People, Equity, and the Environment Specialization

The purpose of this specialization is to give today's professional environmental managers a range of theoretical, conceptual, and methodological skills necessary for understanding how to critique, improve and implement models of environmental management that address historically engrained challenges.

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    For the reasons above, this specialization expands beyond ahistorical and technical training by focusing students on historical processes, power dynamics and changing societal values. We believe that any solution to global environmental problems must consider issues of social equity and human well-being, in addition to environmental sustainability.

    Note that a capstone course used to fulfill the MEM capstone requirement cannot also be used toward fulfilling an MEM Specialization requirement; a capstone course taken once cannot be used to fulfill multiple requirements. Learn more about YSE capstone courses by visiting the MEM Capstone page.

    Program Courses

    Core

    Two core courses required. Choose one course from Group A and one course from Group B.
    Those students who matriculated to the program prior to Fall 2021 may follow the requirement for their entering class of 2 required core courses: ENV 826 & ENV 759.

    Group A

    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 759
    Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science
    Dove  
    ENV 764
    American Cosmologies
    Farrell  

    Group B

    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 631
    Poverty, Environment and Inequality
    Taylor  
    ENV 682
    Environmental Justice/Water Justice
    Torres  

    Elective

    Students must take at least 1 course from each of the three bins below (Social Science, Humanities, Ecological). The 4th elective course must be from either the “Social Science Perspectives” bin or the “Humanities: History, Religion, and Ethics” bin. 

    Social Science Perspectives

    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 633
    Critical Race Theory
    Torres  
    ENV 639
    Food Systems and Climate Services
    Hernandez-Aguilera  
    ENV 645
    Urbanization, Global Change and Sustainability
    Seto  
    ENV 648
    Organizing: People, Power, and Change
      Robinson
    Tentative
    ENV 742
    Fundamentals of Working with People
      DeCew
    ENV 819
    Measuring and Visualizing Urban Environments
      Salazar Miranda
    ENV 821
    Environmental Policymaking: From Local to Global
    Sanford  
    ENV 828
    Risk Assessment & Management: Climate Change
      Wargo
    ENV 836
    Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development
    Faculty  
    ENV 850
    International Organizations and Conferences
    Boyd  
    ENV 878
    Climate and Society: Past to Present
    Dove  
    ENV 962
    Public Lands and Tribal Natural Resources
    Gonzalez-Rogers  
    ENV 975
    Western Lands and Communities Field Clinic: Research to Practice
      Farrell

    Humanities: History, Religion and Ethics

    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 636
    Carbon Dioxide Removal
    O’Rourke  
    ENV 775
    Federal Indian Law
      Faculty
    ENV 959
    Clinic in Climate Justice, and Public Health
    Faculty  
    ENV 970
    Environmental Protection Clinic Policy and Advocacy (Follows Law School Calendar)
    Kysar Kysar

    Ecological and Conservation Science

    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 626
    Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences
      Queenborough
    ENV 629
    North American Drylands: Ecology and Land Use
      Lauenroth
    ENV 630
    The Physical Science of Climate Change
      Raymond
    ENV 659
    The Practice of Silviculture: Principles in Applied Forest Ecology (Friday field trips)
      Ashton
    ENV 660
    Forest Dynamics
    Duguid  
    ENV 677
    Ecological Restoration
      Duguid
    ENV 696
    YFF:Tribal Forestry:
      Dunning
    ENV 705
    Global Climate Change: Simple, Serious, and Solvable
    Denning  
    ENV 725
    Water, Energy, and Food Interconnections in a Changing Climate
      Saiers
    ENV 752
    Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Forests
    Comita  
    ENV 966
    Sustainability Implementation: Change Management in Institutional Settings
    Smiley Smith  
    Illustration: leaves on oak branch each leaf a different skin tone

    Learning Community

    There is a corresponding “Learning Community” for each specialization, where anyone interested in the topic can find related news, spotlights, colleagues, and events.

    Explore the Community

    Faculty Coordinator