Anonymous wrote:I would go the other way with this choice. I would not pick a college based on its journalism program. The passion here is for the climate crisis, so I would pick a college based on its programs in envirinmental studies. Moreover, because this is not an abstract issue, I would look for a college located where the impact of the climate crisis is being strongly felt right now. That place seems to me to be California. Drought, lakes drying up, forest fires, ocean life, bird migration patterns, and immigration of people displaced by climate change are all “hot” issues in California. It is itself a mini-lab for the impact of the climate crisis. Something approaching 90% of our commercially sold fruits and vegetables are sold in California. Water management issues bring into sharp focus the choices in prioritizing water for homes & offices or for farms which grow the food that we all need. LA gets a bug chunk of its water from Lake Powell & Lake Mead, 2 shrinking reservoirs 300 miles away. Desalinization is one of the solutions up for grabs in California.
Some of the best minds in the world studying this problem are at various University of California branches, especially Berkeley, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, the latter of which is the closest in size (17,000) what you’re looking for. And it is a beautiful campus. Yes, it’s a little bigger than what you’re looking for, but it’s worth considering. It’s hard to get into any of the campuses in the UC system as an out of stater, so you’ll need to look at other sptions. The Claremont colleges combine to form what is in effect a mid size university. Claremont’s Environmental Analysis major is superb and can be accessed from any one of the 5 member colleges. Pitzer with its focus on social sciences may be the best option and it is the one where most applicants would have the best chance of admissions as all 5 colleges are difficult admits. Another admissions friendly option would be Scripps, the women’s LAC in the group with a strength in writing. Another option in your preferred size range and with a strong Environmental Studies program is Santa Clara university, located in Silicon Valley. Stanford is of course another great option but is impossible to get into.
The exception to this would be Northwestern, which regardless of its preeminent journalism program, is also incredibly strong in a great range of other disciplines, including environmental science. California would be a great area to go to college in, full stop, but most regions of the country are facing some repercussions from the climate crisis (including Chicago, upstate New York, the wider Great Lakes region, etc.), so there is a lot to be covered anywhere, I'd imagine.
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