Institute at Brown for Environment and Society
IBES expands student experiences & career support
This year marked significant growth for IBES’ academic programs and professional development opportunities, as the Institute adapted to meet student interest in environmental sciences and studies.
IBES expands student experiences & career support
This year marked significant growth for IBES’ academic programs and professional development opportunities, as the Institute adapted to meet student interest in environmental sciences and studies.
IBES now supports close to 100 undergraduate ENVS concentrators and reaches 1,000+ students in ENVS classes—underscoring the growing demand for climate, environment, and sustainability scholarship, and the program’s strong cross-disciplinary appeal. In May 2025, IBES’ Environmental Sciences and Studies (ENVS) program celebrated the graduation of 55 seniors.
In response to this growing student interest, and with feedback from both current concentrators and the University, IBES redesigned its ENVS concentration to provide clearer pathways of study and a streamlined advising capacity. This past year marked the first full academic year under the redesigned concentration.
Developed with extensive faculty and student input, the curriculum has become more flexible and accessible, becoming increasingly popular with dual concentrators, who made up 47 percent of the 2025 graduating class.
New career-focused programming this year
Environmental Careers Workshop Series
In 2025, Brown 's Center for Career Exploration's Jim Amspacher led a new series helping students navigate job searches, applications, and networking.
Exploring green futures: Brown’s first Climate Careers Fair connects students, alumni, and employers
In February, Sayles Hall buzzed with excitement as students met with representatives from a diverse array of organizations at the inaugural Climate Careers Exploration Fair. The event connected students with employers offering climate-focused jobs and provided insights from alumni navigating careers in the environmental sector. Save the date: the next Career Fair will be March 5, 2026.
Introducing the ENVS career pathways page
This newly launched web page guides students through internships, job resources, alumni networks, and real examples of where an ENVS degree can lead.
Sustainable finance programming expands
IBES is rapidly becoming a leader in undergraduate sustainable finance education, with enrollment in key courses—ENVS 1545, ENVS 1547, and ENVS 1548—doubling in recent years.
Aiming to make Brown the premier undergraduate destination for sustainable finance, IBES is also connecting students with real-world experience through new internships and expert-led panels that bridge finance, policy, and academia.
Explore Brown’s Program in Sustainable Finance & Investing
This program, housed at the Institute at Brown for Environment & Society, prepares students to understand how financial systems shape issues such as climate risk, climate equity, emissions mitigation, climate adaptation, and conservation.
Spotlight on student achievements
Gatesi, an Engineering Physics and ENVS concentrator, is researching “the most promising alternative” to standard lithium ion batteries by manipulating Lithium Lanthanum Zirconium Tantalum Oxide (LLZTO) to be more sustainable.
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News from IBES
IBES Voss Fellows bring climate research to the community
Members of the 2025-2026 Voss Undergraduate Fellowship cohort have shared their research with local audiences through the Conversations in Science series at Providence’s Hamilton House.
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Ten years of research projects, countless ideas, one shared mission: to build a sustainable future.
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In her senior thesis, Morris explored how Maine’s climate action process can better include a group on the frontlines of climate change.
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Urban Studies and Mathematics concentrator Rafael Ash ’26 is investigating how communities in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Warren, Rhode Island, adapt to their rapidly changing environments through democratic planning, local partnerships, and managed retreat strategies.
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After a rare wildfire scorched part of southern Rhode Island, ENVS concentrator Diandra Polt ’25 saw a unique research opportunity. Her findings may help shape the region’s ecological future.
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IBES-sponsored summer internships
Step into the field with IBES undergraduates as they share first-person clips from their summer internships and research opportunities.