Choose a degree that centres on solutions for a just and equitable world.
By mixing critical thinking and creative artistic practice, you will understand how political, cultural, economic and social systems and structures shape the global environmental crisis. You will be equipped with the practical skills and knowledge to analyze, challenge and respond to this crisis, and evaluate and propose analytical, innovative and sustainable responses.
This highly interdisciplinary program merges courses in literature, social science, environmental science, media production, performance and art with hands-on learning opportunities in and outside the classroom. You’ll develop leadership, analytical, collaborative and presentation skills – key to envisioning and realizing a better environmental future.
You will explore these critical issues:
- Climate change
- Loss of biodiversity
- Resource extraction
- Food justice
- Environmental racism
- Indigenous sovereignty and decolonization
- Space/place and land ethics
- Human-animal-plant relations
- Gender identities and relationships
Our program embraces an expansive view of environmental arts and art making to include community artists, experimental art forms and those with little or no artistic training (no portfolio or background in the arts is required to enter).
At a Glance
4 years of study
Bachelor in Environmental Studies (BES)
Offered full time and part time
Accepts applications for Fall (September), Winter (January), & Summer (May) Entry
Application Process
Hands-on Learning and Field Studies
Learning in the field is a key component in our program. Your courses will take you on location with field trips to various places in Toronto, across the Ontario and in the work place.
In the course, 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 then experiment with various media to create their own projects.
In the course, 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 York undergraduate students.
In our Work & 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.
Career Possibilities
The environmental sector is one of the fastest growing in the world. With issues of sustainability, climate crisis, and equity at the forefront of the public conscious, more organizations and businesses are looking to hire 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 Careers
- Outreach Educator
- Cultural Producer
- Diversity and Equity Professional
- Artist and Designer
- Environmental Organizer
Overseas Placements
Going global is optional in this program. You can choose to Study Abroad on an international Exchange program or take courses on our Semester Abroad at the Las Nubes EcoCampus in Costa Rica.
We also offer you the opportunity to complete a Global internship with York International.
The Official Environmental Arts & Justice Playlist
Have you ever wondered... which songs represent #YorkUEUC programs the best? Listen to The Official Environmental Arts & Justice Playlist 🎶
EUC Course Search Tool
The course listing provided here does not necessarily reflect courses that are being offered in any given year. Please check the York Courses Website for updated information on current offerings.
This course asks you to think critically and geographically about the world in which we live and provides context for understanding contemporary social, political, economic, and ecological changes and how you fit into these larger processes. In addition to focusing on pressing issues particular to individual regions, we stress a variety of topics including race and ethnicity, economic inequality, indigenous peoples, migration, colonialism, climate change, globalization, protest movements, food politics, conservation, and the politics of energy. The course draws upon powerful geographic concepts to examine these topics and link you-as a student, a consumer, a citizen, a worker and a traveler-to the changing world around you.
[/show_field_with_limit]The course will introduce students to how environmentalists are using documentary films for speaking truth to power. Topics will include how and why documentary films are made and the roles they play in social change efforts on environmental issues. Students will learn how to create their own digital media projects in various documentary formats.
[/show_field_with_limit]This course introduces students to historical and current ideas about land, with an emphasis on Indigenous perspectives. Through analysis of art and media art, students will engage critical approaches by scholars, activists and creatives who challenge dominant modes of power. Students will gain an understanding of treaty relations across Canada, build media analysis skills, and communication skills.
[/show_field_with_limit]Students examine the ways in which writers, performers and visual artists illuminate, reimagine and intervene in environmental crises and challenges. They critically examine relationships between the arts, humanities and environment through an introduction to a variety of literary and artistic forms and strategies including writing, media, visual art and performance. They develop their own skills, ethics and knowledges in the creative production, presentation and evaluation of their own artistic and critical work in the collaborative context of the class community.
[/show_field_with_limit]Students will develop job search strategies, cover letter writing and resume development skills, effective communication skills for interviewing and developing a professional image. This course provides preparation for students who want to enrol in the co-op program. This course is for-credit and is graded on the pass/fail grading scheme. There is a $200 fee associated with this course.
Prerequisite: Students must complete 48-60 credits and meet the cumulative GPA requirements of 5.00 on the 9.00 scale or 2.00 or above on the 4.00 scale for the co-op program.
Enrollment is by permission of the Undergraduate Program Director and/or by the Course Director.
[/show_field_with_limit]Students explore the key notions of popular education related to knowledge and power, and various forms of anti-oppression practice addressing racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ableism, and human/non-human domination in the context of organizations and movements for social and environmental justice in a globalizing and diasporic context. Prerequisite: Third-year or fourth- year standing or by permission of the instructor.
[/show_field_with_limit]Learn more about the degree requirements in Environmental Arts & Justice
Key Contact Information
| Name | Title | Extension | Office No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Myers | Associate Professor | 77446 | HNES 284 | euceaj@yorku.ca |
| Brittany Giglio | Recruitment & Admission Officer | 22671 | HNES 125 | eucapply@yorku.ca |
| OSAS Team | OSAS Team | 33510 | HNES 137B | EUAdvise@yorku.ca |
