The University of Rhode Island’s Environmental Arts and Humanities major will officially launch in the 2026-2027 academic year, with an Environmental Foundations course available for students to take in the Spring 2026 semester.
EAH will be housed in the College of Arts and Sciences and directed by Professor William Krieger, chair of the philosophy department, according to Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Brenton DeBoef.
EAH began development in the 2024 spring semester after graduating seniors proposed the idea to combine environmental science with a holistic arts and humanities perspective, according to Krieger.
“When we realized that there was not another program like this nationwide, it just kind of snowballed,” Krieger said.
Over the last year, the department’s full-time faculty has devised a curriculum that combines courses from many humanities programs including natural resource sciences, communication studies, philosophy and economics, according to EAH’s curriculum.
“We wanted representation from all of the humanities,” Krieger said.
Although the Environmental Foundations course is already full for next semester, Krieger said he is willing to add more seats depending on demonstrated interest.
EAH’s value comes from the fact that it is bringing sidelined views of arts and humanities back into the environmental science discussion, according to Emily Diamond, a professor and full-time EAH faculty member.
“[Arts and humanities are] a really important perspective that I think can help students and practitioners be a lot more well-rounded when they are then going out into the workforce to be in positions to manage the environment, to interact with it, to create art that helps people better appreciate the environment,” Diamond said.
One of EAH’s goals is to open URI up to prospective students who may not have considered applying previously, according to Krieger.
“This is a perfect major for somebody who wants to do anything involving the environment, involving communication,” Krieger said.
Some workforce examples are news media or think tanks, according to Krieger.
Students are expected to be equipped with the skills to manage misinformation generated by artificial intelligence, according to an article from Rhody Today.
The program is working on courses to help understand the environmental impacts of A.I., according to DeBoef.
“A.I. has an abominable environmental impact at this point,” Krieger said. “How can we guide its use as opposed to being guided by it?”
Graduating with an EAH degree will help students be more well-rounded in the workforce, whether or not they end up with a career in the environmental sector, according to Diamond.
“I think that we’re going to have an overall population of URI alumni who are just better prepared to think about and incorporate environmental considerations in all of their positions,” Diamond said.
For DeBoef, the value of an EAH degree stems from bringing ethics back into how students view the environment.
“This is what we’re trying to promote: this idea that our care of the environment is ultimately an ethical issue, right?” DeBoef said.
Krieger hopes that this new degree will also bring some passion and creativity back into studying the environment.
“As a person on the planet, as somebody who is passionate about these problems, it will give you an opportunity to really learn about something that you’re excited about,” Krieger said.
For more information on the degree and career outcomes, visit the EAH overview page.
