General description

Environmental scientists examine the living requirements of humans, flora, fauna and microorganisms and investigate the reciprocal dependencies between human culture and civilization and animate and inanimate nature. In both teaching and research, examples are taken to illustrate the central issues in environmental sciences and methods from both the natural sciences and the humanities are implemented to explore the issues. The interdisciplinary approach allows scientists to formulate questions relevant to the environment and to tackle specific problems with the help of scientific methods.
The Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Studies offers a minor in environmental sciences at the Bachelor level to students from all faculties.
The minor furnishes students with a good understanding of the fundamentals in environmental sciences and highlights the importance of opening up their own discipline to other fields and approaches. The minor is useful for admission to the Master’s study program in environmental sciences, but is not a prerequisite. Students can begin the course in the fall or spring semester. The prerequisite for studying in the program is sufficient knowledge of biology, geography, mathematics and chemistry (Matura level). Students are expected to acquire the necessary knowledge through self-study. Lecture notes, the VIRT.UM Internet-based virtual learning environment, and books and journals are all available to students for this purpose.

Admission requirements

The conditions for admission to the Bachelor’s degree programme are regulated in: „Verordnung über die Zulassung zum Studium an der Universität Zürich (VZS)".

Educational goals

The minor study program in Environmental Sciences provides a grounded, problem-oriented education in Environmental Sciences and teaches students to address questions related to the environment using suitable scientific instruments and to develop promising solutions for them. The minor study program demonstrates methods by which solutions for environmental problems can be conveyed clearly and comprehensibly.

ECTS credits

30 ECTS Credits

Program structure

Basic courses in natural sciences, social sciences and humanities are followed by core-elective and elective modules, set by individual priorities.
The semester program with the compulsory, core elective and elective modules can be found on the following website:
https://www.ieu.uzh.ch/en/teaching/envsci/bachelor.html

Examination and assessment regulations

The student's achievement is assessed at the end of each module.
Achievements are graded on a scale from 1 to 6, whereby 6 denotes the highest grade of achievement and 1 the lowest. A grade below 4 is insufficient.
Achievements can also be graded with 'passed' or 'failed'.

Language of instruction

German, English