Curriculum Innovation

We are known for our early vision and implementation. Throughout SEAS’ history, we have changed the game in environmental fields with the innovations and achievements of our alumni, faculty and students. From being the first in the U.S. to offer forestry courses in the late 19th century and launching the first environmental justice program in 1992, to being the first to create a sustainable systems program and now using leading technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality in groundbreaking ways, we’re the leaders that other universities strive to emulate. 

What we understand at SEAS, and what many others miss, is that solving environmental challenges often requires going well beyond traditional studies and demands the expertise of sustainability professionals who are tapped into every aspect of the human enterprise. This is why we are the trailblazers who have always combined classroom instruction with experiential learning in society. In 1985, we were the first environmental school to offer team-based and interdisciplinary master’s projects, founded on the belief that problems are best solved collaboratively in the real world. In addition to internships and field-based research, SEAS students have long gained the wide range of expertise needed to become or influence the decision-makers who can change the course of humanity. 

At SEAS, we’re developing the evolving blueprint for higher education, where theory meets practice and passion fuels progress to tackle environmental issues unlike any we have faced before. Essential to charting our path of firsts is continuing to advance technology and digital resources to ensure that the education we offer remains cutting-edge, accessible and influential to the widest possible range of students and researchers.