Where can Environmental Studies take you?

Environmental challenges touch almost every part of society, from ecosystems and climate to policy, planning, food systems and communities.

An Environmental Studies degree can take you in many directions. You might work in the field, with data, in policy, with communities, or across several of these at once. Explore the paths our graduates take, the skills you can build and the ways you can shape a career around your interests.

Undergraduate career paths

An Environmental Studies degree helps you understand complex environmental problems and gives you experience working with people, evidence and ideas to do something about them.

Because Environmental Studies is usually combined with another major, you can bring depth and expertise from two areas of study into your work. Our classrooms bring together people from ecology, geography, sociology, anthropology, economics, writing, the arts and many other fields, giving you practical experience communicating and working across disciplines, perspectives and ways of knowing.

Our graduates go on to work across conservation and restoration, climate and sustainability, government and policy, environmental assessment and monitoring, planning, consulting, natural resource management, research and data, community engagement, communications and environmental education.

Some roles are highly technical, while others focus more on policy, communities, research or communication. Many bring several of these areas together.

Build skills employers are looking for

Employers need people who can make sense of complex information, work well with others and turn knowledge into useful action.

In Environmental Studies, you can build skills in:

• research and analysis: investigate environmental questions, evaluate evidence and draw well-supported conclusions
• communication: write and present clearly for different audiences, from reports and policy briefs to presentations and public-facing work
• collaboration and engagement: work in teams, listen across different perspectives and contribute to community-based projects
• project work and problem-solving: define problems, plan work, manage competing priorities and develop practical responses
• environmental decision-making: understand how ecological, social, cultural and political perspectives shape environmental choices

Depending on the courses and experiences you choose, you can also develop more specialized skills in areas such as field observation and environmental monitoring, GIS and spatial analysis, environmental data and visualization, policy and environmental assessment, and ecological restoration.

Field schools, community-engaged courses, research and co-op give you opportunities to practise these skills in different settings and build experience you can take into the workplace.

Build a career that fits you

Your first job doesn't have to define your career, and there isn't one Environmental Studies career path.

Environmental work crosses sectors and disciplines, and the combination of skills and experience you develop can take you in directions you may not have considered when you started.

Use your degree to explore what interests you. Field schools, community-engaged courses, research projects and co-op can help you gain experience and discover the kind of work that suits you, while electives and other training can help you build additional expertise.

Graduate career paths

Graduate study in Environmental Studies can prepare you for work involving advanced research, leadership and specialized knowledge.

Our graduate students go on to careers in research and academia, government and environmental policy, conservation and resource management, Indigenous and community-based research, sustainability and climate work, consulting and public-interest organizations.

Graduate research, teaching, co-op and Sustainability Scholars can also help you develop professional experience and networks.

Meet our alumni

Environmental Studies graduates have built careers in remarkably different places and fields.

Our alumni include environmental advocates and broadcasters, landscape architects, researchers, planners, Parks Canada staff, communications professionals, educators, consultants and people leading community and Indigenous-led environmental initiatives.

Their careers show that there is no single way to put an Environmental Studies degree to work.