Environmental Science and Sustainability, B.A.

The Environmental Science and Sustainability major investigates the nature of environmental issues from biological, chemical, and geological perspectives. This curriculum focuses on discrete topics but provides an examination of the interconnectedness of issues including resource depletion, climate change, biodiversity loss, and surface water pollution. Students develop skills, such as familiarity with statistics and Geographic Information Systems, useful for this work, and specialize by choosing (or developing) a concentration. The major culminates with a research-based capstone project under the supervision of an ENV faculty member.

Requirements

A total of 13 courses including a four-course concentration that includes a capstone and that is composed of the following:

Each of the following core courses

Any one of the following

ECB 261 - Global Environmental Economics (1) (suggested prerequisite: ECB 101 or ECB 102 )
ENG 350 - American Nature Writers (1)
PHI 224 - Environmental Ethics (1)
POL 245 - Global Health (International Relations & Comparative Government) (1)
PSY 255 - Environmental Psychology
SOC 320 - Sociology of the Environment (1) (see catalogue for prerequisites)

Any one of any of the following four-course concentration series:

Environmental Biology

Environmental Geology

Any one of the following: GEO 105 , GEO 111 , or GEO 130
GEO 212 - Mineralogy (1)
GEO 224 - Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (1)
ENV 485 - Environmental Studies Research (1)

Marine Science

Climate Change

Any one of the following: GEO 105 , GEO 111 , GEO 130
GEO 224 - Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (1)
GEO 322 - Advanced Paleoclimatology (1)
ENV 485 - Environmental Studies Research (1)

Design your own track

Four courses; must include at least two courses at the 200- or 300-level, as well as a 485

Graduating with Honors in Environmental Science and Sustainability

Requires satisfying the following two requirements:

An average GPA of 3.5 in all courses counted for the ENV major;
A capstone project of sufficient intellectual depth to merit honors in Environmental Science and Sustainability; each honors capstone will be evaluated by the student’s capstone committee (which is to be composed of three or four faculty, including the program chair and at least one other faculty who is a regular member of the Environmental Studies Program committee) and should be discussed among the student and his/her capstone committee during construction of the capstone proposal.

Note: Students may not combine the Environmental Science and Sustainability major with the Environmental Justice and Sustainability major or minor.