2022-2023 Catalog

Major: Environmental Studies, B.A. (1917), 42 Credits

 

General Education: 42 Credits; Major: 42 Credits; Elective Credits: 36 Credits

Learning Goals for the Major in Environmental Studies

Students majoring in Environmental Studies will be able to:

  • Apply and relate fundamental concepts from the social sciences and the humanities to environmental thought and governance.
  • Recognize and describe fundamental physical and biological principles that govern natural processes.
  • Explain and integrate perspectives from across the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities in the context of complex environmental problems.
  • Evaluate and communicate the complex relationships between scientific approaches to environmental issues and political, social, economic, and ethical perspectives on the environment.
  • Effectively communicate environmental issues orally and in writing.

Required Courses (30 credits)

BIOL 330/IDS 330Conservation Biology

3

BIOL 218/MATH 218Biostatistics

3

ENV 115Environmental Science

3

ENV 497Research

1-6

IS 318/ENV 318Global Sustainability

3

MATH 141Precalculus

3

PHR 218/ENV 218Environmental Justice

3

PHIL 306/ENV 306Environmental Ethics

3

PHR 320/ENV 320 EcoCulture and Sustainability

3

PS 355/PHR 355Green Political Thought

3

Choose at least 12 credits from the following: (12 credits)

AIP 324 Race and Place in Natural Histories of the Americas (CP, REP, UP)

3

BIOL 127Evolution

3

CHEM 105/ENV 105Chemistry and the Environment

3

ECO 306/IS 306Development and Global Change

3

ENV 117The Urban Ecosystem

3

ENV 170General Geology

3

EWL 319/ENV 319Narrating Climate Change

3

BIOL 222General Biology II

4

PHYS 261General Physics I

4

ENV 310Applied Environmental Science

3

ENV 312Energy and Climate Change

3

ENV 314Controversies in Environmental Science

3

ENV 316Natural Disasters and the Environment 

3

BIOL 392 Ecology

3

Honors in the Environmental Studies Major (3 additional credits)

Environmental Studies majors who have 1) maintained a GPA of >3.5 in the major, and 2) achieved an A or A- in their research capstone (ENV 497) course may be invited by their faculty mentor to pursue an Honors Independent Study as ENV 499 in their final semester. Students who earn an A or A- in ENV 499 will graduate with Honors in the Major. To pursue this option, students must take ENV 497 in their penultimate semester to allow for ENV 499 in the final semester.