Environment & Society is an interdisciplinary STEM program of study that explores the interplay of social and environmental issues. It combines courses from the social sciences and the natural sciences to investigate how nature and society are produced through multiple and historically-changing relationships, including ecosystem management, climate change, resource conservation, food production, marine exploitation, urban sustainability, land use planning, severe storm mitigation, and environmental health. Students will engage with how these issues are debated, measured, evaluated and then formulated into public policy and real-world interventions. The major is highly flexible and allows students to explore a wide variety of classes when choosing how to study how humans interact with nature.
The program requires 42-44 credit hours with a grade of “C–” or better in each course; at least 18 credit hours must be taken in upper-level (3000- and 4000-level) courses. A maximum of six credit hours may be used from GEO 4905 DIS or GEO 4941 Internship.
Major Requirements: Fall 2026 – Present
Required Courses (9 credit hours)
GEO 1330 Environmental Science (GenEd)
OR
GEO 2200c Our Planet Earth
GEO 2477 Political Ecology
GIS 2040 Essentials of GIS
Social Science Core (9 credit hours)
GEO 4xxx Disaster Risk, Vulnerability, & Resilience
GEO 4355 Geography of Food & Environment
Environment and Gender
Fossil Fuels and Env Conflict
Natural Science Core (9 credit hours)
GEO 4286/L Hydrology and Environment w/ Lab*
GEO 4210 Landforms and Landscapes
GEO 4251 Geography of Climate Change & Storms
GEO 4376 Landscape Ecology
Methods Core (9 credit hours)
GEO 4114 Environmental Field Methods
GEO 4162C Spatial Data Analysis
GEO 4xxx Qualitative Methods
GIS 3015 Cartography
GIS 4035/L Intro to Remote Sensing
GIS 4043/L Intro to Geographic Info Science w/Lab
GIS 4330 Florida GIS Applications
Social & Natural Science Electives (3 credit hours)
Social Science Elective Courses
CTE 4470 Sustainability & Human Rights in Business
ECP 3302 Econ of Nat Resources, Energy & Enviro
GEO 3423 Sports Geography
GEO 3502 Economic Geography
GEO 3613 Geography of the US South
GEO 4340 Living in a Hazardous Environment
GEO 4450 Medical Geography
GEO 4357 Environmental Conflict & Economic Development
GEO 4471 Political Geography
GEO 4602 Urban Geography
GEO 4804 Geography of Wine
GEO 4930 Special Topics in Geography
IDH 3404 Environmental Justice (Honors)
IDS 2180 Dead Cities (Urban Futures in 2027) (GenEd)
IDS 2227 Sustainable Society
IDS 2431 Thinking Beyond Ourselves: Global Perspectives
IDS 3164 Media, Culture, and the Environment
PAD 4382 Disaster Recovery and Mitigation
PAD 4391 Foundations in Emergency Management
PAD 4393 Emergency Mgmt Programs, Planning, Policy
SYD 3020 Population and Society
SYD 4510 Environmental Sociology
URP 3000 Intro to Planning & Urban Development
URP 4402 Sustainable Dev Planning in the Americas
Natural Science Elective Courses
BSC 2010/L Biological Science w/ Lab
BSC 3312 Marine Biology*
CHM 1045/L General Chemistry w/ Lab
EES 3040 Intro to Environmental Engineering
ESC 3100c History of Earth Systems
IDS 2471 Glaciers, Geysers & Glades: US Natl Parks (GenEd)
IDS 2473w Putting Science into Action: Field Methods in Plant Ecology (GenEd)
GEO 1330 Environmental Science (GenEd)
GEO 2200c Our Planet Earth
GEO 4280 Geography of Water Resources
GEO 4300 Biogeography
GEO 4930 Special Topics in Geography
GLY 2010C Physical Geology*
GLY 3039 Energy, Resources, and the Environment*
MET 1010 Introduction to Atmosphere
MET 1050 Natural Hazards & Disasters
MET 3101 Physical Climatology*
OCB 4265 Coral Reef Ecology
OCE 1001 Elementary Oceanography
OCE 4008 Principles of Oceanography
OCE 4017 Current Issues in Environmental Science
Other Resources
Prerequisites & Corequisite List for Natural Science Electives
Please see the FSU Registration Guide for Dates and Deadlines
Major Requirements: Admits Fall 2023 – Spring 2027
Required Courses (14 credit hours)
(4) BSC1005 and BSC1005L or Higher – Biology for non-majors
(4) CHM1020C or higher – Chemistry for Liberal Studies
(3) GEO1330 – Environmental Science
(3) GEO2200C – Physical Geography
*CHM1020 & CHM1020L are equivalent to CHM1020C if you are bringing in credit
*Higher level Chemistry & Biology courses may be required pre-reqs for various Natural Science Electives.
