Environmental Studies Minor
“My pursuit of the Environmental Studies minor in conjunction with the Management major was a personal choice for multiple reasons: to increase my environmental consciousness and strive to minimize my own negative impact on our planet; it’s important to my employer and helps me to stay aligned in working to achieve our business objectives; and it’s important to other employers as well which makes me more marketable in the labor market.”
Chris Hukill, Supply Chain Development Manager, BS, Linfield College
Requirements
Environmental Studies presents different perspectives on the relationships between humans and the planet's life-support system. It seeks to develop in students a deep awareness of the complex, highly dynamic nature of the world we inhabit, including interactions among population, the biological and physical environments, resources, technology, social organization and culture. The portion of the planet we occupy in the Pacific Northwest is exceptionally diverse for its latitude and affords rich opportunities for study and participation.
Students may elect this minor as a means of adding an environmental perspective to their major field of study. Because our whole being and our very survival as a species are so intimately connected with a healthy biosphere, Environmental Studies is highly interdisciplinary with almost every field in the liberal arts curriculum involved. While the field traditionally draws most heavily from the natural and social sciences, studies in the humanities are also important for developing skills in communication and interpretation.
Requirements
- A student must complete a minimum of 24 (minimum 10 from Linfield) semester credits, including:
ENVS 201 Environmental Science (4)
ENVS 203 Human Adaptive Strategies (4) - ECON 341 Environmental Economics (4)
- ENVS 040 Community Service
- ENVS 485 Environmental Problem-Solving Seminar
- Three more courses chosen from the list below, including at least one in a natural science.
- One of the three courses may be an internship or independent study. At least one must be outside the division of the student’s major and one outside the department of the major.
- Only two courses counted for the minor may also be counted toward Linfield Curriculum or major requirements.
Environmental Studies Courses offered through the Adult Degree Program
BIOL 201 Concepts in Marine Ecology
BIOL 204 Introduction to Ecology
ENGL 304 Environmental Literature
ENVS 302 Shoreline Ecology
ENVS 303 Human Ecosystems
ENVS 305 Environmental Issues and the Physical Sciences
ENVS 306 Fire History of the Cascades
ENVS 308 Water Resources
HIST 257 The Pacific Northwest
PHIL 306 Environmental Ethics
PHYS 107 Energy and the Environment
Some of these are travel courses offered in the summer term.