88 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Designed to meet the needs of new students for whom American English is not the primary language. ELL 112 does not count toward an English major or minor. ELL 380 – Special Topics, 2 to 4 credits. D. Courses covering various topics of interest in this discipline are offered regularly. Contact department chair for more Information.
Environmental Studies An Interdisciplinary Program – also see Global Studies
Programs offered
• Major in Environmental Studies (Natural Sciences Concentration) (36 to 40 credits) • Major in Environmental Studies (Policy and Perspectives Concentration) (36 credits) • Major in Environmental Studies (Contract Concentration) (36 credits) • Minor in Environmental Studies (32 to 36 credits)
Environmental Studies Committee D. Bryan Bishop, co-chair Hilda P. Koster, co-chair Laura Aldrich-Wolfe Gregory B. Carlson Kenneth W. Foster Gretchen G. Harvey
Ross A. Hilgers Peter C. Hovde Matthew L. Lindholm Andrew M. Lindner Michelle D. Marko Jonathan M. Steinwand
Environmental Studies Program Mission Statement The environmental studies program equips students with an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing, assessing and responsibly engaging contemporary environmental issues and problems affecting earth systems and human societies across the world. Responding to the call to take care of creation, the program develops students who are ecologically literate citizens of the globe, able to understand and conduct science, to develop policy and to provide moral leadership based on an in-depth understanding of the complexity of contemporary environmental issues and concerns. Environmental Studies Program Goals and Learning Outcomes Students majoring in environmental studies pursue diverse programs of study depending on which concentration they choose and which particular courses they take as electives within their concentration. However, the program provides all students with learning experiences that prepare them to achieve a common set of goals and learning outcomes. The environmental studies program provides learning experiences that prepare students to achieve the following outcomes: 1. possess an understanding of the ecological connectivity (interactions and relationships) of the living and nonliving systems on earth, from the organismal to the global scale; 2. possess an understanding of the impact of human activity on local and global environments;
3. possess an understanding of how cultures shape human attitudes toward the nonhuman world; 4. possess an understanding of the social, economic and political dimensions of environmental issues, both locally and globally; 5. be able to analyze, explore and articulate sustainable solutions to complex environmental problems; 6. possess a thoughtful position on the major issues that surround the study of the global environmental crisis; 7. become practiced in responsible engagement with the world on behalf of the environment; The program is administered by a special faculty committee. Each student seeking the major or minor should contact the program chair for advisement in planning an environmental studies program.
Major in Environmental Studies with a Natural Sciences Concentration The requirements for a major in environmental studies with a natural science concentration are 36 to 40 credits, depending on electives chosen: • BIOL 122 – Evolution and Diversity, 4 credits • BIOL 221 – Ecology, 4 credits • ENVR 360, BIOL 360 – Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, 4 credits • 4 credits from the following: – MATH 205 – Introduction to Statistics, 4 credits – PSC 311– Methods and Techniques of Political Analysis, 4 credits – PSYC 230 – Statistics and Psychological Measurement, 4 credits • 4 credits from the following: – ART 483 – Art and Environmental Activism, 4 credits – CSTA 332 – Media Production I: Video, 4 credits – ENG 165 – Global Literature and Environmental Justice, 4 credits – REL 348 – Ethics of Sustainable Community, 4 credits – REL 393 – Religion and Ecology, 4 credits • 8 credits from the following: – BIOL 309 – Ornithology, 4 credits – BIOL 311 – Entomology, 4 credits – BIOL 313 – Plant Taxonomy, 4 credits – BIOL 324 – Invertebrate Zoology, 4 credits – BIOL 350 – Animal Behavior, 4 credits – BIOL 409 – Limnology, 4 credits – CHEM 111 – Survey of General Chemistry, 4 credits – CHEM 127 – General Chemistry I, 4 credits AND CHEM 128 – General Chemistry II, 4 credits • 4 credits from the following: – FND 336 Environmental Nutrition, 4 credits – PSC 365, ENVR 365, SCAN 365 – Global Sustainability Issues, 4 credits – PSC 367, ENVR 367 – Arctic Environmental Governance, 4 credits – PSC 350, ENVR 350 – Environmental Policy, 4 credits – SOC 312, BUSN 312 – Global Development Issues, 4 credits – ENVR 312, SOC 315 – Political Sociology, 4 credits – SOC 339 – Urban Communities, 4 credits • ENVR 475 – Interdisciplinary Research, 4 credits
Major in Environmental Studies with a Policy and Perspectives Concentration The requirements for a major in environmental studies with a policy and perspectives concentration are 36 credits: • BIOL 101 – General Biology (non-biology majors), 4 credits • ENVR 103 – Ecosystems and Human Influence, 4 credits • BIOL 360, ENVR 360 – Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, 4 credits