Science - Environmental sciences and sustainability

This program builds skills employers value across industries, including critical thinking, communication and problem-solving. Coursework also strengthens your ability to analyze information, manage projects and make systems-driven decisions.

You’ll explore four topic areas to become career-ready:

• Global and natural science perspectives
  • Learn to think scientifically, interpret data and explore global challenges in science and technology.
• Humanities, identities and society
  • Study culture, identity and human behavior through history, philosophy and the arts.
• National and civil service and professional studies
  • Explore government, civic leadership and ethical practices in public and professional settings.
• Organizations, technology and ethics
  • Understand how organizations function, use digital tools and apply ethics in practical settings.

Build on your previously earned credits with this transfer-friendly program

ASU values your previously earned credits and has designed this program to minimize credit loss. With a broad range of courses, you can tailor how you complete your remaining degree requirements.

You’re an ideal candidate if earning a bachelor’s degree supports your goals, whether you want to shift careers, advance in your current role, prepare for graduate school or achieve personal milestones. Completing a widely recognized general studies degree can help you stand out as a well-rounded candidate with marketable skills.

How three of our most flexible programs compare

Our most flexible degrees — general studies, interdisciplinary studies and liberal studies — share a commonality of choice and transferability. Housed in a college with advisors who specialize in supporting students with diverse interests, these programs enable you to explore multiple areas of study. Each offers a different level of customization and structure. Discover the best option for your goals:

• General studies
  • Finish your degree efficiently by applying the credits you’ve already earned. By choosing the most flexible path, you’ll build career-relevant skills and graduate with the academic credentials needed for advancement.
• Interdisciplinary studies
  • Design a degree that combines two areas of study and builds transferable expertise from nearly 200 concentrations. This is a strong option for gaining focused knowledge aligned with your career goals or graduate study.
• Liberal studies
  • Pursue a humanities-based education and tailor your course plan to your interests. This degree combines structure and choice, offering a broad foundation to explore diverse academic paths.

This concentration is for those passionate about using scientific research and quantitative approaches to develop sustainable solutions that support ocean and coastal community health. Coursework prepares you to analyze strategies for coral resilience, educate stakeholders on conservation practices, enhance biodiversity preservation and address climate challenges.

With a strong emphasis on chemistry, biology and data-driven methodologies, this program equips you to pursue leadership roles in marine industries or advance your studies in disciplines such as:

• Biological, chemical and physical oceanography
• Coastal ecosystem science
• Coral reef science
• Marine biology
• Marine education

Marine and coastal science expertise you’ll develop

This program builds knowledge and skills in integrated ocean science with a focus on quantitative approaches. Courses teach you to evaluate marine decisions using data analysis and modeling, predict ocean system behaviors under different conditions and interpret visual data to inform solutions. You’ll also develop skills to effectively communicate co-produced work and its value to stakeholders.

As ocean sustainability becomes increasingly urgent, strong quantitative skills will be essential for understanding ecosystem functioning, biogeochemistry and ocean-climate interactions. You’ll explore how course knowledge applies to examining coral reef health, nutrient cycling in ocean systems, ocean dynamics, land-sea interactions and more.

How our two ocean futures degrees compare

ASU’s two bachelor’s degrees in ocean futures are STEM programs designed to train the next generation of ocean stewards. Both offer the flexibility to study from anywhere and provide optional immersive opportunities at ASU coastal locations, including the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Center for Global Discovery and Conservation in Hawai’i. Your career goals can guide your decision on which program to choose.

• Bachelor’s in ocean futures
  • This degree broadly explores the natural processes and human impacts shaping ocean health while addressing global marine challenges. It requires less advanced science coursework, including a lower level of chemistry than the concentration. You’ll also take stewardship and partnership courses to develop a practical understanding of the social and economic dimensions of ocean health.
• Bachelor’s in ocean futures – coastal and marine science
  • This concentration emphasizes quantitative approaches to solving coastal and marine challenges. It includes more advanced chemistry coursework and a quantitative applications requirement. This option is ideal if you plan to pursue graduate studies, such as ASU’s online master’s in coastal and marine science and management.

Ocean health is vital to planetary well-being, and dedicated stewards are needed to develop innovative solutions for emerging challenges. Earning this degree positions you to economically and responsibly address the impacts of rising ocean temperatures, coral bleaching, sea level rise, overfishing and more. With interdisciplinary expertise, you’ll be prepared to engage communities and lead transformational changes in ocean-related industries and practice.

This program is accessible wherever you live and equips you for careers in the blue economy. You can pursue roles in areas such as coastal and marine protection and management, land-sea interactions and community-based stewardship. You’ll also gain the knowledge to assess fisheries’ impact on ocean health, support coral reef restoration and integrate intergenerational values into conservation efforts.

