Environmental Science Major

The Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EBIO) and Earth & Environmental Sciences (EENS) collaborate to offer this interdisciplinary environmental science major, which provides students with broad exposure to environmental problems, as well as training in essential problem-solving skills, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Environmental Informatics (EI). The major is not unlike the majors in EENS and EBIO in that it requires a broad background in the natural sciences, as well as a core curriculum that familiarizes students with tools and methods. The undergraduate program is preparatory to our 4+1 M.S. degree program in environmental science. Students completing the terminal master's program should be able to enter environmental scientist positions in private industry, environmental consulting, and regulatory agencies. In addition, the major provides a strong science background for individuals seeking to practice environmental law. Students majoring in environmental science may elect to broaden their background in environmental issues by completing a coordinate major in environmental studies in the School of Liberal Arts. Course requirements for the environmental science major are given below:

Course requirements for the environmental science major are given below:

I. Courses Required Outside EBIO and EENS (five courses)

• MATH 1210 - Calculus I
• MATH 1220 - Calculus II
• CHEM 1070 - General Chemistry I with CHEM 1075 General Chemistry Laboratory I
• CHEM 1080 - General Chemistry II with CHEM 1085 General Chemistry Laboratory II
• CHEM 2410 - Organic Chemistry I with CHEM 2415 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
• or
• CHEM 2500 - Environmental Chemistry

II. Foundational Courses

• EBIO 1010 - Diversity of Life with EBIO 1015 Diversity of Life Laboratory
• EENS 1300 - Earth as a Living Planet with EENS 1305 Earth as a Living Planet Laboratory

III. Core Courses (six courses)

• EBIO 2050 - Global Change Biology
• EENS 2070 - Weather and Climate
• EENS 3150 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems with EENS 3151 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems Laboratory
• 
  
• EENS 3170 - Geomorphology
• or
• EBIO 2040 - Conservation of Biological Diversity
• 
  
• EBIO 3040 - General Ecology with EBIO 3045 General Ecology Laboratory
• 
  
• EBIO 4080 - Biostatistics and Experimental Design
• or
• EENS 4020 - Geostatistics

IV. Elective Tracks (five courses)

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Track

Any five EBIO courses, two of which must be designated laboratory or field courses Capstone experience: approved independent study (EBIO 4910) or honors thesis (EBIO 4990-5000)

• EBIO 4910 - Independent Studies
• or
• EBIO H4990 - Honors Thesis
• EBIO H5000 - Honors Thesis

Earth and Environmental Science Track

Any five EENS courses Capstone experience: approved Independent Study (EENS 4910) OR Environmental Field Study (EENS 3980 OR Honors Thesis (EENS 4990-5000).

• EENS 4910 - Independent Studies
• or
• EENS 3980 - Environmental Field Study
• or
• EENS H4990 - Honors Thesis
• EENS H5000 - Honors Thesis

Additional Information

The core curriculum and required ancillary science and mathematics courses provide students with a good background in basic and applied statistics, computer modeling, global cycles, and map making (GIS). Both departments have ample electives at the 6000-level that will further enhance the degree, including EENS 6050 Natural Disasters, EENS 6160 Fluvial Responses to Allogenic Controls, EENS 6210 Global Biogeochemical Cycles, EENS 6250 Isotopes in the Environment, EENS 6260 Paleoclimatology, EENS 6300 Groundwater Hydrology, EENS 6340 The Earth, EBIO 4050 Ecosystem Ecology, EBIO 6040 Marine Ecology, EBIO 6070 Restoration Ecology, EBIO 6340 Ecological Analysis, EBIO 6590 Limnology, EBIO 6710 Historical Ecology of the Amazonia, EBIO 7020 Plant Ecology, EBIO 7060 Stream Ecology, and EBIO 7270 Population Ecology, among others.