In the Environmental Arts and Justice program, we co-create transformative learning spaces that support your pursuit of more just and equitable worlds. We address global environmental challenges through diverse ways of knowing, thinking, and creating. By combining critical thinking with creative artistic practice, you will examine how political, social, economic, and cultural systems of power shape the global environmental crisis.
Our program embraces an expansive understanding of environmental justice that is inseparable from social justice. Through this highly interdisciplinary program, you will engage with courses in literature, policy, media production, performance, visual arts, socially engaged art, and food justice, alongside hands-on learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom. Across these experiences, you will develop the ability to express yourself imaginatively and practically as a scholar and artist.
Your degree builds understanding of power dynamics and systemic oppression while equipping you with practical skills in audio and video production, publication design, fibre arts, workshop design/facilitation, and collaborative practice. You will develop foundational abilities in graphic design, printmaking, critical and creative writing, performance, zine-making and other forms of story and information sharing.
You will also build academic skills in analytical reading and critical writing, while also learning visual literacies. By engaging in visual analysis and meaning making through materials, images, and media, you will develop the capacity to interpret, challenge, and respond to environmental crises. Learn how to make visible/known crucial issues through various means of storytelling 鈥 words, image, sound, performance and within workshop design/facilitation.
You will develop skills in facilitating and moderating group processes, leading projects, and communicating complex ideas to diverse audiences. Learn to design creative and analytical work that strengthens leadership, collaboration, and presentation skills, all tools essential for imagining and working toward thriving futures.
Program Overview
The EAJ program embraces an expansive view of environmental justice along with the arts and art-making. This highly interdisciplinary program merges courses in literature, policy, social science, environmental science, media production, performance, and art with hands-on learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom.
You will develop leadership, analytical, creative, collaborative and presentation skills 鈥 key to envisioning and realizing a better environmental future.
You have a variety of options on the types of degrees you wish to pursue. For example, you may wish to complete a 90-credit Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) which typically takes three years to finish, or a 120-credit degree (Honours BES or Specialized Honours BES) which typically takes four years to complete. You have several choices on how to complete the Honours BES program; for instance, you can double major or major/minor in two different programs.
Topic of study includes:
- Climate crisis
- Indigenous sovereignty and decolonization
- Environmental racism
- Social inequity
- Loss of biodiversity
- Resource extraction
- Food justice
- Space, place, and land ethics
- Human鈥揳nimal鈥損lant relations
- Gender and sexual identities
- Social and environmental movements and organizing
The environmental sector is one of the fastest growing in the world. With issues of equity, climate crisis and sustainability, at the forefront of the public conscious, more organizations and businesses are looking to hire environmental professionals. By developing artistic, hands-on experiences coupled with transferrable skills such as communication, critical thinking, project coordination, and leadership our graduates are working in both the public and private sector in a variety of fields including education, government, business, non-profit, arts and more.
To help you succeed, our Experiential Education Coordinator provides a variety of career support services to our students including resume help, interview prep, and career planning workshops, and maintains an exclusive job board just for our students.
Sample Career
- Community Engagement Specialist
- Environmental justice Organizers or Outreach Coordinator
- Food justice Advocacy Worker
- Climate Action Outreach Coordinator
- Indigenous Relations or Equity Assistants (Municipalities)
- Program Coordinators in Non-profits
- Producers and Project Management 鈥 Curatorial and Festival Projects
- Environmental and Community Artist and Designer
- Programs and Workshop Designer
- Film and TV Industry Consultants and Creators
- Environmental Policy and Issue Analyst for Government and Civil Society Organizations
- Educator - Environmental, Museum, Elementary and High School Educator
- Environmental Lawyer
Program Curriculum
Our programs offer you a flexible and individualized approach to your studies. Customize your degree for your future - choose to complete a 3-year or 4-year degree, add optional pathways to your study plan, including double majors & minors, specialized certificates, add on a master鈥檚 degree to your time at 91亚色 U, or choose from a variety of elective course options.
One year in the program equals 30 credits per year over the fall, winter, and summer semesters. To understand what year you are in, total up your successfully completed credits.
One year in the program equals 30 credits per year over the fall, winter, and summer semesters. To understand what year you are in, total up your successfully completed credits.
This list of General Education Courses contains some of the options that can be used to meet your general education requirements. The courses in green are offered within the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. The remaining courses are offered within a different faculty at 91亚色 and may require students to gain permission from that faculty or department. Please note that not all of the courses will be available every year and in every term, make sure to consult the to learn more.
As part of your degree, you may want to add one of 2 certificates that are offered within EUC. Adding a certificate will provide you with additional knowledge and skills-sets to help level up and accelerate your career. Learn more about adding either the Certificate in Climate Solutions and Sustainable Energy or the Certificate in Geomatics: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing or set up an appointment with your Academic Advisor to learn more.
