Environmental Science & Studies

After carefully weighing the strengths & weaknesses of Environmental Science and Environmental Studies programs on campuses across the country and discussing their pros & cons with experienced people in the environmental industry, we feel that the best approach for students wishing to major in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies is to obtain DEPTH through advanced coursework in a traditional major supplemented by BREADTH in courses with an environmental focus. 

Combining this approach with an Environmental Geoscience major or minor avoids pitfalls of some environmental programs where students obtain a degree that effectively is a double-minor with insufficient advanced coursework to be successful in graduate school or in the environmental industry.

Interested In Environmental Science?

Check out the Environmental Geoscience Major

The ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE major provides students with...

• DEPTH of advanced coursework in the geosciences.  For example:

  • GEOS 110-Earth & the Environment

  • GEOS 117-Weather, Climate, & Climate Change

  • GEOS 125-Intro to Environmental Science

  • GEOS 195-Energy & the Environment

  • GEOS 205-Introduction to GIS

  • GEOS 230-Environmental Geology

  • GEOS 370-Applied Hydrogeology 

  • GEOS 380-Environmental Geophysics

• flexibility to tailor the BREADTH of their major from a broad selection of environmentally focused coursework.  For example:

  • ANTH 253-Environmental Anthropology

  • BIO 145-Ecology & Evolution

  • BIO 345-Conservation Biology 

  • CHEM 120/130-Organic/Inorganic Chemistry

  • ECON 335-Environmental & Natural Resource Economics

  • PHIL 232-Environmental Ethics 

  • UNIV 170-Environmental Science Seminar

Interested In Environmental Studies?

Check out the Environmental Geoscience Minor

Students interested in environmental subjects less focused on the sciences (e.g., environmental policy, environmental law) can...

• obtain DEPTH by choosing a major in a discipline in their area of interest.  For example:

  • Political Science

  • Economics

  • Philosophy, etc.

• acquire an environmental concentration with an ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE minor.  For example:

  • GEOS 110-Earth and the Environment

  • GEOS 125-Intro to Environmental Science

  • GEOS 230-Environmental Geology

  • 4 course credits from a broad array of other courses (see courses to the left for a partial selection)