![Boardwalk toward the field station, wide — Landing page imagery, coastal hero.](/sites/default/files/2026-01/Boardwalk_to_Field_Station_Wide.png?alternateWidths=/sites/default/files/styles/canvas_parametrized_width--%7Bwidth%7D/public/2026-01/Boardwalk_to_Field_Station_Wide.png.avif%3Fitok%3D9nSyUd_5) Case Study # Environmental Science The applied environmental degree, built around estuaries, water quality and the coast. It is the most interdisciplinary program we run. [ Start an application ](/standard-page/how-to-apply) [ Download the handbook ](/standard-page/admissions) Environmental Science at Northmoor is built around the coast, because that is where our expertise is and because a coastal setting supplies every problem the discipline cares about within an hour's drive. Water quality, contaminant transport, climate impact, habitat loss and the regulatory machinery that responds to all of it. ## What You Study The first year is foundations: environmental science, oceanography and earth systems, alongside chemistry and statistics. The second and third years move into water quality and pollution, estuarine systems, and climate change and coasts. The fourth year is dominated by environmental impact assessment, which is the closest thing the program has to a capstone and is taught as a professional skill rather than as a topic. Because it draws on three departments, this program has more genuine breadth than any other degree here, and students should expect that the coherence is something they build rather than something the timetable provides. The estuary is the connecting thread. Almost every course uses the Aldwych system as its worked example, and by the fourth year students know that estuary in a way that turns out to be portable — the questions are the same everywhere, only the geometry changes, which is why graduates of this program are found working on systems that look nothing like this one but present exactly the same set of problems in a different arrangement, and why the department has never seen a reason to broaden the case study when depth in one place has proven more useful than shallow coverage of several. ## Where It Leads Environmental consulting is the largest destination, followed by state and federal agency work, nonprofit and advocacy roles, and graduate study. The impact assessment training is directly employable, and students who have done it well are hired on the strength of it. ## What To Expect Field and laboratory work throughout, a genuine statistics requirement, and a good deal of writing. Impact assessment is a writing discipline as much as a scientific one, and the program treats it that way. ## Curriculum ENVS 140 [Environmental Science Foundations](/course/environmental-science-foundations)The systems view: energy, matter, populations and the human pressures acting on all three, with coastal examples throughout. 1 OCEA 110 [Introduction to Oceanography](/course/introduction-to-oceanography)The ocean as a physical, chemical, geological and biological system. Taken by students across every program here. 1 GEOL 150 [Earth Systems](/course/earth-systems)Plate tectonics, the rock cycle, surface processes and deep time — the physical foundation the marine geoscience sequence builds on. 1 ENVS 250 [Water Quality and Pollution](/course/water-quality-and-pollution)Contaminants in coastal water: what they are, where they come from, where they end up, and how to measure them defensibly. 1 ENVS 320 [Estuarine Systems](/course/estuarine-systems)Estuaries as physical, chemical and biological systems — including the trapping behavior that makes them accumulate what passes through. 1 ENVS 380 [Climate Change and Coasts](/course/climate-change-and-coasts)Regional sea level, storm regime and coastal response — and how to present an uncertainty range so that it informs a decision instead of stopping one. 1 ENVS 460 [Environmental Impact Assessment](/course/environmental-impact-assessment)The professional practice of impact assessment, taught as a writing discipline as much as a scientific one. 1.5 ## Common questions ### Click to expand accordion Is housing guaranteed for first-year students? Yes, for all students entering directly from high school. Transfer students are housed as space allows, and the waitlist usually clears by mid-July. [Housing and residence life](#) ### Click to expand accordion How do I get between campuses? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### Click to expand accordion What is the weather actually like? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### Click to expand accordion What if I get seasick? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### At a glance Credential awardedBS Degree levelundergraduate Program length4 years Start termsfall, spring ## Program Lead ![Careers centre adviser portrait, office background — Person `person_portrait`.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Careers_centre_adviser_portrait.png.avif?itok=mFHTR8QM) ### Dr. Clara Ndungu Associate Professor of Environmental Science Related ## Other programs ![Coastal engineering hero — sea wall inspection at low tide — Program imagery, coastal engineering cluster.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Coastal_Engineering_Sea_Wall_Inspection.png.avif?itok=7E8SMAHh) MS / Certificate ### Coastal Resilience A professional master's for people who will make decisions about a shoreline that is moving. Taught jointly by the policy and ocean science departments. - 2 years - Graduate Starts Fall, Spring [](/program/coastal-resilience) ![Coastal bluff overlook, wide — Landing page imagery, aspirational hero.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Coastal_Bluff_Overlook_Wide.png.avif?itok=_RE4hmqd) BS ### Marine Geoscience The geology of the ocean and the coast — sediment, structure, and the climate record held in both. The smallest of the undergraduate science programs and the one with the most field time. - 4 years - Undergraduate Starts Fall [](/program/marine-geoscience) ![Coastal engineering hero — dune restoration site — Program imagery, coastal engineering cluster.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Coastal_Engineering.png.avif?itok=NX5Gvkwq) BS ### Oceanography The physics, chemistry and geology of the ocean, taught by a department that operates its own research vessel. Every student in this program goes to sea. - 4 years - Undergraduate Starts Fall [](/program/oceanography) ## Come and see the tidal flats for yourself Open days run four times a year, and the Wrightsville tour always includes the field station. [ Book an open day ](/standard-page/visit-campus) [ Contact the department ](/standard-page/contact-us)