Department of English
     
 

Goals and Requirements for Major and Minor

In successfully completing a major in Environmental Studies, students will be able to:

  • articulate and apply to environmental issues the basic tenets of ecology;
  • articulate and evaluate the scientific evidence in favor of such global environmental challenges as the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, depletion of ozone in the stratosphere, and loss of species and habitat diversity;
  • know how to research and evaluate the feasibility of technical solutions to contamination of the air, water, soil, and food supply;
  • describe concrete instances of how cultural constraints affect human ability to apply technical solutions to known environmental hazards;
  • research and evaluate how to prevent species and habitat loss while understanding how cultural constraints affect the ability to solve these problems;
  • illustrate and critically analyze notable examples where cooperation on environmental issues, nationally as well as internationally, has met with both success and failure;
  • judge the relative degree to which specific environmental practices in industry, agriculture, civic life, and leisure pursuits may be made sustainable; and
  • develop a foundation for making informed decisions about environmental issues.

Requirements for Major or Minor

The environmental studies major is available as a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree.

Students in the science focus will be expected to exhibit greater depth with respect to the technical aspects of the preceding goals. Students in the policy focus will be expected to exhibit greater depth with respect to the cultural and public policy aspects of these goals.

Common Core: 28 credits including 030 or 040 or 090, 101, 102, 300, 485; MATH 140; ECON 210; 6 credits in humanities from among: ENGL 304, HIST 152, PHIL 306. One course from among RELS 110, 355, TCCA 340. ENGL 250, 301, and 319 can count toward the 6 credit requirement by permission of the Environmental Studies Coordinator.
For either focus courses may count once toward the major. Courses that satisfy the major and the Linfield Curriculum may be counted toward both requirements.

Science Focus: Common core plus BIOL 285 plus 26 to 28 credits as follows: 13-15 credit math and science requirement: MATH 160 or 170; BIOL 210 and 211 or CHEM 210 and 211 or PHYS 115 and 116 3-credit social science elective from among: ANTH/BIOL 105, 310; ANTH 111, 112, 202; ECON 341, 251; ENVS 230; PSYC 182, 183; SOAN 450; SOCL 101, 250, 370 10 credits of natural science electives from among: ANTH/BIOL 290; BIOL 225, 235, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 300, 350, 361, 370, 385, 380, 400, 410, 450, 480; CHEM 210, 211, 285, 321, 322, 330, 335, 350, 361, 362, 371, 372, 440; ENVS 380, 450, 487, PHYS 115, 116, 220, 252, 253, 303, 325.

Policy Focus: Common core plus ECON 341 or 342 or POLS 335; 27 credits as follows:
4-credit social science methods requirement from among: ECON 416 or POLS 230 or PSYC 250 or SOAN 307. 7 credits science; one physical science from among: CHEM 100, 120; 210, 211; IDST 210; ENVS 380; PHYS 103, 105, 107, 115; and one biological science from among: ANTH/BIOL 105, 290; BIOL 104, 106, 107, 108, 210, 225, 235, 240, 250, 260, 280, 380, 285, 450.
8 credits from a single social science discipline. Choice among: ANTH 105, 111, 112 or PSYC 183, 188 or SOCL 101, SOAN 265;
8 credits social science electives from among: ANTH/BIOL 290, ANTH 202; ECON 332, 351; ENVS 230; POLS 240; PSYC 181, 182, 183, 186, 187, 188, 381, 382, 383, 386, 387, 388; SOAN 365, 370, 375, 450; SOCL 250, 370.

Given the interdisciplinary nature of environmental studies, other courses may sometimes be approved to count toward the major. There are two routes to this end:
1) The student may petition the coordinator of the Environmental Studies Program, expressing a rationale for the substitution. This rationale must include a signed agreement between the student and course instructor that the student’s major project, counting for at least 1/3rd of the course grade, will be devoted to an environmental issue. The petition must be approved by the Environmental Studies coordinator before the Registrar will accept the substitution.
2) Instructors of special topics courses, including travel courses, may from time to time produce a syllabus that deals predominately with environmental issues. For such one-time offerings, an instructor may request that the Environmental Studies faculty approve the course as a substitute for one of the course requirements in the major. Approval of such credit on more than a one-time basis requires action by the Curriculum Committee and Faculty Assembly.

For a minor: 24-30 credits, distributed as follows: 1) ENVS 101 and 102; 2) four courses (12-20 credits) from among those courses counting toward the major; one of the four courses must be a natural science field course (ENVS 380, ANTH/BIOL 290, BIOL 240, 260, 285, 350 or 385); one must be a social science course from among ANTH 202, ECON 341, 342, POLS 335, or SOCL 250; and at least one must be at the 300 level or above. One of the four courses may be an internship, thesis, or individual research or study. (At least one of these four courses must be from outside the division of the student’s major and one from outside the department of the major); 3) ENVS 040 or 090; and 4) ENVS 485. Only two courses counted for the minor may also be counted toward Linfield Curriculum or major requirements. With the permission of the program committee, one-time offerings may be substituted for courses already approved. Such courses must pertain to the environment directly or indicate that the instructor agrees to supervise an independent project on an environmental topic.