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The Environmental Studies Program:
Academic Requirements

In addition to meeting general degree requirements, environmental studies majors must complete the required courses listed below; a minimum 2.0 (C) GPA is required in these courses, excluding the senior project. In addition, a suite of elective courses, chosen by students in consultation with their advisor, is required. Electives count toward the general B.A. degree requirement of 120 total credits. Electives at the 3000- and 4000-level count toward the general B.A. degree requirement of 45 upper-level credits.

Required Foundation Courses
The required core of the environmental studies B.A. curriculum consists of the following 11 foundation courses (five courses in the first category, three courses each in the next two categories):

  1. Natural Sciences:
    ENV 1500/Introduction to Environmental Science
    BIO 1550 and 1560/General Biology I and II (with labs)
    ENV 3120/General Ecology (with lab)
    ENV 3110/Geology (with lab)
     
  2. Social Structure and Function:
    ECO 1510/Microeconomics I
    ECO/ENV 2280/Environmental Economics
    ENV/POL 3030/Environmental Policy
     
  3. Research and Data Analysis:
    PSY 2320/Behavioral Statistics
    ENV 3150/Geographic Information Systems
    ENV 3880/Environmental Studies Junior Seminar

Additional required courses:

  1. One of the following physical education courses:
    PED 1070/Outdoor Skills or
    PED 1105/Scuba or
    PED 1120/Rock Climbing
  2. One of the following courses:
    ENV 3045/Environmental Impact Assessment or
    ENV 3300/Environmental Regulations
  3. ENV 3980/Internship in Environmental Studies (at least 2 credits)
  4. ENV 4990/Senior Project (two semesters)

Fields of Focus and Electives Requirement
The required suite of elective courses provides environmental studies majors with depth of knowledge in an allied discipline, including (but not limited to) biology, policy, and economics. The choice of focal or cognate field reflects the student’s personal interests and career goals. In consultation with an advisor, each student selects the suite of courses, including at least one upper-level course in an allied discipline and two upper-level environmental studies courses.

The following are examples of courses that can be taken to satisfy the electives requirement. Please note that some of these courses have prerequisites and/or corequisites. Students interested in taking elective courses not listed below should check with their faculty advisor before registering.

Biology
BIO 2470/Marine Biology of the Mediterranean
BIO 3160/Genetics (with lab)
BIO 3250/Animal Physiology
BIO 3360/Microbiology
BIO 3430/Vertebrate Zoology
BIO 3440/Invertebrate Zoology
BIO 3530/Cell Biology
BIO 4770/Scanning Electron Microscopy and Digital Imaging
CHE 1550/General Chemistry I (with lab)
CHE 1560/General Chemistry II (with lab)
CHE 3310/Organic Chemistry I (with lab)
CHE 3320/Organic Chemistry II (with lab)
ENV 3045/Environmental Impact Assessment
ENV 3240/Environmental Education
ENV 3720/Aquatic Pollution
ENV 3805/Conservation Biology
ENV 3820/Animal Behavior
ENV 4460/Marine Ecology
ENV 4750/Applied Terrestrial Ecology

Policy or Economics
ANT 1500/Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology
ENV 2040/Introduction to Renewal Energy
ANT/ENV 2410/Environment and Sustainable Development in South Asia
ANT 3190/Urban Anthropology
ANT 3715/Anthropology of Poverty
ECO 1510/Microeconomics I
ECO 3010/Macroeconomic Theory II
ECO 3100/Cities, Culture, and the Economy
ECO 3200/The Global Economy
ECO 3260/Microeconomics II
ECO 3500/Wealth and Poverty in the Global Economy
POL 1570/Introduction to U.S. Politics
POL 2010/Governments and Politics Worldwide
POL 2020/Introduction to International Relations
POL 2070/West African Politics and Literature
POL/ENV 2080/Environmental Justice
POL 2170/Political Theory I
POL 2180/Political Theory II
POL 3235/Globalization, Development, and Poverty
POL 3300/Development and Politics of Latin America
SOC 1500/Introduction to Sociology

Other recommended electives:
JOU/ENV 3260/Environmental Journalism
MAT 1500/Calculus I
MAT 1510/Calculus II
PHI 2120/Methods of Reasoning
PHI 3010/History and Philosophy of Science
SOC/ENV 2255/Environmental Sociology

Updated July 11, 2011

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For current majors:
Eight-Semester Graduation Plans
In consultation with your faculty advisor, the eight-semester plans on the Office of the Registrar’s site can be used as a general guide to assist you in your academic planning and progress toward graduation.