MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
40 semester hours, completed with a grade of C- or higher and with a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher in those courses. Courses listed below denoted with an asterisk * require completion of all necessary prerequisites.
Course Descriptions
Here are some brief descriptions of the courses in the program.
In consultation with the Chair of the Environmental Studies Program, students majoring in natural science discipline and who have taken a higher level of CHEM course (115 or above) will be allowed to substitute another course in place of any courses listed below denoted with a pound sign #.
1. Multidisciplinary Courses in Environmental Studies
Four semester hours
By examining the broad dimensions of environmental studies, these courses present various perspectives that highlight the complex relationships between people and the environment and that transcend the boundaries of any particular discipline. Students select one of the following multidisciplinary courses that anchor their understanding of environmental issues. The course should be completed prior to enrolling in either ENVT 350 or 499.
ENVT/GEOS 104: Conservation of Natural Resources
ENVT/RELI 239: Environment and Culture
2. Disciplinary Breadth in Environmental Studies
Each course explores the key content, ways of inquiry, conceptual framework, and modes of communication of the discipline. Students take courses from each of three areas of study that provide an in-depth exposure to environmental issues within a discipline.
A. The Environment and ScienceEight semester hours
These courses emphasize the understanding of scientific knowledge that underpins environmental issues. The interpretation and presentation of data along with concepts of science are stressed. Students select two courses (from two different departments) from the following:
BIOL 116: Introductory Ecology
BIOL 425: Marine Biology*
BIOL 333: Comparative Ecology of Latin America* BIOL 424: Ecology*
BIOL 427: Conservation Biology & Management*
CHEM 104: Environmental Chemistry#
GEOS 332: Geomorphology*
GEOS 334: Hydrogeology*
B. The Environment and Society
Eight semester hours
These courses focus on the understanding of the institutions within which environmental decisions are made and investigate the implementation and implications of environmental decisions. The courses also consider how human communities have shaped and been shaped by their environment and how these relationships have changed over time. Students select two courses (from two different departments) from the following:
ANTH 386: Edible Landscapes--The Foraging Way of Life
ECON 111: Principles of Microeconomics: Global and Environmental
ECON 311: Energy and Natural Resource Economics*
ECON 313: Environmental Economics*
ECON 315: Investigating Environmental Economic Change in Europe*
HIST 370: Environmental History of the US
POLS 346: Environmental Politics and Policy
C. The Environment and Sensibility
Eight semester hours
These courses examine the ways in which nature shapes and is shaped by human consciousness and perception. The courses critically interpret the values and assumptions that structure human communities and their relationships with the earth's ecosystems. Students select two courses (from two different departments) from the following:
ENGL 234: Environmental Literature
PHIL 230: Philosophy, Animals and the Environment
RELI 247: Christian Theology: Women, Nature and the Sacred
RELI 365: Christian Moral Issues ("Christian Ecological Ethics" only)
RELI 393: Topics in Comparative Religions("Native Traditions in Pacific Northwest" only)
3. Internship in Environmental Studies
Four semester hours
An internship is required so that students have the opportunity to apply knowledge in environmental topics to the professional world and to practice their work in the local, regional or global community. Students must receive approval for their internship prior to its start from the Chair of Environmental Studies.
ENVT 495: Internship in Environmental Studies
4. Interdisciplinary Advanced Courses in Environmental Studies
Eight semester hours
Each student will complete these two synthesis courses that integrate methods and content of various academic perspectives to develop approaches to complex environmental challenges. The courses serve to raise questions, create products, or produce explanations that cannot be addressed within the framework of a particular discipline.
ENVT 350: Environmental Methods of Investigation
ENVT 499: Capstone: Senior Project Additional Requirements for an Environmental Studies major
Additional requirements for environmental studies majors:A complementary major or minor in another discipline
A minimum of 20 semester hours of upper division semesters in the Environmental Studies major