Environmental Studies
Program Overview
College of Arts and Sciences, The Department of Earth, Environment, and Society
John Roach Center for the Liberal Arts (JRC) 432, (651) 962-5566
Lorah, Kelley (Co-chair), McKay
The mission of Geography and Environmental Studies program is to provide both the highest quality liberal arts education and applied, career-oriented preparation. Our students learn to integrate knowledge and gain the depth of expertise to prepare them competitively for professional life and/or graduate school. We value the application of theory and research to real-world problems that affect the common good.
The Department of Earth, Environment, and Society offers multiple courses of study including a major and minor in geography, a major in environmental studies with various concentrations, a geographic information systems (GIS) minor (for non-geography majors) and a concentration area in GIS for majors, as well as a minor in sustainability.
With foundations in both the natural and social sciences, our courses prepare students for a wide range of careers in government, the private sector, and education. Geography and environmental studies graduates collect and analyze demographic data, model landscapes with GIS, perform location analysis for retail and service stores, are urban planners and land use managers, teach, and hold a wide variety of other jobs in the public and private sectors. Graduates also pursue advanced degrees in geography, environmental studies, business, urban and regional planning, community development, GIS, and natural resource management.
The GIS major and minor pair well with other majors in the physical and social sciences, and complement studies in education, marketing, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Our emphasis on GIS laboratory work, internships, collaborative faculty-student research, and service learning give our students a solid foundation in geographic principles and techniques, as well as an appreciation for the diversity of people and places.
The Environmental Studies major and Sustainability minor provide students with a broad interdisciplinary background as well as a basis for career specialization and practical application and problem solving. The program is based upon an investigation both of the Earth’s environment and the wide variety of human interactions with that environment.
Major in Environmental Studies
The Environmental Studies degree provides students with a broad interdisciplinary background as well as a basis for career specialization and practical application and problem solving. The program is based upon an investigation both of the Earth’s environment and the wide variety of human interactions with that environment.
The major has three basic objectives:
- to transmit an understanding of environmental problems and their complexities,
- to motivate productive responses to those problems, both vocational and avocational, based on that understanding, and
- to foster the development of critical, inquiring minds.
All students majoring in Environmental Studies are required to take 40 credits in core courses. The core courses are designed to provide the student with a foundation in the physical, social and ethical dimensions of environmental issues. In addition to the core courses, students are required to earn either a second major or a minor, or take another 24 credits in concentration-area courses. The requirement of a double major, a related minor, or six concentration area courses is meant to deepen the student’s understanding of the origin and complexity of environmental issues while focusing attention on one particular area of study (e.g., engineering, math, journalism, justice & peace, geology, English, sociology, etc.). The department Chair can assist students in constructing successful concentration area proposals. Students are encouraged, but not required, to take additional courses in writing and computer applications, and should consult the Chair of the department for recommendations.
Major Courses
40 credits
- ENVR 151 Environmental Problems and Sustainable Solutions (4 credits)
- ENVR 212 Society and Sustainability (4 credits)
- ENVR 401 Field Seminar (WID-designated WAC course) (4 credits)
Plus courses in each of the following competency areas:
- Environment in Context (8 credits)
- ECON 370 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
- ENGL 202 - 204 Topics: Literature and the Environment
- ENGL 304 Analytical and Persuasive Writing w/ SUST
- ENVR 351/POLS 309 Environmental Policy
- HIST 228 Environmental History
- JOUR 372 Environmental Journalism
- JPST 355 Public Policy
- PHIL 258 Environmental Ethics
- PSYC 342 Psychology of Work w/SUST
- SOWK 391 Social Policy for Change
- THEO 224: Bridges: Theology and the Environment
- Ecological Literacy (8 credits)
- BIOL 102 Conservation Biology or BIOL 209 Biology of Sustainability
- CHEM 101 Environmental Chemistry
- ENGR 123 Energy and the Environment
- ESCI 132 Introduction to Environmental Science
- ESCI 310 Environmental Problem Solving
- GEOL 115 Environmental Geology or GEOL 162 Earth’s Record of Climate
- Social Science Methods (8 credits)
- ENVR/GEOG 331 Conservation Geography (4 credits)
- GEOG 223 Remote Sensing (4 credits)
- GEOG 321 GIS with Sustainable Communities Partnership (4 credits)
- GEOG 350 Geography of Global Health (4 credits)
- PSYC 334 Psychology for Sustainability (4 credits)
- Environment in Practice (4 credits)
- ENVR 298 Understanding Landscapes (4 credits)
- ENVR/GEOG 222 Minnesota Ecosystem Management (4 credits)
- GEOL 260 Geology in the Field (4 credits)
Plus:
- Complete 2nd major or a minor in a discipline of choice.
Notes:
- Students cannot both major in Environmental Studies and minor in Sustainability.
- Not every SUST-designated course fulfills ENVR major requirements. Those that do are stipulated above.
Minor in Sustainability
Available only to non-Environmental Studies majors
See Sustainability