainability, you’re in luck! Just about every major business sector is trying to figure out how to be more green. If there is a dream organization or corporation that you’d like to work for, you might consider checking out their website to see if they are seeking sustainability consultants. Chatham sustainability grads have gone on to work as corporate leaders and consultants, research scientists, sustainable farmers, and more.
Additional Resources
Choosing between two closely related fields is a big choice and we understand the need to consider them carefully. If you’re a prospective Chatham student, this is an excellent topic to discuss with your admissions counselor, who can help provide further insight and/or connect you with professors you might want to touch base with. If you’re a current Chatham student, we suggest scheduling a meeting with your academic advisor to discuss which major makes the most sense for your goals. We also recommend exploring the following resources for more information:
Peterson’s “Sustainability Degree vs. Environmental Science Degree: What’s the Difference?”
The Princeton Review’s “Careers in Sustainability”
U.S. News & World Report’s “What to do with an Environmental Science Degree”