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Environmental Studies (BA)

Environmental Studies (BA)
Requirements
Sample 4-Year Degree Plan

BACHELOR OF ARTS MAJOR IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Major Credits Required: 57 Credits

The Environmental Studies major prepares students for advanced studies in environmental policy, law, or management, and for careers as environmental policy analysts, managers, and related positions in the rapidly growing number of private and public organizations and companies that have significant environmental concerns. Students selecting this major take lower-division courses in introductory chemistry, biology, earth system science, and environmental science courses. This provides breadth of perspective for examining environmental issues. Upper-division coursework in environmental law and policy and environmental economics provides additional understanding, skills, and perspective for approaching environmental issues.

To complete the bachelor's degree, students must complete a minimum total of 120 credits with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students majoring in Environmental Studies will:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the factual base, processes, laws, regulations and policies pertaining to management of the environment that constitute a working foundation in environmental studies.

  2. Examine the social, ecological, ethical and economic dimensions of sustainability, use system-based thinking to understand the interaction between humans and nature, evaluate the role of science and technology, and explore potential solutions at individual, local, and global levels.

  3. Develop a working knowledge of techniques used to gather and analyze information in environmental studies, including project design, sampling, measurement, geographic image interpretation, hazardous materials concerns, statistical and graphical analysis, and other computational skills.

  4. Access, comprehend, and communicate information to and from the many audiences required by a practitioner in the field of environmental studies.

  5. Critically analyze and synthesize information at varying levels of scale, detail, and from multiple data sources, draw inferences and make connections among those various sources, and recognize problems and potential solutions.