Incoming students at Tulane University have a new minor to choose from.

The Minor in Climate Change: Science and Practice is a joint effort among Tulane’s School of Architecture and Built Environment, the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and the School of Science and Engineering.

The new minor prepares students with the knowledge and skills needed to support climate change mitigation and adaptation—work that benefits people, places, and the planet.

While the minor is housed and managed within Newcomb-Tulane College, each participating school plays a central role in the new interdisciplinary program’s curriculum, with faculty contributing expertise on the science and practice of reducing greenhouse gases, addressing climate-related hazards, preserving biodiversity, improving health outcomes, and supporting adaptation strategies. In addition to the sponsoring schools, the minor’s curriculum also includes many courses from the School of Liberal Arts.

Designed to complement any major, the program reflects the reality that nearly all future careers will be shaped by the challenges and opportunities of climate change.

“Throughout human history, we have had to adapt to a changing environment to ensure our survival. So adaptation is really nothing new for humans,” says Jesse Keenan, Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning, and the Director of Tulane’s Center on Climate Change and Urbanism. “What’s different now is the pace and scale by which we need to adapt and that requires collective education, skills and action.”

By offering a multidisciplinary foundation in applied, health, natural, and urban sciences, the minor highlights how fields from public health to engineering and from sustainable design to environmental management converge to advance climate action.

The minor is open to all Tulane Newcomb-Tulane College students and requires 15 credit hours across three domains—Foundations, Explorations, and Practices.

• Foundations introduces students to core courses in at least two of the three schools, combining climate literacy with a broad perspective across disciplines.
• Explorations offers a wide variety of specialized courses, showing how tackling challenges like flooding requires collaboration across fields such as river science, urban planning, and public health.
• Practices provides hands-on opportunities through independent studies, senior seminars, capstone projects, field courses, or design studios—simulating the real-world complexity of advancing climate action.

The program is led by Dr. Jesse Keenan (School of Architecture and Built Environment) with a steering committee that includes Dr. Melissa Gonzales (Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School), Dr. Daniel Friess (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences), and Dr. Torbjörn Törnqvist, (School of Science and Engineering).

Students interested in the minor are encouraged to email climateminor@tulane.edu.

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