Environmental Studies Major

Russell M. Lidman, PhD, Public Affairs Program Director
Gordon L. Miller, PhD, Environmental Studies Program Acting Director

Objectives

Environmental Studies links the natural sciences with the social sciences and humanities in an integrative sequence that moves from the earth, to life, to human beings and spirit. Ecology provides the framework for seeing the whole of the web of natural systems, and for discovering humans’ appropriate role within them. The multi-disciplinary program is an approach to understanding the environmental crisis and developing strategies for its solution.

In addition to a solid academic grounding, students will develop skills and knowledge through field studies and internships within the community. These experiences offer students opportunities to learn about problems first-hand, to test ideas in the field, and to understand whole systems in nature directly through study of various local and regional landscapes. Internships give students an opportunity to work with groups and leaders in the community while they provide first-hand experiences into issues and dynamics of environmental policies, organizations and agencies, advocacy, planning, and consulting.

Students majoring in environmental studies will be prepared to pursue further graduate studies in a variety of areas such as environmental studies, environmental law, forestry, sociology and history, geography, the political sciences, master in teaching, and planning. They will find rewarding careers in federal, state, and local environmental regulatory agencies, consulting firms, environmental businesses, environmental education, and in a variety of local and regional land-use planning positions.

Requirements

In order to earn the bachelor of arts degree with a major in environmental studies, students must complete a minimum of 180 credits with a cumulative and a major grade point average of 2.00, including the following:

I. Core Curriculum Requirements

ENGL 110 - College Writing: Inquiry and Argument 5
PHIL 110 - Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking 5
ENGL 120 - Introduction to Literature 5
MATH 118 - College Algebra for Business 5 or
MATH 120 - Precalculus: Algebra 5 or above
Lab Science satisfied by EVST 100 (*)
Fine Arts (one approved 5 credit course; see course description ) (5)
PHIL 220 - Philosophy of the Human Person 5
Social Science I (5)
Social Science II (ECON 271 or ECON 272 required) (*5)
Theology and Religious Studies Phase II (200-299) (see course offerings ) (5)
Ethics (upper division) (5)
Theology and Religious Studies III satisfied by THRS 324 (*)
Interdisciplinary (3 to 5)
Environmental Studies Senior Synthesis (EVST 489 and EVST 490 required) (*5)

Choose one of the following two courses:

NOTE:

*Included in major GPA.

II. College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

History requirement satisfied by HIST 351
Modern Language 115, 125, 135, or equivalent (15)

NOTE:

All students with a major in the College of Arts and Sciences must demonstrate competency through the level of 135 in a language other than English. This competency is ordinarily achieved by successful completion of the three-course sequence: 115, 125, and 135. Because these courses are a college requirement, no courses in the sequence may be taken on a pass/fail, correspondence, or audit basis. Placement into other than the beginning course of the sequence is achieved by acceptable performance on the Modern Language Competency Examination. See the Modern Languages Department for details on the examinations. Courses used to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences modern language requirement may not be used to fulfill environmental studies major requirements.

III. Major Program Requirements

75-76 credits, up to 20 of which may be counted both for the major and core requirements. Courses marked with an asterisk (*) could satisfy both the major and the core.

Area I: Natural Sciences: 20 credits, including:

Choose one of the following two courses in physical science:

Choose one of the following three options in ecological science:

BIOL 275 - Marine Biology 5
BIOL 470 - General Ecology 5
An approved summer course from Blakely Island Field Studies

Area II: Social Sciences: 25-26 credits including:

Choose one of the following six courses:

Choose a series: (5 to 6)

Series a:

ECON 468 - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics 5

Series b:

Area III: Humanities: 20 credits, including:

Choose one of the following two courses:

Area IV: Statistical Methods

Choose one of the following two courses: (5)

Area V: Internship

EVST 495 - Internship 5

NOTE:

1. Students are strongly encouraged to seek a minor with their remaining elective credits in close consultation with their advisor. Suggested minors include biology, communication (journalism/mass communication), economics, political science, nonprofit leadership, and sociology. A maximum of 15 credits from the major may be used towards a minor. 2. Additional courses meeting the major requirements will be footnoted in the environmental studies section of the Schedule of Classes each quarter. 3. A maximum of 20 credits of the environmental studies major courses may also be used to satisfy university core requirements, these courses are marked with an asterisk (*) above; courses so used will be included in the major GPA calculation.