ENVS 4941 ENVS: Senior Research Seminar I

This year-long seminar is for seniors who are majors in the Environmental Studies Program. To assist with the transition from college to the next stage of ones career, the seminar focuses on the further development of applied multidisciplinary research, accessible writing, project coordination, and public speaking skills. Students spend the first semester engaging with scholarly materials and developing a proposal for a research project, and during the second semester the students complete their research project, potentially collaborating with a campus or community organization to address an environmental problem.

Course overview

Department
Environmental Studies
School
MCAS
Credits
3
Level
Undergraduate
Offered
Every Fall

Requirements fulfilled

Requirement eligibility can vary by school, cohort, and section. Confirm the selected section in EagleApps or with an advisor.

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
3.58 / 5 · Very Good
89 responses
Instructor rating
4.00 / 5 · Very Good
89 responses
Terms evaluated
5
Most recent: Fall 2025

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Fall 2025Tara Pisani Gareau3.74.14.24.34.74.14.54.14–6 hrs/week23 of 27
Fall 2024Tara Pisani Gareau3.94.14.34.34.34.14.64.31–3 hrs/week14 of 19
Fall 2023Tara Pisani Gareau—————————27 of 34
Fall 2022Tara Pisani Gareau2.84.13.43.74.14.04.12.91–3 hrs/week12 of 17
Fall 2021Tara Pisani Gareau3.94.24.24.34.24.44.54.14–6 hrs/week13 of 15

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

Sections

  • Section 01
    Fall 2026 · David Kurz · Devlin Hall 227 TuTh 03:00PM-04:15PM · Offered