In the literature on the relationship between learning environments and students' approaches to learning, much attention has been directed to aspects that foster a "deep approach." Considerably less attention has been directed to aspects that result in the opposite, namely a "surface approach." Indeed, there is a small literature focusing on how learning environments can frustrate the basic psychological needs of individuals and, as a result, foster a surface approach. However, hitherto, this stream has focused on controlling elements in learning environments. We add to this latter literature, through focusing on "learning-environment uncertainty." This notion emerged from a qualitative study of 19 students at a Swedish university, where we identified three types of learning-environment uncertainty, related to the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The findings suggest that a surface approach to learning can be understood as a coping strategy that students adopt to reduce such uncertainties.