SEES History

The School of Earth & Environmental Sciences was founded in 1996.  It was established to create a unique interdisciplinary academic entity that aimed to make the Earth a major focus of intellectual activity on campus, with participation from faculty in other science, social science, and humanities departments.

SEES evolved from a Geology department that was founded in 1962 at QC. After the establishment of SEES, new undergraduate majors were offered in Environmental Sciences (BS, BA) and in Environmental Studies (BA). In 2005, SEES established an MS program in Applied Environmental Geosciences to focus on the needs of students intending to work (or already working) in the environmental industry to complement the existing Master of Arts degree in Geological and Environmental Sciences. Beginning in 2011, SEES coordinated with Urban Studies at QC to offer the Environmental Studies BA major (and minor).  Today, biogeochemists, ecologists, atmospheric scientists, and soil scientists complement geologists, geochemists, and geophysicists in the study of our Earth in SEES.

Currently SEES plays a major role in both undergraduate and graduate education at QC, by providing popular majors and minors in SMNS and training graduate students for success in their professional fields.  SEES also provides courses that are part of other majors at QC, including Finance and Urban Studies.  Presently SEES has 15 full-time professors, all of whom are research active studying aspects of our Earth.  SEES faculty are part of doctoral programs at The CUNY Graduate Center, including EES, Biology and Physics.