Global & Environmental Studies Certificate (GESC)

Students earn the Certificate by completing the following requirements:

I. Coursework

• Foreign Language study through the fourth level. Students pursuing two languages or a second language at Loomis should speak with the director of the Alvord Center regarding credit toward the certificate.
• World History: Systems of Justice and Injustice. Or a year-long world history course approved by the Academic Office for students entering Loomis Chaffee after their freshman year.
• A minimum of five GESC approved courses taken from at least three different academic departments. GESC courses are denoted in each departmental section of the course book and are listed below. 

II. Co-Curricular Seminars

• Successful attendance at the one required GESC Junior Seminar (spring).
• Successful completion of the required core GESC Senior Seminar Series, which includes:
  • six evening seminars, scheduled and announced each year by the director;
  • an online portfolio (completed in conjunction with seminar work); and
  • a GESC Senior Capstone Project (completed in conjunction with seminar work).

III. Co-Curricular Elective

• On-going and significant contribution to one of the following electives at the discretion of the student and with the approval of the elective’s advisor and the director of the Alvord Center.
  • Additional coursework (a sixth course)
  • Additional foreign language study (a fifth level course)
  • Additional experiential education 
  • Gilchrist Environmental Fellowship (GEF)
  • Norton Center special project
  • Environmental Proctor
  • Model UN
  • Writing for student sponsored publications on global and environmental topics (i.e. World Bulletin or Hourglass)
  • Debate
  • Community Engagement with a global or environmental focus (80 hours)
  • Commitment to other related activities with the approval of the director

IV. Experiential Education

A two-week or longer experiential education program focused on international, multicultural, or environmental issues. The Alvord Center’s International Education Programs (with the exception of the Head’s Holiday programs) are designed to fulfill this requirement. Students may, with approval from the director, complete the requirement with third-party programs or independently.

V. Global & Environmental Content

Students may not satisfy all requirements with a sole focus on global content or a sole focus on environmental content. In satisfying the requirements listed above, students must complete at least one requirement that is “global” in content and at least one requirement that is “environmental” in content.

In order to successfully meet these requirements, students who wish to pursue the GESC should complete and submit their GESC Enrollment Form no later than the last day of classes before winter break of their junior year. The Alvord Center, along with a student’s advisor and director of studies, will assist students in completing a plan for meeting the above requirements. 

Loomis Chaffee courses that qualify towards earning the GESC:

English
English IV: Graphic Novel
English IV: Literature and the Environment
English IV: Race, Roles, and Religion
English IV: Voices of Dissent
CL English IV: Writing from the Arab World

Modern and Classical Languages
Arabic V
Chinese V
CL Chinese V
CL Chinese VI:  Modern China through Literature
CL Chinese VI:  Contemporary Issues in China
French V: Global Challenges in the Francophone World
French V: Modern Writers
French V: Cinema
CL French V
CL French VI
Latin IV/V: Roman Comedy (this and the following Latin term courses count as GESC courses when taken after a full fourth year of Latin)
Latin IV/V: Augustan Poets
Latin IV/V: Roman Satire
Latin IV/V: Historians at Rome
Latin IV/V: Cicero
Latin IV/V: Catullus
CL Latin (counts when taken after a full fourth year of Latin) 
Spanish V: Latin American Civilization
Spanish V: Latin American Short Story
Spanish V: Cinema
CL Spanish Literature V
CL Spanish VI
Global, Digital Cultures

History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies
World History: Systems of Justice and Injustice (fulfills the year-long history course requirement)
Civilizations That Changed the World
Advanced Seminar: History of the Present
CL European History
The Middle East: A History of Peace and Conflict
Modern African History: Riot, Rebellion, and Freedom
Genocide: Media, Remembrance, and the International Community
History of Sport in Society
Germany and the Holocaust
CL History Seminar: Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States*
Ancient Philosophy
Topics in Ethical Theory
Religious Diversity in Contemporary America
Philosophy of Nonviolence
Hinduism and Buddhism

Social Science
Economics: Macroeconomics
Applied Economics: Financial Markets
CL Economics
International Relations
CL Social Science Seminar: Globalization
CL Comparative Government and Politics
Developmental Psychology

Mathematics
Statistics I
Statistics II
CL Statistics*

Science
CL Environmental Science
Ecology
Human Populations and Impact
Sustainability: Soil, Water, and Agriculture
CL Guided Research Projects in Environmental Sustainability

Visual Arts
Ceramics I
CL Studio Art (with permission by the Visual Arts department and the Alvord Center)
Digital Photography I*
Graphic Design & Digital Art I*

Performing Arts
Acting: Shakespeare
Concert Choir
Chamber Singers
Masks in Culture and History
Music and Social Action Worldwide
Orchestra*

Computer Science, Design Thinking, and Entrepreneurship
Problem Solving for the Common Good
 

*Denotes a new GESC course for the 2021–22 school year. This course can only count towards a student’s GESC requirements if taken in the 2021–22 school year or later.