The online B.S. degree in Earth, Society & Environmental Sustainability is available to students who have completed a semester or more of college level courses.
Want to know more about the degree, or how to sign up? Talk to the program director, Dr. Jonathan Tomkin. Email: tomkin@illinois.edu, call: +1.217.244.2928, or make an appointment.
Current University of Illinois students
If you're a current student at the University of Illinois, becoming an online student is easy!
- Students in LAS can simply declare ESES as their major
- Students in other colleges can transfer to LAS and ESES in any semester
Previous University of Illinois students
Returning students can apply for re-admittance to LAS into a new major. All you need to do to be considered is fill out a short form.
Transfer Students
If you're a student with credit from another College or University, you can apply to the program as a transfer student - you'll get credit for your previous academic work! A list of transfer requirements follows below. Ihen applying, be sure to indicate that you would like to be admitted to the Earth, Society & Environmental Sustainability online program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Transfer Requirements
The University of Illinois guide to online and on campus transfer admissions may be found here. If any of the guidelines are unclear, please contact Dr. Tomkin for clarification and assistance.
The minimum transfer requirement is:
- GPA of 2.7
It is also expected that transfer students will have fulfilled composition 1 prior to applying.
The key University requirement is that you need to complete at least 60 hours of coursework at the University of Illinois. We’ve designed the program so that major requirements can be fulfilled entirely online. Any needed General Education requirements may also be completed online.
When considering transferring to our bachelor's program, it's important that you get credit for your previous academic work. Upon acceptance to the University of Illinois, your transcript will be evaluated by University Admissions. If you would like to figure out which degree requirements you have already met, Transferology.org hosts a vast database describing how many courses transfer between institutions. The process of transferring courses from your previous institution to the University of Illinois is called articulation, and it can be quite complex - if you email your transcripts and/or course syllabi to Dr. Tomkin, he will be able to provide an informal estimate of what credit you'll receive and what you still need to complete.
Students considering the “Science of the Earth System” concentration should take an introductory chemistry (with lab), physics (with lab), calculus 1 and any statistics course. These are CHEM 102+103, PHYS 101 or 211, MATH 220 or 221 at the University of Illinois. Any statistics course is acceptable. Students considering the “Society and Environment” concentration should take microeconomics (referred to as ECON 102 at the University of Illinois), a statistics course, and up to 3 fundamental social science or humanities courses ranging from social geography, anthropology, political science, sociology to philosophy. Visit our application page to learn more about transferring to the University of Illinois.
New to College?
If you are interested in our program but have never attended college, please contact our office to discuss the preparatory coursework you should complete prior to applying at the University of Illinois. If you already have a Bachelor's degree, but seek accreditation in Environmental Sustainability, then check out our certificate in Environmental Sustainability program.