Major
Environmental Studies Major Requirements
The ENVS major consists of a minimum of 43 credits, equivalent to at least 14 full-semester courses, as detailed below. ENVS students may choose more than one major, but at least 27 credits for the ENVS major must not be used to fulfill requirements for another major or minor (i.e., 16 credits can be shared).
A. Intro Seminar (1 credit, p/f)
B. Environmental Systems courses (8 credits, 2 credits each)
One of:
- EESC2201 The Human Footprint
Three of:
- EESC2202 Ecosystems
- EESC2203 Water Resources
- EESC2204 The Critical Zone
- EESC2205 Climate Change
- EESC2206 Oceans
- EESC2207 Earthquakes
- EESC2208 Quantitative Methods
C. Foundation courses (9 credits):
- ENVS 3360 Research Methods in Environmental Studies
- HIST 2406 US Environmental History or HIST 4701 Ecological History of the Atlantic World or HIST 1710 Nature & Power: Modern World
- SOCY/ENVS 3562 Environmental Sociology I
D. Concentration (18 credits)
One Introductory Environmental Science Course:
- EESC 1174 Climate Change and Society
- EESC 1501 Global Implications of Climate Change (for freshmen only)
One Sociology or History Course:
- SOCY 1031 Society and Environmental Transformations
- SOCY 1501 Global Implications of Climate Change (for freshmen only)
- SOCY 1509 Planet in Peril (for freshmen only)
- HIST 1505 Planet in Peril (for freshmen only)
- HIST 1507 Powering America: Energy, Tech, Environment (for freshmen only)
- HIST 1842 Atlantic World and Environmental Change
Two Upper Level Environmental Science Courses:
- EESC 4400 Geomorphology and Landscape Change
- EESC 4440 Global Biogeochemical Cycles
- EESC 4462 Paleoclimate Dynamics
- EESC 4463 Paleoclimate Proxies
- EESC 4464 Environmental Data Exploration and Analysis
- EESC 5535 Coastal Processes
- EESC 5599 Climate Change Debates
Two Upper Level Social Sciences or Humanities Courses:
- ARTS2207 Urban Design for Complexity and Sustainability
- ECON 3391 Economics of Energy and the Environment
- ENVS 3340 Alternative Energy
- ENVS 3355 Sustainable Cities
- INTL 2260 International Environmental Science and Policy
- PHIL 5515 How to Save the World: Ethics of Climate Change
- POLI 2531 Energy Politics in U.S., Comparative and Global Perspective
Three Courses on Water and Agriculture:
- EESC 3310 Agroecology
- ENVS 3315 Sustainable Agriculture
- EESC 1170 Rivers and the Environment
One Environmental Science Course:
- EESC 2297 Environmental Hydrology
- EESC 3380 Environmental Oceanography
- EESC 4400 Geomorphology and Landscape Change
One History Course:
- HIST 2044 A Material and Cultural History of Food in China
- HIST 4254 Century of Famine
- HIST 4702 Feast or Famine
- HIST 4703 Environmental Histories of Water
One Humanities Course:
- ARTS 2207 Urban Design for Complexity and Sustainability
- ENVS 3345 Environment and Public Health
- PHIL 5534 Environmental Ethics
- THEO 2231 The Bible and Ecology
- THEO 5429 Theology and Ecology
One Environmental Health Course:
- ENVS 3345 Environment and Public Health
One Ethcis Course:
- PHIL 5534 Environmental Ethics
- THEO 3223 The Ethics of Global Public Health and the Common Good
One Nursing Course:
- NURS 3210 Contemporary Issues in Public Health
- NURS 5345 Global Health Perspectives
- NURS 5350 Global Health Care: Meeting Challenges and Perspectives
One Biology Course:
- BIOL 2320 Case Studies in Epidemiology
- BIOL 2240 Race, Disease, and Disparities
- BIOL 5130 Environmental Disruptors of Development
One History Course:
- AADS 4485 History of Medicine and Public Health
- HIST 2431 Leeches to Lasers: Medicine & Health in the US
- HIST 4741 Opium Past and Present
One Social Science Course:
- ENVS 2501 State of Affordable Housing in the States
- SOCY 1002 Introduction to Sociology for Healthcare Professions