Want to complete an undergrad AND a masters in 5 years? Check out our 3+2 program to learn more and set up an appointment with your Academic Advisor to see if you meet the requirements.
Do you want to become a teacher? Check out the Direct Entry Bed program and complete two university degrees at the same time to become a qualified teacher in Ontario.
Lastly, you may want to add a Double Major or Minor to your program to increase your learning while completing your degree. Check out the to see what鈥檚 on offer and consult with your Academic Advisor to learn more about the requirements and next steps.
Turn learning into action. Environmental Arts & Justice students combine creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking to address environmental and social justice challenges. Through artistic practice, community engagement, and experiential learning opportunities, students explore innovative ways to inspire change and create impact.
Some examples include:
In ENVS 2122 Community Arts for Social Change, students visit local communities and galleries to learn how they are mobilizing cultural productions to speak back to violence and injustice. Students learn facilitation and workshop design, then experiment with various media to create their own projects.
In ENVS 3010 Qualitative Methods in Environmental Studies, students will practice their interviewing skills, learn how to analyze data and pool their resources to conduct an-in depth study examining Environmental Activism among 91亚色 undergraduate students.
In ENVS 4001 Field Placement, students (who meet the requirements) have an opportunity to apply their classroom learning in a work placement with government, NGOs, community groups and/or businesses for credit. You will gain confidence and valuable work experience that will serve you well when launching your career post-graduation.
Other hands-on courses:
- Urban Gardening, Justice, and Sustainability
- Environmental Arts and Media
- Food, Land and Culture
- Environmental Art and Social Change
- Work Placement with a community organization
- Semester Abroad at the Las Nubes Eco Campus in Costa Rica
Resources supporting EAJ students:
- Wild Garden Media Center (WGMC) provides media tools and a lab to create and explore video, audio, digital arts, and mixed earth derived media/materials.
- Eco Arts and Media Festival: a festival featuring student work through exhibitions, workshops, and performance.
- Maloca Garden 鈥 as outdoor learning and workshop space
- Crossroads Gallery, an exhibition/workshop space, photo/video studio.
- Zig Zag Gallery, an exhibition space in the EUC student lounge.
- Maloca Garden-community Garden space and outdoor classroom.
- Academic Advising and Peer Mentors
The Official Environmental Arts & Justice Playlist
Have you ever wondered... which songs represent #91亚色UEUC programs the best? Listen to The Official Environmental Arts & Justice Playlist 馃幎
Testimonials
Ready to turn your passion into a profession? At EUC, our students and alumni are channeling their passion for the environment and social justice into meaningful careers that drive positive change.聽From hands-on learning experiences to real-world research projects, discover how EUC is empowering the next generation of changemakers. Hear their stories and get a glimpse of the exciting path that could await you!
The experiential learning opportunities offered within EUC have enabled me to build valuable connections with esteemed faculty and likeminded peers. These immersive experiences have not only equipped me with strong research skills but also instilled in me a passion for environmental stewardship, preparing me to make a tangible impact in the field.
Through the Cities, Regions, Planning and Schulich PMMP (4+1 Pathway) program, I aim to integrate urban planning principles with sustainable practices to balance economic growth with environmental stewardship, ensuring healthy ecosystems andvibrant communities.
My time at the EUC has been transformative, making me feel like a true changemaker. As an international student, the welcoming 聽community, experiential education courses, and networking聽 opportunities have made me feel valued and helped bring my ideas, goals, and career plans to life.
Through the Cities, Regions, Planning and Schulich PMMP (4+1 Pathway) program, I aim to integrate urban planning principles with sustainable practices to balance economic growth with environmental stewardship, ensuring healthy ecosystems andvibrant communities.
My EUCURA research investigated the ways in which Indigenous people do not have the same ability to forget, and it found that polishing the chain could be used pedagogically to expose non-Indigenous Canadians to their luxury of forgetting and it may create daily 鈥渞adical reminders鈥 of the ongoing colonization of this land.
The SHSM program has provided me valuable experience, training and certifications, which has strengthened my resume and developed skills related to my field of study. Through SHSM, I was able to feel more aligned
with my ambitions and commitment to succeed. Furthermore, the program鈥檚 benefits have made me a stronger candidate for financing opportunities by showcasing my dedication and preparation for university-level work.
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I chose to study Environmental Arts and Justice because this program combines my interests of sustainability and environmental issues with the arts and human rights. I wanted to learn how to incorporate my creative skills as an artist and a musician into my passion for the environment, all while advocating for social and environmental change.
I picked EAJ because I knew it would give me the foundations in how to apply a more creative aspect in my teaching style when I would become a teacher. Also because I was curious in how art can help drive environmental, social and political change (climate justice)聽 during our climate crisis.
