The Washington University Climate Change Program (WUCCP) has compiled courses into climate-related guides to provide students who are interested in these topics with suggested courses that can be taken along any course of study. The Climate Curricular Guides are simply meant to assist students in course selection. There are no requirements for completion.

Courses in the Climate and Energy Guide have been compiled to provide all students interested in energy and climate change with a guide to relevant areas of study. We have included a wide range of courses from different schools and disciplines in order to provide various lenses through which climate change and its implications can be understood. We encourage you to look at courses both within and outside your school or major and encourage you to look at the specific course descriptions as you determine if a course may fit within your course of study.

Contact Information

If you have any questions feel free to contact Climate and Energy Guide lead Prof. Michael Wysession, Executive Director, The Center For Teaching And Learning and Professor Of Earth and Planetary Sciences, at michael@seismo.wustl.edu.

Please note:

  • Each course will vary in the amount of time dedicated to climate and energy — please look at the course description and at our Curriculum Database for guidance.
  • Not every listing will directly relate to climate and energy. Some classes may instead develop skills needed to tackling climate change as it relates to energy.
  • Some courses may require prerequisites.
  • *Capstone courses are noted with an asterisk. Capstone courses often integrate project work.  Some projects may be related to Energy. Please check with the instructor. 
  • **Graduate courses are noted with a double asterisk.  Not all graduate courses are open to undergraduates, please check with the instructor. 

This is a work in progress. If we are missing a course, let us know! Please email climatechange@wustl.edu.

College of Arts and Sciences

Anthro 3472 Global Energy and the American Dream
BIOL 1260 First-Year Seminar: The Secret Lives of Plants
BIOL 2950 Introduction to Environmental Biology
BIOL 2960 Principles of Biology I
BIOL 2970 Principles of Biology II
BIOL 3041 Plant Biology and Genetic Engineering
Chem 105 Introductory General Chemistry I
Chem 106 Introductory General Chemistry II
Chem 111A General Chemistry I
Chem 112A General Chemistry II
CHEM 182 Chemistry for Concerned Citizens: Topics in Energy, the Environment, and More
Chem 403 Chemical Kinetics
Chem 426 Inorganic Electrochemistry and Photochemistry
EnSt 101 Earth’s Future: Causes and Consequences of Global Climate Change
EnSt 102
To Sustainability and Beyond: People, Planet, Prosperity
EnSt 105 Sustainability in Business
EnSt 110 Environmental Issues
EnSt 310 Ecological Economics
Enst 315 Fallout: Analyzing Tests and Narratives of the Nuclear Era
EnSt 316 Beyond the Evidence
EnSt 341 International Energy Politics
Enst 347 Sustainable Cities
EnSt 350W Environmental Issues: Writing
EnSt 357 Environmental Problem Solving
EnSt 405 Sustainability Exchange*
EnSt 407 RESET: Renewable Energy and Decarbonizing the Grid*
EnSt 451 Environmental Policy
EnSt 452 International Climate Negotiation Seminar*
EnSt 461 Introduction to Environmental Law
EPSc 141 First-Year Seminar: Unearthing the Science of Climate Change
EPSc 201 Earth and the Environment
EPSc 219 Energy and the Environment
EPSc 308 Topics in Environmental Sustainability
EPSc 386 The Earth’s Climate System
EPSc 486 Paleoclimatology
Hist 3810 Between Sand and Sea: History, Environment, and Politics in the Arabian Peninsula
JINE 3401 Energy Governance in Israel and the Middle East
Physics 171A Physics and Society
Physics 191 Physics I
Physics 192 Physics II
Physics 197 Physics I
Physics 198 Physics II
Physics 411 Mechanics
Physics 421 Electricity and Magnetism
Physics 422 Electricity and Magnetism II
Physics 444 Energy and Environmental Physics
Physics 505 Classical Electrodynamics I
Physics 506 Classical Electrodynamics II
Physics 537 Kinetics of Materials
Pol Sci* 2010 Introduction to Environmental Policy
Pol Sci* 332B Environmental and Energy Issues

*Note: The Political Science department occasionally offers special Topics courses about climate change.

McKelvey School of Engineering

EECE 101 Introduction to Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering
EECE 202 Computational Modeling in Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering
EECE 210 Introduction to Environmental Engineering
EECE 303 Transport Phenomena III: Energy Transfer Processes
EECE 311 Green Engineering
EECE 314 Air Quality Engineering with lab
EECE 411 International Experience in Energy, Environment & Chem. Engr.
EECE 413 Energy Conversion and Storage
EECE 421 Advanced Energy Laboratory
EECE 425 Environmental Engineering Laboratory
EECE 514 Atmospheric Science and Climate**
EECE 552 Biomass Energy Systems and Engineering**
EECE 590 Energy and Environmental Economic Decision-Making**
EECE 591 Energy and Buildings**
ESE 434 Solid State Power Circuits and Applications
ESE 435 Electrical Energy Laboratory
ESE 437 Sustainable Energy Systems
MEMS 5422 Solar Energy Thermal Processes**
MEMS 5423 Sustainable Energy Environmental Building Systems**
MEMS 5424 Thermo-Fluid Modeling of Sustainable Energy Systems**
MEMS 5426 Fundamentals of Solar Energy Thermal Processes**
MEMS 5705 Wind Energy Systems**
MEMS 598 Energy Analysis and Design Project**

Sam Fox School

ARCH 430A Special Topics: Solar Decathlon Design Challenge for a Zero-Energy Elementary School (ZEES)
ARCH 430B Special Topics: Design Strategies for Energy Efficiency
ARCH 438 Environmental Systems I
ARCH 439 Environmental Systems II
ARCH 462H Information Modeling for Sustainable Design
ARCH 490A Explore & Contribute: Collaboration between Washington University & Henry Elementary School

University College

JME 303 Global Energy Policy
SUST 3312 Environment and Energy Issues