Social Science Courses (12 credit hours with a minimum of 3 hours of Core courses)
Core Courses (Can also be counted as electives)
GEO3502 Economic Geography
GEO4344 Environmental Disasters & Apocalypse
GEO4355 Geography: Food & Environment
GEO4357 Environmental Conflict & Economic Development
GEO4404 Black Geographies
GEO4412 Environment and Gender
GEO4421 Cultural Geography
GEO4450 Medical Geography
GEO4471 Political Geography
GEO4503 Globalization
GEO4505 Fossil Fuels & Environmental Conflict
GEO4602 Urban Geography
GEO4700 Transport Geography
GEO4804 Geography of Wine
IDH3404 Environmental Justice (Honors Only)
IDS2180 Dead Cities
IDS2227 Sustainable Society (Honors Only)
IDS2492 Sport: Place, Competition and Fairness (Honors Only)
IDS3336 “Great” Britain? Geography, Imperialism, Industry & Culture
Elective Courses
AMH2097 Nationality, Race & Ethnicity in the United States
AMH4630 North American Environmental History
AMH4634 Florida Environmental History
CTE4470 Sustainability & Human Rights in the Business World
ECP3113 Economics of Population
ECP3302 Econ of Natural Resources, Energy, & the Environment
EVR4314 Energy and Society
GEA4250 Great Britain and Ireland
GEA3563 The Mediterranean
GEO3423 Sports Geography
GEO4930 Special Topics in Geography (Note: content varies)
IDS2240 Sustainable Food
IDS2431 Thinking Beyond Ourselves: Global Perspectives
IDS2460 Global Perspective: Communication
IDS2156 Environment & Society
IDS3164 Media, Culture, & Environment
IDS3169 Art & the Environment
INR2002 Introduction to International Relations
PAD3003 Public Administration in American Society
PAD4382 Disaster Recovery & Mitigation
PAD4391 Foundations in Emergency Management
PAD4393 Emergency Management Programs, Planning & Policy
PAD4603 Administrative Law
PHI2620 Environmental Ethics
PUP3002 Introduction to Public Policy
PUP4203 Environmental Politics & Policy
SYD3020 Population & Society
SYD4510 Environmental Sociology
URP3000 Introduction to Planning & Urban Development
URP4318 Growth Management & Environmental Planning
URP4402 Sustainable Development Planning in the Americas
URP4404 River Basin Planning
URP4423 Environmental Planning & Resource Management
URP4710 Introduction to Transportation Issues & Transportation Planning
URP4936 Special Topics in Planning (if approved by advisor; subjects vary)
Natural Science Courses (9 credit hours with a minimum of 3 hours of Core courses)
*Higher level Chemistry & Biology courses may be required pre-reqs for various Natural Science Electives.
Prerequisite & Corequisite Natural Science Elective List
Core Courses (can also be counted as electives)
GEO4210 Landforms & Landscapes
GEO4251 Climate Change & Storms
GEO4280 Geography of Water Resources
GEO4300 Biogeography
GEO4340 Living in a Hazardous Environment
GEO4376 Landscape Ecology
GEO4392 Geography of Marine Conservation
IDS2471 Glaciers, Geysers & Glades: Exploring US National Parks
Elective Courses
BOT3143C Field Botany
BSC3016 Eukaryotic Diversity
BSC3052 Conservation Biology
BSC3312 Marine Biology
BSC4821C Biogeography
CHM4080 Environmental Chemistry I
CHM4081 Environmental Chemistry II
GEO4930 Special Topics in Geography (Note: content varies)
GLY1030 Environmental Issues in Geology
GLY2010C Physical Geology
GLY3039 Energy, Resources & Environment
IDS3232 Living Green: Theory to Action
ISC2003 Global Change, its Scientific & Human Dimensions
MET1010 Introduction to the Atmosphere
MET1050 Natural Hazards & Disasters: From Hurricanes to Meteorites
MET3101 Physical Climatology
MET3231 Introduction to Thermodynamics & Dynamics
OCB4265 Coral Reef Ecology
OCE1001 Elementary Oceanography
OCE4008 Principles of Oceanography
OCE4017 Current Issues in Environmental Science
OCE4930 (Special Topics Oceanography: Needs Dept Approval)
PCB3043 General Ecology
PCB4402 Ecology of Infectious Diseases
Methods Courses (6 credit hours with a minimum of 3 hours of Core courses)
Core Courses (Can also be counted as electives)
GEO4162 Spatial Data Analysis (cannot take along with SYA4400)
GIS3015 Cartography
GIS4006 Computer Cartography
GIS4035 & GIS4035L Remote Sensing with Lab (4 credit hours)
GIS4043 & GIS4043L Geographic Information Systems with Lab (4 credit hours)
GIS4330 Florida GIS Applications
GIS4402 GIS Applications for Social Sciences
IDS2473 Putting Science into Action: Field Methods for Plant Ecology
Elective Courses
ENV4611 Environmental Impact Analysis
GEO4114 Environmental Field Methods
STA3024 SAS for Data & Statistical Analysis
SYA4300 Methods in Social Research
SYA4400 Social Statistics (cannot take along with GEO4162C)
Course Lists: Spring 2025
Course lists are subject to change; courses may be cancelled or added.
Fall Course Lists
Spring 2025 Admits (Fall 2023 – Current)
Spring 2025 Admits (Fall 2017 – Summer 2023)
Minor
A minor in Environment & Society consists of a minimum of 15 credit hours, including GEO 1330 Environmental Science OR GEO 2200c Our Planet Earth, GEO 2477 Political Ecology, and one Core or Elective course from each group: Natural Science, Social Science, and Methods (total 9 hours). All courses must be completed with grades of C– or better.
If an Environment & Society Minor is combined with a Geography Major, GEO 1330 is applied to both the major and the minor.