Climate science is math, physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science, applied together to understand how Earth's climate works, how it has changed in the past, and how it may change in the future. Whether a student is interested in policy making, sustainability, natural hazards, city planning, pollution, geoengineering, natural resources, energy, or conservation, a broad and accurate understanding of climate science is required.

The primary goal of the Climate Science Minor is to provide a rigorous and accessible curriculum that allows any Princeton student to learn the climate science they need in order to pursue climate-science-facing careers and make informed decisions as citizens on a changing planet.

The Climate Science Minor requires 5 classes, including 3-4 core courses and 1-2 capstone electives from the list below.

Core Courses (choose 3-4)

GEO102 Climate: Past, present and future
GEO103 Natural hazards 
GEO202 Ocean, atmosphere, and climate 
GEO203 The habitable planet 

Capstone Electives (choose 1-2)

GEO360 Water resources and pollution
GEO362 Earth and climate history 
GEO366 Climate change: Impacts, adaptation, policy 
GEO367 Modeling the Earth System: Assessing climate mitigation strategies

Advanced Substitutes for Capstone Electives (choose 0-2)

GEO361 Earth's atmosphere 
GEO363 Environmental geochemistry 
GEO369 Environmental materials chemistry 
GEO370 Sedimentology 
GEO416 Microbial life 
GEO417 Environmental microbiology
GEO425 Ocean physics for climate
GEO428 Biological oceanography
GEO470 Environmental chemistry of soils

Students can substitute climate-related advanced capstone electives for the capstone courses with permission from the Director of Minors (DoM) or Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). At most one of the capstone electives can be double-counted with courses they take for their major or other minor. Independent work is not required for the minor.