The purpose of the University of Portland's Environmental Studies Program is to critically examine the broad scope of the current environmental crisis. This crisis is scientific, sociopolitical, and ethical in nature. In light of this crisis, the environmental studies program offers a bachelor of arts degree in environmental ethics and policy and a bachelor of science degree in environmental science.

The Environmental Studies Program is designed to give all program majors, regardless of the track they pursue, an understanding of the scientific implications of environmental study, and the theological, philosophical, economic, and political issues at the heart of this challenge. In addition to its interdisciplinary nature in the College of Arts and Sciences, the program is also dedicated to creative interaction with other schools of the University, such as the environmental engineering track in the civil engineering degree program, and the sustainable entrepreneurship offerings in the Pamplin School of Business Administration. Taken together, this encourages a rich and constructive conversation on our campus that centers on the place of humankind and human activities in an environmentally sustainable future.

The goal of the Environmental Studies Program is to graduate students who have gained enough insight into the present environmental situation, and the interconnected elements involved in any solution, to provide leadership as environmental professionals. As Oregon’s Catholic University, the University of Portland is perfectly situated as a place where the discussion of moral and ethical dimensions of environmental decisions is part of normal discourse.