The environmental science major includes the interdisciplinary study of the impact of human systems on our natural environment and how in turn these natural systems affect the human environment.
Requirements for the Environmental Science Major
Core Curriculum:
Students must complete the Undergraduate Core Curriculum requirements. Specific courses that must be taken to satisfy the core curriculum requirements include science courses and the following:
Science and Math/Computer Science Electives: 9 Credit Hours Minimum
Students must select a minimum of nine credit hours from the following list of courses, including at least one science laboratory and no more than one mathematics/computer science course.
PHIL 200 - Philosophical Perspectives: Philosophy and Ecology (Instructor - Konopka)
PHIL 387 - Topics in Contemporary Philosophy (Instructor - Konopka)
PHIL 392 - Philosophy of Nature
THEO 245 - God, Creation and Ecology
THEO 332 - Sacred Ground and New Story/Cosmology
THEO 360 - Consumption as a Problem
THEO 388 - Wilderness and Religious Imagination
THEO 389 - Theologies of Food and Farm
THEO 396 - Native American Lifeways
SOCI 240 - Population and Globalization
SUST 301 Cultural Studies and Sustainability
SUST 465 - Topics in Sustainability: Renewable Energy and Economies (Instructor - Bertaux)
Other courses as approved by advisor
A 2.000 cumulative average must be attained in the major.
TOTAL Minimum Hours Required for Degree: 120 Semester Hours
B.S. Environmental Science
Freshman Year
First Semester
BIOL 160 - General Biology I
BIOL 161 - General Biology I Lab
CHEM 160 - General Chemistry I
CHEM 161 - General Chemistry I Lab
CORE 100 1st Year Seminar or THEO 111
ENGL 101 - English Composition or ENGL 115 - Rhetoric
CORE 101 - GOA
Total (14)
Second Semester
BIOL 162 - General Biology II
BIOL 163 - General Biology II Lab
CHEM 162 - General Chemistry II
CHEM 163 - General Chemistry II Lab
CORE 100 1st Year Seminar or THEO 111
PHIL 100 - Ethics as Intro to Philosophy
CORE 102 - GOA
Total (14)
Sophomore Year
First Semester
BIOL 250 - Ecology
BIOL 251 - Ecology Lab
ENGL 205 - Literature & Moral Imagination
MATH 140 - Calculus or MATH 146 - Biostatistics
Historical Perspectives Elective
Second Language I
Total (16)
Second Semester
BIOL 260 - Intro to Environmental Science
BIOL 261 - Intro to Environ Science Lab
ECON 200 - Microeconomic Principles
ENVS - Non Science Elective
Theological Perspectives
Second Language II
Total (16)
Junior Year
First Semester
PHYS 160 - College Physics I
PHYS 161 - Introductory Physics Lab I
ENVS Non-Science Elective
MATH 140 - Calculus or MATH 156 - General Statistics
Math or Science Elective
PHIL 200 - Philosophical Perspectives Elective
Total (16)
Second Semester
PHYS 162 - College Physics II
PHYS 163 - Introductory Physics Lab II
Humanities Elective
Creative Perspectives Elective
General Elective
Social Science or General Elective
Total (16)
Senior Year
First Semester
BIOL 495, 497 or 498: Internship/Methods BR I
ECON 320 - Natural Resource Economics
Science or Math Elective (5 credit hours)
General Elective (DCR)
General Elective
Total (15-16)
Second Semester
BIOL 396 or 397 or 398 - Environmental Studies SEM
BIOL 495, 496 or 499: Internship/Methods BR II
E/RS Course
General Elective
Science or Math Elective
Total (13-14)
Scheduling Notes:
Consult the “Undergraduate Core Curriculum” requirements of the Catalog.
All students must also satisfy five flags in addition to the 48 hours required by the core. No single course can count for more than two flags. Flagged courses often double-count for major and/or minor requirements. The five flagged courses are: the Diversity (DCR), Ethics/Religion and Society (E/RS) oral communications, quantitative reasoning and writing-intensive flagged courses. Many of these are available within the core or major; use “Attribute Type” when searching for courses.
2.00 cumulative average is required in the major courses.
A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for the degree. 2.00 cumulative average is required in the major courses.
B.S. Environmental Science - Alternative Pathway
This block schedule serves as a guideline for progress toward a degree for students who start with a math placement in MATH 105. See your academic advisor. Courses with a † or †† can be swapped around with other courses with the same symbol.
Freshman Year
First Semester
BIOL 160 - General Biology I
BIOL 161 - General Biology I Lab
CHEM 160 - General Chemistry I
CHEM 161 - General Chemistry I Lab
CORE 100 1st Year Seminar or THEO 111
MATH 105 Fundamentals of Mathematics
CORE 101 - 1st Year Co-Curricular Program I
Total (14)
Second Semester
BIOL 162 - General Biology II
BIOL 163 - General Biology II Lab
CHEM 162 - General Chemistry II
CHEM 163 - General Chemistry II Lab
CORE 100 1st Year Seminar or THEO 111
MATH 120 Elementary Functions
CORE 102 - GOA - 1st Year Co-Curricular Program II
Total (14)
Sophomore Year
First Semester
BIOL 250 - Ecology
BIOL 251 - Ecology Lab
ENGL 205 - Literature & Moral Imagination††
MATH 140 - Calculus or STAT 146 - Biostatistics†
ENGL 101 - English Composition or ENGL 115 - Rhetoric†
Second Language I†
Total (16)
Second Semester
BIOL 260 - Intro to Environmental Science (quantitative flag)
BIOL 261 - Intro to Environ Science Lab
ECON 200 - Microeconomic Principles
MATH 140 - Calculus or STAT 146 - Biostatistics††
Second Language II†
Recommended: BIOL 299 Professional Communication in the Sciences (oral comm flag)
Total (14)
Junior Year
First Semester
PHYS 160 - College Physics I
PHYS 161 - Introductory Physics Lab I
ENVS Non-Science Elective
Theological Perspectives Elective††
Math or Science Elective
PHIL 100 - Ethics as Intro to Philosophy†
Total (16)
Second Semester
PHYS 162 - College Physics II
PHYS 163 - Introductory Physics Lab II
Humanities Elective††
Creative Perspectives Elective††
ENVS - Non Science Elective
Historical Perspectives Elective††
Total (16)
Senior Year
First Semester
BIOL Capstone
ECON 320 - Natural Resource Economics
Science or Math Elective (5 credit hours)
BIOL 396 or 397 or 398 - Environmental Studies SEM (writing flag) or General Elective
General Elective (DCR) ††
Total (15-16)
Second Semester
BIOL 396 or 397 or 398 - Environmental Studies SEM (writing flag) or General Elective
BIOL 495, 496 or 499: Internship/Methods BR II††
E/RS Elective
PHIL 200 - Philosophical Perspectives Elective††
Science or Math Elective
Total (13-14)
Notes:
2.00 cumulative average is required in the major courses.
A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for the degree. A second Bachelor’s degree requires 150 credit hours (30 additional credit hours).
