Environmental Studies Majors

Students in the major choose from one of two focus areas:

• Environmental Science
• Environmental Policy.

In each focus, students select from a variety of social science and science electives. Students in both areas also take a course in research methods in the environmental sciences, as well as an upper-division problem solving seminar that serves as the capstone. The major is available as a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree.

Core Courses Both Focus Areas

• ENVS 030 or 040 or 090 (1)
• ENVS 201 Environmental Science (4)
• ENVS/SOAN 203 Human Adaptive Strategies (4) or ENVS/SOAN 250 Environmental Sociology (4)
• Policy Track Majors select two from the following: ENVS 300 Environmental Policy (3) or ECON 341 Environmental Econ or ECON 342 Natural Resource Econ or POLS 335 Topics in Public Policy (4)
• Science Track Majors select one from the following: ENVS 300 Environmental Policy (3) or ECON 341 Environmental Econ or ECON 342 Natural Resource Econ or POLS 335 Topics in Public Policy (4)
• ENVS 385 Research Methods in Environmental Science (5)
• ENVS 485 Environmental Problem Solving (3)
• MATH 140 Intro to Statistics (3) or MATH 340 Probability and Statistics (4)
• MATH 160 Finite Mathematics with Calculus (or higher) (5) (Policy Focus)
• MATH 170 Calculus I (or higher) (5) (Science Focus)
• ECON 210 Principles of Economics (4)
• ENGL 304 Environmental Lit (3) or HIST 152 Environmental History of the U.S. (4) or PHIL 306 Environmental Ethics (4)

Goals for the Major and Minor

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

• Research and evaluate interactions among humans and their environments through interdisciplinary inquiry.
• Articulate and apply the basic tenets of scientific inquiry to environmental issues.
• Develop a foundation for making informed decisions about environmental issues on an individual and societal level.