How do Boston University and Bowdoin compare for undergraduate environmental studies?

For a student who wants environmental study connected to a major city, professional internships, and climate-policy work, Boston University offers the broader undergraduate platform. BU’s Department of Earth & Environment supports study across environmental science, Earth systems, and environmental analysis and policy, while the Institute for Global Sustainability brings climate research and public-facing sustainability work into the university. Boston also places students near government offices, nonprofits, consulting firms, hospitals, and clean-energy organizations.

BU makes particular sense for someone who may want to combine environmental interests with public policy, data analysis, economics, public health, communications, or business. Its larger scale creates more course options and research groups, but students need to be proactive about finding a smaller academic community, building faculty relationships, and pursuing internships.

Bowdoin is especially compelling for a student who wants a close-knit liberal-arts setting, substantial faculty mentorship, and environmental learning rooted in place. Its Environmental Studies program is interdisciplinary, and its location in coastal Maine gives students direct access to marine ecosystems, conservation questions, and climate impacts on northern coastal communities. The Schiller Coastal Studies Center and Bowdoin’s longstanding Arctic focus can be meaningful assets for students drawn to ocean science, ecology, conservation, or polar and climate research.

At Bowdoin, environmental study is likely to feel more personal and discussion-based, with easier access to professors and a campus culture where fieldwork and interdisciplinary connections are central. It is less naturally embedded in an urban policy and internship network than BU, though students can still pursue research, community partnerships, and summer experiences.

BU suits an outward-facing student eager to use Boston as part of their education; Bowdoin suits someone energized by a smaller academic community and hands-on engagement with Maine’s coast and natural environment.