Environmental Sciences

The Ba­che­lor En­vi­ron­men­tal Sci­en­ces has a uni­que pro­fi­le, com­bi­ning both so­ci­al and na­tu­ral sci­en­ces in one stu­dy pro­gram­me. In your stu­dies you will ac­qui­re a skill­set which enables you to judge as­pects con­cerning both na­tu­ral sci­en­ces and hu­ma­nities. This in turn pro­vi­des you with the tools to find ho­lis­tic so­lu­ti­ons to the com­plex sustaina­bi­li­ty chal­len­ges we face to­day.

The Major Environmental Sciences is taught in German and English: While the lectures in the introductory basic courses take place in English, most accompanying seminars and practical exercises are mostly in German.

Course Content

In your stu­dies you will del­ve into cur­rent sustaina­bi­li­ty chal­len­ges from the point of view of a va­rie­ty of com­ple­men­ta­ry sub-di­sci­pli­nes; such as so­ci­al, eco­lo­gi­cal and eco­no­mic per­spec­tives. This will enable you to de­ve­lop a so­lid base in the so­ci­al and na­tu­ral sci­en­ces and to learn to ap­p­ly their re­spec­tive tools and me­thods.

You will be working with mo­dels and sta­tis­tics as well as spen­ding time in the lab and in the field. Ad­di­tio­nal­ly, sustaina­bi­li­ty re­se­arch pro­jects pro­vi­de an op­por­tu­ni­ty for you to dis­co­ver and ad­dress the need for know­ledge and ac­tion on cur­rent so­ci­al is­su­es by me­ans of con­cre­te case stu­dies.  

Goals of the Environmental Sciences programme

In the Ba­che­lor En­vi­ron­men­tal Sci­en­ces, you will de­ve­lop the skill­set nee­ded to iden­ti­fy, com­mu­ni­ca­te and ad­dress sustaina­bi­li­ty chal­len­ges, so that you can act as a chan­ge agent for sustainability.

To this pur­po­se you will ac­qui­re the know­ledge to sci­en­ti­fi­cal­ly ex­plain and as­sess glo­bal cli­ma­te and en­vi­ron­men­tal pro­blems. Mo­re­o­ver, you will learn to un­der­stand the so­ci­al va­lues, gui­de­li­nes and be­ha­vioral pat­terns which ge­ne­ra­te the­se pro­blems, gain power of judgment and de­ve­lop new ap­proa­ches for a gent­ler pro­ces­sing of na­tu­ral re­sour­ces.

The Ba­che­lor En­vi­ron­men­tal Sci­en­ces enables you to un­der­stand com­plex cor­re­la­ti­ons bet­ween the chal­len­ges we face, think con­nec­ted­ly, ana­lysze in­ter­con­nec­ted pro­ces­ses, and find sustainable so­lu­ti­ons. This ma­kes you a sought-af­ter ex­pert in the gro­wing job mar­ket of sustainable eco­no­my and the sustainable de­sign of our so­cie­ty.

Studying abroad

At the Leuphana College, you can extend your study of Environmental Sciences with an integrated exchange year in Sweden, Spain, Peru, Hungary or the Netherlands by changing to a programme with an 8-semesters standard study duration.

You can also spend one semester abroad with  ERASMUS- or non-European exchange programmes, as well as gathering experience abroad as a so-called Freemover at a university of your choice.

In the Leuphana Bachelor with Environmental Sciences major, you combine specialist knowledge with solution-oriented thinking and responsible action. The Leuphana Semester and Complementary Studies provide the framework for dealing with socially relevant topics outside your chosen major/minor combination. They are an integral part of the Leuphana Bachelor and give you the freedom to immerse yourself in different fields of knowledge and to develop viable solutions for the challenges of the future together with other college students.

The Leuphana Bachelor enables the combination of different interests through major and minor. With the minor choice you can move within traditional disciplines or give your Bachelor an individual profile. You can also choose a minor that is not listed in the overview.

Language of instruction

ENG Eng­lish-lan­gua­ge sub­ject: no Ger­man re­qui­red
GER Ger­man-lan­gua­ge sub­ject: Ger­man re­qui­red
GER / ENG Ger­man-lan­gua­ge sub­ject can also be ta­ken in Eng­lish

The En­vi­ron­men­tal Sci­en­cesmajor is embedded in the interdisciplinary College study model with Leuphana Semester, Minor and Complementary Studies. You start your Bachelor studies with the Leuphana semester. The first semester at Leuphana College gives you the opportunity to deal fundamentally with science. The Minor deepens or supplements your Major with another subject area. In Complementary Studies you have the freedom to pursue your thirst for knowledge individually by immersing yourself in a different field of knowledge each semester.

Leuphana Semester

• Responsibility and Sustainability
• Humanities
• Methods I
• Methods II: Methods of Environmental Sciences
• Introduction to the discipline: Environmental Sciences

Second semester

• Basic Concepts of Mathematics and Statistics
• Basic Concepts of Inorganic Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry
• Basic Concepts of Ecology
• Communication and Behavior Change for Sustainability
• 1 minor module
• 1 Complementary Studies module

Third semester

• Inter- and Transdisciplinary Concepts
• Basic Concepts of Organic Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry
• Basic concepts of Public Sustainability Governance
• Fundamentals of Sustainability Management
• 1 minor module
• 1 Complementary Studies module

Forth semester

• Research Project in Sustainability Science
• 1 elective module*
• 2 minor modules
• 1 Complementary Studies module

Fifth semester

• Sustainability and Ethics
• 2 elective modules*
• 2 minor modules
• 1 Complementary Studies module

Sixth semester

• Interdisciplinary Sustainability Studies
• Bachelor dissertation
• 2 Complementary Studies modules

*In the fourth and fifth semester, you choose three elective modules. Specialisations are freely selectable:

Natural Sciences

• Core Ideas of Natural Sustainability Science
• Practices of Natural Sustainability Science
• Fundamentals of Natural Sustainability Science
• Cross-cutting Concepts of Natural Sustainability Science

Social Sciences

• Concepts of Social Sustainability Science
• Current Trends in Social Sustainability Science
• Methods of Social Sustainability Science

The Environmental Sciences major can be combined with the minor fields listed below:

• Business Administration (GER)
• Business Psychology (GER)
• Digital Business (GER)
• Digital Media / Information Technology & Culture (GER)
• Economics (GER / ENG)
• Educational Sciences (GER)
• Engineering (Fundamentals) (GER)
• Law (Corporate and Business Law) (GER)
• Philosophy (GER / ENG)
• Political Science (GER / ENG)
• Psychology and Society (ENG)
• Social Media and Information Systems (GER)
• Spatial Sciences (GER / ENG)

Language of instruction

ENG Eng­lish-lan­gua­ge sub­ject: no Ger­man re­qui­red
GER Ger­man-lan­gua­ge sub­ject: Ger­man re­qui­red
GER / ENG Ger­man-lan­gua­ge sub­ject can also be ta­ken in Eng­lish

• Study programme: Leuphana Bachelor with Environmental Sciences major
• Degree awarded: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)
• Duration: 3 years (6 semesters)
• Extent: 180 ECTS
• Study places: 95
• Language: German and English
• Fees: no tuition fees
• Semester contribution: approx. EUR 393,09 EUR
• Semester abroad: possible
• Start date: Beginning of October (winter semester)
• Application period: Mid May – July 15
• Requirements: university entrance qualification and English skills
• Restricted admission : yes
• Admission: own procedure at Leuphana College