Environmental Studies

An alternative to choosing a general option discipline, students can select the Environmental Studies Specialization as a primary.

This specialization is designed to provide an introductory view of human interaction with our environment and the outcomes arising therefrom. This specialized course of study highlights the social and political aspects of environmental issues and problems. It is a useful background for agency employment, teaching in the social sciences, and employment related to the social sciences generally.  This specialization may also serve to prepare students for entering a master’s program related to environmental management and planning. 

To fulfill the primary specialization in Environmental Studies, 6 listed courses, selected from a minimum of 4 of the following 7 categories, must be taken for a minimum of 18 hours. In some cases, by consent of the instructor, prerequisites for the following courses can be waived for students in this concentration (this does not apply to BSC 2011).

BSC 1005   General Biology for Non-Majors (required for specialization)
BSC 2011   Biological Science II (Prerequisites: BSC 2010, CHM 1045)
BSC 3052   Conservation Biology (Bio. 1 and 2 and Chem. 1 and 2 and their labs)

ANT 2410   Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ANT 3212   Peoples of the World
ECP 3302    Economics of Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment (Prerequisites: ECO 2000 or equivalent)

GEO 1330   Environmental Science
GEO 2200C Physical Geography
GEO 4251   Climate Change & Storms
GEO 4280   Geography of Water Resources
GEO 4300   Biogeography
GEO 4355   Geography of Food and Environment
GEO 4357   Environmental Conflict & Economic Development
GEO 4376   Landscape Ecology
ENV 4314  Energy & Society

SYD 3020   Population and Society
SYD 4510   Environmental Sociology

SYA 4930 (with Special Topics)

PUP 4203   Environmental Politics and Policy

PUP 4931   (with Special Topics)
URP 4402   Sustainability In The Americas
UPR 4423   Introduction to Environmental Planning and Resource Management
URP 4715   Bike and Pedestrian Planning

URP 4936   (Special Topic): Hope and Resilience in Times of Climate Change

*The courses highlighted below are available in the Graduate sections and available with the instructor’s approval.
              URP 5445   Climate Change and Community Resilience

* Special Topics classes have a standardized course number in each department but different content. It is important to identify the following classes by the course title, not the course number.

  • CPO 3930
  • GEO 4930
  • INR 3933
  • PUP 4931
  • SYA 4930
  • URP 4936