pause world-wide-web instagram volume-medium linkedin flickr basketball devices home pencil person-money rss slider-left-arrow slider-right-arrow slider-left-arrow slider-right-arrow star video-transcript close hamburger minus plus account arrow certificate city globe graduation-cap graph handshake info info-2 map play search snapchat twitter facebook file-text-o youtube tumblr camera file-text

Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary course of study that promotes an understanding of the relationship between human beings and their environment. Open to all students of the College, the program is designed as a major or minor for students in the School of Liberal Arts and as a minor or second major for students in any other school. The program provides students with a liberal arts experience that focuses on the complex interrelationship among the scientific, political, economic, ethical, and aesthetic ideas that underlie environmental issues.  The program has been designed for both science and non-science majors, serving to broaden their environmental education in ways that can help all students prepare for future careers in the fields of environmental policy or education, while giving students who plan careers in science or engineering a crucial background for understanding the social contexts in which their work will take place.

Major

Requirements for a major in Environmental Studies

A minimum of thirty (30) credits, distributed as follows:

Sciences and Engineering: Students in the major must take a minimum of nine (9) credits in environmental science or engineering from the approved list of courses below. Students should be advised that there may be pre-requisites they must meet in order to take advanced science courses.

BIOL 223Ecology4
BIOL 231Evolution4
BIOL 304Invertebrate Zoology4
BIOL 305Plant Biology4
BIOL 326Animal Behavior4
BIOL 409Marine Biology4
BIOL 431Freshwater Ecology4
BIOL 432Estuarine and Coastal Ecology4
CEEN 405Construction Planning and Scheduling3
ENGS 204Environmental Engineering Principles I3
ENSC 101Intro to Environmental Science3
ENVL 316Environmental Engineering Field Applications3
MATH 151Topics in Modern Mathematics *3
SCI 203Topics in Science I *3
SCI 204Topics in Science II *3
SCI 323Topics in Applied Conservation3
ENSC 301Environmental Science I3
ENSC 302Environmental Science II4
*

When these courses are on an environmental topic. Must be approved by the Environmental Studies program director.

Humanities and Social Sciences: Students in the major must take a minimum of eighteen (18) credits in the Humanities and Social Sciences from the approved list of courses below. All students in the program must take POSC 223 Environmental Politics.

CEEN 309Environmental Law3
ENGL 279Literature and the Environment **3
ENGL 345Environmental Literature and Ecocriticism **3
EVST 399Independent Study in Environmental Studies3
EVST 400Field Project in Environmental Studies3
HIST 377Science, Technology, and Society3
PHIL 205Environmental Ethics3
POSC 223Environmental Politics3
RELS 372Religion and Science ***3
RELS 377Religion and Environmentalism ***3
SOC 303Urban Planning3
URBN 302Sustainable Cities3
SOC 250Introduction to GIS3
SOC 350Advanced Topics in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)3
SOC 307Research Methods3
With permission of Director and Instructor
ECON 332Introduction to Environmental Economics3
ECON 432Applied Environmental Economics3
SOC 334Sustainable Development3
POSC 210Research Methods in Political Science3
With permission of Instructor and Director
With permission of Instructor and Director
POSC 318Community Organizing for Social Change3
With permission of Instructor and Diector
RELS 204Religion and Social Justice3
With Permission of Instructor and Director
RELS 205Urban America and Catholic Social Teaching3
With permission of Instructor and Director
**

 Only one English course permitted

***

 Only one Religious Studies course permitted

Capstone: All students in the major must take the three-credit capstone course during their senior year.

EVST 490 Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies

A minimum grade of C is required for all courses counting toward the major.

Minor

Requirements for a Minor in Environmental Studies:

Students in the minor must take at least fifteen  (15) credits from the approved list of courses below. At least one course (but no more than two) must be from the approved list of science and engineering courses. Students should be advised that there may be pre-requisites they must meet in order to take advanced science courses. All students in the program must take POSC 223 Environmental Politics.

Sciences and Engineering:

BIOL 223Ecology4
BIOL 231Evolution4
BIOL 304Invertebrate Zoology4
BIOL 305Plant Biology4
BIOL 326Animal Behavior4
BIOL 409Marine Biology4
BIOL 431Freshwater Ecology4
BIOL 432Estuarine and Coastal Ecology4
CEEN 405Construction Planning and Scheduling3
ENGS 204Environmental Engineering Principles I3
ENSC 101Intro to Environmental Science3
MATH 151Topics in Modern Mathematics *3
ENVL 316Environmental Engineering Field Applications3
SCI 202Introduction Geology *3
SCI 203Topics in Science I *3
SCI 204Topics in Science II *3
SCI 210Introductory Oceanography3
SCI 221Introduction Meteorology3
SCI 323Topics in Applied Conservation3
ENSC 301Environmental Science I3
ENSC 302Environmental Science II4
*

When these courses are on an environmental topic. Must be approved by the Environmental Studies program director.

Humanities and Social Sciences:

CEEN 309Environmental Law3
ENGL 279Literature and the Environment **3
ENGL 345Environmental Literature and Ecocriticism **3
EVST 301Special Topics in Environmental Studies3
EVST 399Independent Study in Environmental Studies3
EVST 400Field Project in Environmental Studies3
HIST 377Science, Technology, and Society3
PHIL 205Environmental Ethics3
POSC 223Environmental Politics3
RELS 372Religion and Science ***3
RELS 377Religion and Environmentalism ***3
SOC 303Urban Planning3
URBN 302Sustainable Cities3
ECON 332Introduction to Environmental Economics3
ECON 432Applied Environmental Economics3
POSC 318Community Organizing for Social Change3
With permission of Instructor and Director
POSC 210Research Methods in Political Science3
With permission of Instructor and Director
SOC 250Introduction to GIS3
SOC 350Advanced Topics in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)3
SOC 334Sustainable Development3
SOC 307Research Methods3
With permission of Instructor and Director
RELS 205Urban America and Catholic Social Teaching3
With permission of Instructor and Director
RELS 204Religion and Social Justice3
With permission of Instructor and Director

 A minimum grade of C is required for all courses counting toward the minor.

**

Only one English course permitted

***

 Only one Religious Studies course permitted

Courses

EVST 090. Environmental Studies Elective. 3 Credits.

EVST 301. Special Topics in Environmental Studies. 3 Credits.

An intensive study of an environmental topic not currently listed in the course catalogue. The subject to be studied will vary from semester to semester.

EVST 399. Independent Study in Environmental Studies. 3 Credits.

An in-depth independent study in any field of Environmental Studies, undertaken with a faculty member in the appropriate field. Open only to students enrolled in the Environmental Studies major or minor. Permission of the sponsoring faculty member and the Environmental Studies coordinator is required.

EVST 400. Field Project in Environmental Studies. 3 Credits.

An experiential learning opportunity with an environmental organization or government agency - locally, domestically or abroad. Open only to students enrolled in the Environmental Studies major or minor. Permission of Environmental Studies coordinator is required.

EVST 490. Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies. 3 Credits.

In this course students will work as a group with a client — a governmental agency, public interest group, international organization, corporation, or research institution – on a significant issue in environmental policy. Designed as a capstone experience for students majoring in Environmental Studies, for whom it is a graduation requirement. Permission of the Environmental Studies program director required.