Sep 07, 2024  
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Environmental Studies Program


Tanya Hayes, PhD, Environmental Studies Program Director
Web: https://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/environmental-studies/

Objectives

Social and ecological sustainability requires a holistic approach to problem solving. The Environmental Studies Program equips students with the scientific knowledge, problem-solving capabilities and communication skills necessary to address the multiple dimensions of today’s pressing environmental problems. We empower new leaders to envision and enact sustainable forms of human-nature relations and we promote a concern for social and environmental justice in accord with the Jesuit-Catholic mission of the university. Students acquire a broad foundation by taking environmental courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and gain a more focused depth of knowledge and pre-professional expertise by completing a specialization in a chosen area: policy, politics and justice; ecological systems; urban sustainability; education and communication; or, an individualized specialization.

In addition to learning in the classroom, students engage in a variety of field studies through which they develop observational skills, methods of ecological inquiry, and firsthand knowledge of local and regional habitats. Opportunities for education abroad extend these experiences into ecosystems and social systems in other countries. Students also complete an internship with an environmental agency or organization in order to gain pre-professional experience in the dynamics of environmental policies, problem solving, research, education, and advocacy.

A major in environmental studies provides a firm foundation for graduate education in many related fields and prepares students for rewarding careers with municipal, state, or federal environmental agencies, with a wide range of environmental nonprofits, and with businesses and industries.

 

Programs

    Undergraduate MajorUndergraduate Minor