The environmental studies major provides students with an interdisciplinary opportunity to investigate the relationship between humans and their environment. As distinct from Environmental Science, the curriculum in Environmental Studies is based in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, emphasizing the political, economic, and social organization of human cultures in relation to the natural world, as well as the artistic, philosophical, and experiential responses to natural and built environments.

Major in Environmental Studies

A minimum of 37 credits required. Core requirements:
EST101 Introduction to Environmental Studies
ESC105 Environmental Science: Sustainable Communities
ESC209 Field Survey Techniques in Zoology
ESC490 Seminar
ENG344 Literature and the Environment
HST365 American Environmental History
PHR304 Environment Ethics
PHR378 Philosophy of Technology and Modern Culture
POL313 Environmental Politics

Choose one of the following:
ART222 Art History Survey III
ART243 Digital Photography

Choose one of the following:
COM355 Mass Media
COM404 Rhetoric of Protest and Dissent
ENG355 Mass Media

One additional course chosen in consultation with an Environmental Studies advisor.

EST101 - Introduction to Environmental Studies

Semester: Fall
Semester hours: 3
This course explores the complexity of environmental issues as approached from the perspectives of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Since environmental issues are inherently complex, attention is focused on how human beings perceive, understand, and respond to environmental change. Emphasis is placed on developing students’ abilities to investigate matters critically and to respond in original, thoughtful, and imaginative ways.