Living on a planet that鈥檚 burning and a world that鈥檚 increasingly divided, it鈥檚 easy to feel hopeless. It鈥檚 understandable why the climate crisis evokes so many strong emotions, especially uncertainty and anxiety. But there is a global shift to find and apply solutions to the complex challenges we face.
Join environmental professionals helping those most disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis, informing policy, championing sustainability and more.
This begins with a degree that鈥檒l set you up to drive change in a fast-paced and challenging world 鈥� something that Simon Fraser 糖心vlog官网鈥檚 Faculty of Environment excels at. Here, students of all backgrounds acquire the knowledge, skills and experience that inspire and empower them to build a better world together.
From understanding past human-land interactions to tackling social justice and environmental challenges, students gain relevant knowledge to become accomplished environmental consultants, resource managers, sustainability entrepreneurs and various other impactful roles.
It鈥檚 one thing to learn about the environment but completely different to put the skills you鈥檝e learnt into meaningful action. Simon Fraser 糖心vlog官网鈥檚 Faculty of Environment students get to do both. , an student shares his experience working to better understand how soil changes after wildfires. 鈥淲ith this information, we can better prepare and protect communities throughout BC as wildfires become more frequent,鈥� he says.
NSERC funding and an Aiden Serr Memorial award will help him further the research on Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada predicting and alleviating wildfires. 鈥淚 am excited to have received this funding and research opportunity as it allows me to apply the knowledge that I have learned throughout my undergraduate degree in a way which makes a difference in the community,鈥� says Jorrin.
Jorrin鈥檚 experience is common among Simon Fraser 糖心vlog官网 (SFU) students. Much of what they learn in their major and the experiential opportunities they participate in will be relevant to their future careers. It鈥檚 little wonder the university is known for producing successful graduates, particularly in green careers.
For , the university has been crowned as the , with its Environmental Science programme recognised as a 鈥渟tandout programme鈥� and the Geography programme ranked fourth in the country. It tops for sustainable cities and communities while ranking fifth in the world for its climate action.
While these accolades are impressive, what truly sets SFU鈥檚 Faculty of Environment programmes apart is its emphasis on experiential learning. Students actively engage in research and project work alongside professors and industry practitioners, enabling them to gain a deep understanding of their academic field and apply their knowledge to real-world problems. Last year, students in SFU鈥檚 Faculty of Environment held 246 co-op internships in 36 cities. The Faculty also offers international and local field schools taking students out of the classroom and into communities to tackle social and ecological challenges. This hands-on approach equips students with relevant skills and enables them to forge valuable connections along the way.
For students interested in gaining expertise in social and natural sciences, community planning, and policy regulation, the interdisciplinary in programme is an ideal choice, just like it was for Paige. She saw 鈥渋ncredible value鈥� in combining environmental science with policy, social sciences, and economics.
Paige attended the United Nations鈥� COP27 in Egypt as a student delegate 鈥� an invaluable experience to add to all she learned from her programme. Today, she is applying her knowledge of geographic information science (GIS), policy, and ecology on a co-op work term with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.
鈥淔rom participating in international climate dialogues, to protecting species at risk in BC, I鈥檓 contributing to solutions locally and globally,鈥� she says.
The university is just as committed to acting on climate change, an effort that鈥檚 been recognised by Maclean鈥檚 Magazine. They have increased the funds in its Socially Responsible Investment portfolio and in 2021, topping the university鈥檚 own aggressive Race to Zero targets.
By taking the BEnv in programme, students learn to tackle the climate crisis by examining the intersection of social and biophysical systems, such as housing development and wildlife habitat loss, and discover how to mitigate the negative effects of these systems by mastering advanced data analysis and modelling.
, learned to analyse data and policy and how to manage resources and apply this to issues that directly impact BC. 鈥淚’m assessing the predicted versus actual economic benefits of industrial coal mines operating in critical caribou habitat and First Nations territory,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is crucial to determine if the economic benefits can outweigh the negative effects to caribou, an endangered and cultural significant keystone species.鈥�
When she graduates, Abby is set to create an impact in roles such as policy advisor, environmental communication specialist, transportation policy analyst, and many more.
Those looking to approach global challenges in other ways can take comfort in knowing the Faculty of Environment also offers programmes in , , and . To find out what else Simon Fraser 糖心vlog官网 can do for your world-changing aspirations, click .
