UG Programs Literature & the Environment Minor
This minor is designed for undergraduate students who wish to enhance their major in another field with intensive study of literature in its relationship to the natural environment, while improving their skills in reading, writing, creative and critical thinking, and analysis of complex situations in an ethical frame. The minor examines how different cultural forms (for example, fiction, journalism, poetry, film, design, and other arts) represent environmental issues, including biodiversity, animal studies, wilderness, food, urban ecologies, postcolonial ecologies, environmental justice, and climate change.
To enter the minor, students must be in good academic standing (2.0 grade-point average) and must have successfully completed Writing II. For further information, please contact the departmental Undergraduate Advising Offices.
- A grade of C or better is required for all preparatory courses.
- All courses used to fulfill requirements for the minor must be 4 or 5 units and taken for a letter grade.
- No more than 2 upper-division courses for the minor may be taken during Summer Session or outside of UCLA.
Preparation for the Minor: 2 courses
Two Lower-Division English Courses
• Any Writing II course AND
• English M30 or M30SL: Introduction to Environmental Humanities
The Minor: 5 courses
Two Upper-Division English Courses
• English 118E: Variable Topics: Literature and the Environment AND
• English 118E*, English M118F, or another approved upper-division English course**
*A second English 118E must feature a different topic and instructor than the first
**The undergraduate advising office will designate appropriate courses on a quarter-by-quarter basis
One Course in Humanities (outside English) or Social Sciences with an Environmental Focus
Choose from:
- American Indian Studies C178
- Anthropology 133
- Architecture and Urban Design CM153
- Art History 133D, 133E, C145A
- Chicana and Chicano Studies M144, M183
- Civic Engagement/Food Studies M170SL
- Geography M109, 125, M128, M131, 132
- Honors Collegium 141, 174
- Italian 124
- Public Policy C115
- Russian 122
- Sociology M115
- Urban Planning 120, 121, M160, M163, M165, CM166, M167
One Course in Life Sciences or Physical Sciences with an Environmental Focus
Choose from:
- Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences M100, 105, M106, 107, 141
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 116, M131, 154, 176
- Environmental Health Sciences 100
- Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences 101
- Environment M109, M111, M130, M132, M133, 134, M137, 150, M153, 157, 159, M161, 163, M164, 166, M167
One Capstone Course
One Capstone seminar in English (English 184), internship course (195CE), senior Honors thesis (198A-198B), or independent-study course (197 or 199) culminating in a project focused primarily on literature from an ecocritical or other environmentally focused perspective. Contract or petition may be required.