Katherine Tse is a recipient of EUC's Undergraduate Research Award (EUCURA) in Summer 2024. She was part of the study on Lake Scugog where 91亚色 undergraduate students in the Environmental Science program partnered with the Scugog Lake Stewards to investigate lake ice decline.
The experiential learning opportunities offered within EUC have enabled me to build valuable connections with esteemed faculty and likeminded peers. These immersive experiences have not only equipped me with strong research skills but also instilled in me a passion for environmental stewardship, preparing me to make a tangible impact in the field.
Claire O'Hagan is one of the recipients of the inaugural EUC Undergraduate Research Awards (EUCURA) in 2022.聽As part of the award, she worked with聽Professor Joshua Thienpont聽on a project titled聽Assessing a potential tool for rapid assessment of shoreline permafrost thaw impacts to lake sediments.
With geography, we learn of the absence of neutrality in space, as there is always more to it than meets the eye. Every corner of the world bears historical struggles and inspirations for future possibilities. As a future geography and history teacher, my goal is to educate people on the importance of making and understanding connections between the two disciplines.
My time at the EUC has been transformative, making me feel like a true changemaker. As an international student, the welcoming 聽community, experiential education courses, and networking聽 opportunities have made me feel valued and helped bring my ideas, goals, and career plans to life.
My favourite part of the program is its diverse curriculum. Economic, Environmental, and Global Political Problems and their possible solutions and many more interesting concepts are part of this curriculum.
Jesse Hughes is a recipient of the聽EUC Undergraduate Research Award (EUCURA)聽and worked with聽Gail Fraser聽on the project 鈥楺uantifying predator type and abundance of nesting common terns at Tommy Thompson Park.
Through the Cities, Regions, Planning and Schulich PMMP (4+1 Pathway) program, I aim to integrate urban planning principles with sustainable practices to balance economic growth with environmental stewardship, ensuring healthy ecosystems andvibrant communities.
My time at the EUC has been transformative, making me feel like a true changemaker. As an international student, the welcoming 聽community, experiential education courses, and networking聽 opportunities have made me feel valued and helped bring my ideas, goals, and career plans to life.
Las Nubes was a life changing academic experience. It gives you such a personal, unique, intimate travel experience that regular travel doesn鈥檛 provide, and I would recommend it for any student who is eligible.
My favourite part of the program is its diverse curriculum. Economic, Environmental, and Global Political Problems and their possible solutions and many more interesting concepts are part of this curriculum.
Katherine Tse is a recipient of EUC's Undergraduate Research Award (EUCURA) in Summer 2024. She was part of the study on Lake Scugog where 91亚色 undergraduate students in the Environmental Science program partnered with the Scugog Lake Stewards to investigate lake ice decline.
Jasper Wong is a recipient of the聽EUC Undergraduate Research Award (EUCURA)聽and worked on the project on Land use/Land cover dynamics and land surface temperature within the Humber River Catchment using Remote Sensing and GIS with聽Professor Adeyemi Olusola.
My time at the EUC has been transformative, making me feel like a true changemaker. As an international student, the welcoming 聽community, experiential education courses, and networking聽 opportunities have made me feel valued and helped bring my ideas, goals, and career plans to life.
The field of planning resonates with me on a personal level, and the prospect of creating meaningful connections within a community and environment has always fascinated me.
My experience at EUC has been truly transformative鈥攆ar exceeding my expectations as an international student. The supportive community, close-knit connections, and the confidence I鈥檝e gained have made EUC an unforgettable part of my journey.
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My journey has been driven by a passion for addressing climate change impacts, advocating for vulnerable communities and shaping international climate policy. From coordinating national climate strategies to negotiating on behalf of small island states, I鈥檝e dedicated myself to environmental justice and sustainable development. I鈥檓 proud to have played a role in influencing global climate targets and continuing to champion critical issues in international discussions.
[Getting involved within faculty-student programs] can be incredibly beneficial. These programs offer opportunities to build meaningful relationships beyond just academic acquaintanceships. Especially during stressful times, like navigating university life, having a supportive community can make all the difference. It's reassuring to know that others are facing similar challenges and that genuine connections can be formed.
As a student, I recommend you explore opportunities beyond what academia can offer. Take advantages of opportunities outside of the classroom. If your program offers you an opportunity to take courses abroad or if there is a learning opportunity outside of classes 鈥 go for it!
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Key Contact Information
| Name | Title | Extension | Office No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Myers | Associate Professor | 77446 | HNES 284 | euceaj@yorku.ca |
| Juanita Muwanga | Recruitment & Admission Officer | 22671 | HNES 125 | eucapply@yorku.ca |
| OSAS Team | OSAS Team | 33510 | HNES 137B | EUAdvise@yorku.ca |