Elective Cluster Options are recommended courses for students interested in specific study areas. These cluster options could be used in any of the secondary cores and are intended as ways for students to develop focused expertise in any of these areas. Students also should explore the following certificate programs for further focus area specialization:

Recommended Course Electives

Please see the CU-Boulder Course Catalog for class descriptions.

Biogeoscience

  • ENVS 5840: Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Climate

  • ENVS 5830: Critical Issues in Climate and the Environment

Energy Policy

  • ENVS 5100: The Nuclear West
  • ENVS 5820: Renewable Energy Policy
  • LAWS 6722: Energy Law and Regulation
  • LAWS 7122: Mining and Energy Law
  • LAWS 7132: Energy Insecurity/Sustainable Law

Energy Science and Technology

  • BADM 6930: Assessing Sustainable Energy Technologies
  • CVEN 4830/5830: Building Energy Systems
  • CVEN 4838/5838: Sustainability and the Built Environment
  • CVEN 5050: Advanced Solar Design
  • CVEN 5830: Sustainable Building Design
  • ENVS 5100: Energy Science and Technology
  • MCEN 5228: Sustainable Energy
  • MCEN 4228: Wind Energy

Environmental Social Sciences

  • ANTH 4060/5060: Nutrition and Anthropology
  • ANTH 4630/5630: Nomad Peoples/East Africa
  • ANTH 5150: Human Ecology: Biological Aspects
  • ANTH 5500: Cross-Cultural Aspects of Socioeconomic Development
  • ANTH 5600: Human Ecology: Cultural Aspects
  • ECON 4535: Natural Resource Economics
  • ECON 4545: Environmental Economics
  • ENVS 5810: Water Resources and Environmental Sustainability
  • ENVS 5820: Renewable Energy Policy
  • ENVS/SOCY 6007: Foundations of Environmental Sociology
  • GEOG 5003: Elements of Geographic Information Systems
  • GEOG 5762: Sustainable Development: Theory and Classic Issues
  • GEOG:5772: Sustainable Development: Institutions and Policy
  • GEOG 6402: Seminar: Comp Environmental Studies
  • HIST 4417: Environmental History of North America
  • HIST 6417: Environmental History
  • PSCI 4012: Global Development
  • PSCI 7073: Global Political Economy
  • SOCY 6017: Inequality, Democracy and the Environment
  • SOCY 7017: Population and the Environment

Science and Technology Policy

  • ENVS 5100: Science and Technology Policy
  • ENVS 5110: Science, Technology and Society

Values

  • ENVS 5100: Energy Economics and the Environment
  • HIST 4417: Environmental History of North America
  • PHIL 5200: Contemporary Political Philosophy
  • PHIL 5210: Philosophy and Social Policy
  • PHIL 5260: Philosophy of Law
  • PHIL 5290: Topics in Values and Social Policy
  • PHIL 5400: Philosophy of Science
  • PHIL 6100: Seminar in Ethics

Water Policy

  • ECON 6555/ CVEN 5393: Water Resource Development and Management
  • ENVS 5810: Water Resources and Environmental Sustainability
  • GEOG 5501: Western Water
  • LAWS 6112: Foundations of Natural Resource Law
  • LAWS 6302: Water Resources
  • LAWS 6318: Law and Economics
  • LAWS 7202: Environmental Law
  • LAWS 8302: Seminar in Advanced Water Resources

Water Science

  • CVEN 5404: Environmental Water Chemistry
  • CVEN 5834: Applied Stream Ecology
  • EBIO 5030: Limnology
  • EBIO 5060: Landscape Ecology
  • GEOG 4311: Watershed Biogeochemistry
  • GEOG 5241: TPC: Physical Geography
  • GEOG 5251: Fluvial Geomorphology
  • GEOG 5321: Snow Hydrology
  • GEOG 5501: Western Water
  • GEOG 5003: Elements of Geographic Information Systems
  • GEOL 5080: Advanced Hydrogeology/Modeling
  • GEOL 5280: Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry