SEAS was founded in 2009 in response to the growing need for innovative thinkers and leaders to address the complex social and environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. Faculty and students in SEAS are invested in understanding how ecosystems transform in tandem with human decisions, because long-term sustainability can only be achieved if societies understand and interact responsibly with their environment.
As one of three interdisciplinary schools in the College of Arts and Sciences, SEAS houses the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth and Environment, and English. SEAS is home to some of the world’s leading environmental scientists working in coastal marine ecosystems, Everglades ecology and restoration, and tropical biology as well as nationally recognized writers and scholars. SEAS also supports a number of centers and institutes dedicated to cutting-edge research, student support, and community engagement, including the Institute of Water and Environment, Center for Humanities in an Urban Environment and International Center for Tropical Botany.
An important mission in SEAS is to promote public awareness by educating local, national, and international communities, disseminating research findings on environmental issues, and providing leadership for a sustainable future. Its multi-disciplinary approach highlights the interconnectedness of physical, biological, and social environments as well as the many ways in which human communities experience, participate in, affect and are affected by their environment.
Through research, education, and an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, SEAS is a catalyst for strengthening, promoting, and contributing to environmental science and policy across the university and around the world. I invite you to explore the unparalleled opportunities and unique resources offered by the School of Environment, Arts and Society at Florida International University.