Undergraduate Studies, Major, Minor, Modified Major and Honors

• Click on the links for more information about requirements and course information.
• Choose the ENVS Major worksheet, ENVS Minor worksheet, or ENSC Minor worksheet. 
• Courses offered by term
• Sample syllabi
  
  ENVS Learning Outcomes
  The Environmental Studies major prepares students for careers as leaders in understanding and addressing complex environmental issues from a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary perspective. Students:
  • Master core concepts and methods from ecological and physical sciences and their application in environmental problem solving.
  • Master core concepts and methods from economic, political, and social analysis as they pertain to the design and evaluation of environmental policies and institutions.
  • Appreciate the ethical, cross-cultural, and historical context of environmental issues and the links between human and natural systems.
  • Understand the transnational character of environmental problems and ways of addressing them, including interactions across local to global scales.
  • Apply systems concepts and methodologies to analyze and understand interactions between social and environmental processes.
  • Reflect critically about their roles and identities as citizens, consumers and environmental actors in a complex, interconnected world.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in quantitative methods, qualitative analysis, critical thinking, and written and oral communication needed to conduct high-level work as interdisciplinary scholars and/or practitioners.

The Major in Environmental Studies requires introductory courses, core courses, elective focus courses, and the culminating experience course. (See handout in the ENVS Office). We believe the interdisciplinary nature of Environmental Studies requires this number of courses to ensure students gain fundamental skills in the areas of environmental science and studies before they move into elective focus courses.

The prerequisites ensure that students have an introduction to a physical science lab science, an understanding of the economic system (since all environmental problems include economic considerations) and calculus so students will have basic quantitative skills used in more advanced environmental studies courses.

The core courses cover a body of knowledge considered fundamental to understanding the relationships between people and their environment, namely, global environmental science, environmental decision making and risk, environmental ethics and the legal system, and political institutions and their role in environmental issues. This core of intermediate level courses provides a unifying set of concepts and principles related to the analysis of complex environmental issues.

• The elective focus courses give each student the opportunity to develop an area of emphasis around a theme of their choosing. These courses must be approved as part of the Student Major Plan which must include the rationale for the elective courses.
  
  
  Environmental Studies Minor Learning Outcomes
  The Environmental Studies minor supplements other majors to facilitate students’ understanding of complex environmental issues from a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary perspective. Students:
  • Understand key concepts from economic, political, and social analysis as they pertain to the design and evaluation of environmental policies and institutions.
  • Appreciate concepts and methods from ecological and physical sciences and their application in environmental problem solving.
  • Appreciate the ethical, cross-cultural, and historical context of environmental issues and the links between human and natural systems.
  • Reflect critically about their roles and identities as citizens, consumers and environmental actors in a complex, interconnected world.
  
  Environmental Science Minor Learning Outcomes
  The Environmental Science minor supplements other majors to facilitate students’ understanding of complex environmental issues from a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary perspective. Students:
  • Understand core concepts and methods from ecological and physical sciences and their application in environmental problem-solving.
  • Appreciate key concepts from economic, political, and social analysis as they pertain to the design and evaluation of environmental policies and institutions.
  • Appreciate the ethical, cross-cultural, and historical context of environmental issues and the links between human and natural systems.
  • Appreciate that one can apply systems concepts and methodologies to analyze and understand interactions between social and environmental processes.
  • Reflect critically about their roles and identities as citizens, consumers and environmental actors in a complex, interconnected world.

The culminating experience in the major is fulfilled by ENVS 50, 84 or 91.

ENVS 50 - Previous reports

Environmental Problem Analysis and Policy Formulation. Students working together in groups formulate and justify policy measures that they think would be appropriate to deal with a local environmental problem. The purposes of this culminating course are to (1) give students an opportunity to see how the disciplinary knowledge acquired in their various courses and departmental major programs can be integrated in a synthetic manner; (2) provide a forum for an in-depth evaluation of a significant environmental policy problem; and (3) give students the experience of working as a project team toward the solution of a real-world problem. Considerable fieldwork may be involved, and the final examination consists of a public presentation and defense of the student-generated policy recommendations. To satisfy the culminating experience we will restrict the course to seniors (now also open to juniors) and we will require each student to produce an individual written report on their contribution to the combined group report so we can more directly assess individual achievement. In addition, the culminating experience may be met by completing Environmental Studies 84 (AFSP), or conducting Honors Research (Environmental Studies 91). In some cases, an Independent Study (ENVS 90) may fulfill the culminating experience if the ENVS 90 is done in the senior year and approval for this substitution is obtained prior to beginning the independent study.

Environmental Studies Honors Program (ENVS 91)

A candidate for the Honors Program must satisfy the minimum College GPA Requirement and complete Environmental Studies 91 (Thesis Research), or a similar research course approved by the Chair. Environmental Studies 91 (Thesis Research) may be taken two times but may only once count toward the major. See Internships and Grants.