Important Information Regarding COVID-19
In light of the University’s newly released policy regarding COVID-19 -- recommending the community minimize social contact -- we encourage students to utilize virtual options when seeking support or information from the Earth Systems Program. Please contact staff via email or phone and we will be happy to assist! Latest information about the University's response to COVID-19 can be found here: healthalerts.stanford.edu
Land Systems
Learning Objectives:
- Design strategies for using multi-source and multi-scale observations of land surface processes that integrate field, geospatial, and human survey data to describe biophysical and socio-economic impacts of land systems changes.
- Integrate biophysical and socioeconomic data related to land use and land cover change using geospatial tools to analyze and model complex, multi-scalar human-environmental interactions that determine land use dynamics.
- Determine remedies to address negative impacts of land changes on human-environmental systems using land-use management tools and interventions.
Foundation & Breadth
- BIO 81 or HUMBIO 2A & 2B or EARTHSYS 116 or BIOHOPK 81 OR BIOHOPK 175H
- CHEM 31A & 31B or 31M
- ECON 1
- GEOLSCI 1 or GEOLSCI 4 or EARTHSYS 117 or EARTHSYS 128
- MATH 19, 20, 21
- MATH 51 or CME 100
- PHYSICS 41 or PHYSICS 45 or GEOPHYS 110
- Statistics: BIO 174H or BIO 202 or ECON 102A or STATS 101 or STATS 110 or 116 or 141 or CME 106
- EARTHSYS 10
- EARTHSYS 111
- EARTHSYS 112
- EARTHSYS 210A or B (Senior Capstone & Reflection)
- EARTHSYS 210P (Capstone Project) or Honors Thesis
- EARTHSYS 260 (Internship)
- WIM: EARTHSYS 200, EARTHSYS 191, EARTHSYS 177C, EARTHSYS 149, BIOHOPK 47, BIOHOPK 175H or another designated WIM course in a related department- must be approved by an advisor. Your WIM course may not also count towards your track or electives, if counted as a WIM.
(These courses must be taken for a letter grade: EARTHSYS 10, 111, 112, 210 A/B, WIM)
Track
A total of seven courses are required from the Land Systems focus areas. Concentrating courses in a single focus area below will allow students to deepen their understanding of the chosen system. For breadth considerations, students are required to take a minimum of one course from each focus area. In addition, two electives are required for this track. All track courses and electives must be taken for a letter grade (nine courses total). Check Explore Courses for availability and updates.
Land Ecosystems
Recommended:
- EARTHSYS 155 Science of Soils
- EARTHSYS 180 Principles and Practices of Sustainable Agriculture
Alternatives:
- BIO 144/HUMBIO 112 Conservation Biology: A Latin American Perspective
- EARTHSYS 105 A/B Ecology of Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
- EARTHSYS 116 Ecology of Hawaiian Islands (off-campus)
- EARTHSYS 123A Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
- EARTHSYS 128 Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems
- ESS 256 Soil and Water Chemistry
- OSPSANTG 58 Living Chile: A Land of Extremes
- OSPAUSTL 30 Coastal Forest Ecosystems
Water
Recommended:
- CEE 166A Watersheds and Wetlands (Prerequisite for 166B)
Alternatives:
- CEE 101B Mechanics of Fluid
- CEE 162E Rivers, Streams, and Canals
- CEE 165C Water Resources Management
- CEE 166B Floods and Droughts, Dams and Aqueducts
- CEE 177 Aquatic Chemistry and Biology
- EARTHSYS 104 The Water Course
- GEOPHYS 190 Near-Surface Geophysics
- OSPAUSTL 25 Freshwater Systems
- OSPMADRD 79 Earth and Water Resources’ Sustainability in Spain
Land Use
Recommended:
- ESS 270 Analyzing Land Use in a Globalized World
Alternatives:
- ANTHRO 166 Political Ecology of Tropical Land Use: Conservation, Natural Resource Extraction, and Agribusiness
- CEE 124 Sustainable Development Studio (must be taken for at least 3 units)
- CEE 175A California Coast: Science, Policy, and Law
- CEE 176A Energy Efficient Buildings
- EARTHSYS 118 Heritage, Environment, and Sovereignty in Hawaii
- EARTHSYS 185 Feeding Nine Billion
- EARTHSYS 238 Land Use Law
- ECON 106 World Food Economy
- ENERGY 101 Energy and the Environment
- ENERGY 102 Fundamentals of Renewable Power
- ENERGY 104 Sustainable Energy for 9 Billion
- ENVRES 250 Environmental Governance
- OSPSANTG 29 Sustainable Cities:
- SIW 144 Energy, Environment, Climate and Conservation Policy: A Washington D.C. Perspective
- URBANST 110 Utopia and Reality: Introduction to Urban Studies
- URBANST 113 Introduction to Urban Design
- URBANST 164 Sustainable Cities
Methods
Required:
- EARTHSYS 144 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Science (GIS)
Optional:
- EARTHSYS 124 Measurements in Earth Systems
- EARTHSYS 142 Remote Sensing of Land
- EARTHSYS 211 Fundamentals of Modeling
- ESS 124 Remote Sensing of Hydrology
- ESS 165 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
- ESS 220 Physical Hydrogeology
- GEOLSCI 240 Data Science for Geoscience
Electives
TWO additional courses at the 100-level or above are required. Electives allow students to personalize their Earth Systems curriculum by pursuing higher-level courses offered in their focus area, or by incorporating new academic perspectives. Each must be a minimum of 3 units.
Track Updated 11/2019