- SOCY 1078 Sociology of Health and Illness
- SOCY 3314 Mental Illness and Society
- SOCY 3371 Gender, Environmental Health, and New Technologies
- SOCY 3397 Social Determinants of Health Across the Life Course
- SOCY 5545 Medical Sociology
One Environmental Law Course:
ENVS/UNAS 2256 Environmental Law and Policy
Two Political Science Courses:
- POLI 2531 Politics of Energy and Climate in US and International Perspectives
- POLI 2446 Natural Resource Politics
- POLI 2441 Comparative Politics of Development
- POLI 2338 Environmental Politics and Policy
One Sociology Course:
- SOCY 1071 Global Inequalities
- SOCY 1501 Global Implications of Climate Change
- SOCY 1711 Social Inequality in America
One International Studies Course:
- INTL 2440 Poverty, Human Rights, & the Environment
- INTL 2260 International Environmental Science and Policy
- INTL 2533 Global Climate Politics
One Sociology Course on Environmental Justice:
- SOCY 3346 Environmental Justice
- SOCY 3370 Gender, Health, and Inequality
One Course on Micro/Macroeconomics:
ECON 1101 Principles of Economics
Two Environmental Economics Courses:
- ECON 2278 Environmental Economics OR ECON 2277 Environmental Economics & Policy
- ECON 3391 Economics of Energy & the Environment
One Sociology Course:
- SOCY 1040 Global Sociology
- SOCY 5557 Sociology of Development
- SOCY 5559 Economic Sociology
One Humanities Course:
- HIST 2703 Is All Commerce Capitalism?
- HIST 2702 Colonial Pasts/Global Presents
- HIST 5403 US Energy History
- PHIL 5901 The Ethics of Capitalism
One Management Course:
- ISYS 3345 Managing for Social Impact & the Public Good
- MGMT 2137 Managing Diversity
- MGMT 2265 Globalization, Culture, & Ethics
- MGMT 2139 Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship
- MGMT 2145 Environmental Management
- MGMT 2265 Globalization, Culture, & Ethics
One Social Science Course:
- ENVS 3365/SOCY3364 Human-Wildlife Conflicts & Coexistence
- SOCY 3360 Animals and Society
Two Ecology Courses:
- BIOL 1520 Biodiversity Connections: Biodiversity, Humans and Environment
- BIOL 1440 Sustaining the Biosphere
- BIOL 2010 Ecology and Evolution
- EESC 1222 Conservation Ecology in Ecuador
One Upper Level Ecolology Course:
- BIOL 4030 Deep Sea Biology
- BIOL 5050 Evolution and Development
- BIOL 4450 Behavioral Ecology
Two Humanities Courses:
- ENGL 1721 Finding the Animal
- ENGL 2202 Beast Literature
- HIST 4222 How Animals Saved the World
- PSYC 1092 Humans and Other Animals: Mental Life
- THEO 2231 Bible and Ecology
- THEO 3000 Theological Bioethics: From the Basics to the Future
- UNAS 1703 Humans & Other Animals: Changing Perceptions
E. Elective (3 credits)
F. Senior Research Seminar (4 credits) or Senior Thesis (6 credits)
- ENVS 4941 Senior Research Seminar [Fall]
- ENVS 4942 Senior Research Seminar II [Spring]
- ENVS 4951 Senior Thesis I [Fall]
- ENVS 4952 Senior Thesis II [Spring]
- ENVS 4961 Senior Honors Thesis I [Fall]
- ENVS 4962 Senior Honors Thesis II [Spring]
Learning Outcomes
The Environmental Studies Program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum to students interested in perspectives on sustainability from faculty and courses across the university. Both a major and a minor are available to qualified students. The goals of the major are to provide students with:
the knowledge and perspective to cultivate rewarding lives as responsible citizens of the planet;
a deep understanding of the scientific, political, and cultural aspects of the world's environmental challenges;
the tools and creativity necessary to envision and implement paths to sustainable solutions; and
a solid background for environmentally related graduate programs and/or careers in business, education, law, policy, planning, government, or research.