How our two ocean futures degrees compare

ASU offers two online bachelor’s degrees in ocean futures: this marine studies program and a degree concentrated in coastal and marine science. Both are STEM programs designed to train the next generation of ocean stewards and innovators. Regardless of which you choose, you can participate in optional hands-on opportunities at ASU locations, including the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Center for Global Discovery and Conservation in Hawai’i. Your interests and career goals can help determine which program suits you best.

• Bachelor’s in ocean futures
  • This ocean sustainability and marine studies degree broadly explores the natural processes and human impacts shaping ocean health while addressing global marine challenges. It requires less advanced science coursework, including a lower level of chemistry than the concentration. You’ll also take stewardship and partnership courses to develop a practical understanding of the social and economic dimensions of ocean health.
• Bachelor’s in ocean futures – coastal and marine science
  • This concentration emphasizes quantitative approaches to solving coastal and marine challenges. It includes more advanced chemistry coursework and a quantitative applications requirement. This option is ideal if you plan to pursue graduate studies, such as ASU’s online master’s in coastal and marine science and management.

Support the blue economy with a degree in ocean sustainability

The multi-trillion-dollar blue economy encompasses careers that sustainably use ocean resources to drive economic growth and support thriving communities. Industries in this expanding sector include fisheries, marine conservation, coastal tourism and recreation, energy, transportation and research. Professionals dedicated to balancing economic development with environmental stewardship are essential to maintaining healthy, productive oceans for future generations.

With the ocean futures marine studies degree, you can build a career that makes a lasting impact on the blue economy across the public, private, nonprofit and nongovernmental sectors.

In this program, you’ll gain an understanding of the interactions among physical, chemical and biological processes that define Earth’s surface environment. You’ll explore biogeochemical cycles, ecosystems, natural hazards, drivers of climate change, human-environment relationships and the natural resources that sustain human societies. Additionally, you’ll build quantitative and analytical skills, preparing you to develop evidence-based environmental solutions.

In addition to gaining base knowledge about Earth as a complex system, including geology, oceans, climate, soils, life and more, you’ll also tailor your degree to your career interests. You can choose from six elective tracks to focus your studies, or you can take courses from multiple areas. Available tracks include:

• Climate and environmental change.
• Environmental education.
• Environmental management.
• Environmental policy.
• Natural resources.
• Sustainability.

Who’s a good fit for this program?

This Earth and environmental sciences program is designed for those interested in Earth’s natural processes and systems, as well as their impacts on sustainability. You’re an ideal candidate if you’re passionate about solving complex environmental challenges from addressing climate change and natural hazards to environmental degradation and pollution.

Additionally, you may choose this program to support your science-focused career goals. Upon completion, you can seek scientist roles with a specialization in environmental protection and remediation, monitoring and natural hazards assessment. You’ll also have the knowledge needed to pursue science- and sustainability-focused graduate programs.

What are the differences between this BS and a BA in Earth and environmental sciences?

This Bachelor of Science in Earth and environmental sciences encompasses quantitative training in areas such as physics and calculus. You’ll also develop fundamental skills in chemistry related to the remediation of soil and water contaminated by common chemical pollutants.

By comparison, ASU’s Bachelor of Arts in Earth and environmental sciences online has a lower math requirement, leaving room for an extra elective course. Whether you choose the BS or BA program, you’ll graduate with an understanding of the natural processes that define planet Earth and support the development of ecosystems.

In this program, you’ll establish an understanding of Earth as a complex system, with a focus on the environment and the physical processes that affect it. Broadly, you’ll build knowledge about the natural sciences, with an emphasis on the physical, chemical and biological processes that define the function of the Earth’s surface environment. Core areas of learning include natural resources, hazards, life, geology, soils, oceans and climate, as well as their implications for a sustainable human society.

You’ll also have the opportunity to specialize in your interest area by selecting an elective track. You can either take five elective courses in the same track or explore various topics. Available tracks include:

• Climate and environmental change.
• Environmental education.
• Environmental management.
• Environmental policy.
• Natural resources.
• Sustainability.

Who’s a good fit for this bachelor’s program?

This program is ideal if you want to learn how to sustain our planet and understand the processes that regulate Earth’s systems. You’re also a good fit if you’re motivated to find solutions to problems such as climate change, natural hazards, environmental degradation and pollution.

Upon graduation, you’ll be empowered to drive environmental improvements in local and global communities. You’ll have the skills needed to pursue careers in environmental science research, conservation management, public policy development or advocacy. This program can also be a stepping stone to graduate studies in natural and environmental sciences, science journalism, public policy and environmental management.

How does this program compare to a conservation biology and ecology degree?

This Earth and environmental sciences degree emphasizes the natural processes that define our environment. Beyond the life sciences, this program delves into the realms of natural resources, biogeochemical cycles, natural hazards, human-environment interactions and other processes.

By comparison, a program such as ASU’s conservation biology and ecology degree concentration online focuses on preserving Earth’s biodiversity and sustaining healthy ecosystems. The conservation biology and ecology concentration is also a Bachelor of Science, which means it has higher requirements in math and statistics.