Environmental Science
Program Overview
College of Arts and Sciences, The Department of Earth, Environment, and Society
Owens Science Hall (OWS) 153
Caplow (Chair), Clotts, Hickson, Lamb, Lorah, McDermott, McKay, Regan, Small, Theissen, Vislova
Departmental Overview
The Department of Earth, Environment and Society prepares students to address complex environmental challenges and contribute to a more sustainable future. We offer courses of study in Environmental Science (major, minor), Environmental Studies (major), Geography (minor), Geography-GIS (major, minor, certificate), Geology (major, minor), and Sustainability (minor).
Program Overview
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary science program focused on solving environmental problems that lie at the interface between biology, chemistry, geology, and more. This program provides excellent preparation for students wishing to pursue graduate degrees in conservation biology, environmental science, earth system science, or other environmentally-focused programs of study in the sciences. It also provides solid preparation for students planning other types of environmental science careers, such as environmental consulting, law, policy, or research.
Major in Environmental Science (B.S.)
56 credits; 4 allied credits
EES Core (required for all majors in the department)
- ESCI 132 Intro to Environmental Science OR GEOL 115 Environmental Geology OR GEOL 163 Applied Geology (4 credits)
- GEOG 215 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
- ESCI 310 Environmental Problem Solving (4 credits)
- ENVR 401 Environmental Capstone (4 credits)
- Experiential Learning Requirement (4 credits of GEOL 260, Internship, Research, or other options as approved)
Environmental Science core requirements:
- BIOL 209 Biology of Sustainability (4 credits)
- GEOL 252 Geomorphology
- OR GEOL 310 Environmental Geochemistry (4 credits each)
- CHEM 111 General Chemistry I (4 credits)
- OR CHEM 115 Accelerated General Chemistry (4 credits)
- DASC 120 Intro to Computational Statistics OR MATH 113 Calculus I (4 credits) OR MATH 108 and 109 Calculus with Review I and II (8 credits total)
Environmental Science Electives:
- Science Electives (20 credits from at least 3 of the 4 areas listed below)
Biology
- BIOL 207 Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology (4 credits)
- BIOL 208 Biological Communications & Energetics (4 credits)
- BIOL 211 Introduction to Field Research (4 credits)
- BIOL 315 Plants, Food and Medicine (4 credits)
- BIOL 328 Environmental Toxicology and Health (4 credits)
- BIOL 333 Ecology (4 credits)
- BIOL 335 Conservation Biology (4 credits)
- BIOL 361 Medical Geology (4 credits)
- BIOL 420 Sustainable Food Systems (4 credits)
- BIOL 435 Aquatic Biology (4 credits)
- BIOL 480 Urban Ecosystem Ecology (4 credits)
- BIOL 486 Seminar (4 credits)
- BIOL 491 Individual Research (2 or 4 credits)
Chemistry
- CHEM 112 General Chemistry II (4 credits)
- CHEM 201 Organic Chemistry I (4 credits)
- CHEM 202 Organic Chemistry II (4 credits)
- CHEM 220 Inorganic Chemistry (4 credits)
- CHEM 491 Research (2 or 4-credits)
Geosciences
- GEOL 210 Soils and the Environment (2 credits)
- GEOL 211 Earth Materials (2 credits)
- GEOL 220 Oceanography (4 credits)
- GEOL 231 Applied Environmental Policy (2 credits)
- GEOL 252 Geomorphology (4 credits - if not used above)
- GEOL 260 Regional Geology and Field Methods (4 credits - if not used above)
- GEOL 262 Earth's Record of Climate (4 credits)
- GEOL 310 Environmental Geochemistry (4 credits - if not used above)
- GEOL 410 Hydrogeology (4 credits)
- GEOL 491 Individual Research (4 credits)
- GEOL 223 Remote Sensing (4 credits)
- GEOL 321 Advanced GIS (4 credits)
Other Science/Mathematics
- DASC 210 Biostatistics (4 credits)
- ENGR 123 Energy and the Environment (4 credits)
- MATH 113 Calculus I (4 credits) OR MATH 108 and 109 Calculus with Review I and II (8 credits total – if not used above)
- MATH 114 Calculus II (4 credits)
- PHYS 211 Classical Physics I OR PHYS 109 General Physics I (4 credits)
- PHYS 212 Classical Physics II OR PHYS 110 General Physics II (4 credits)
Social Science Allied Elective (choose one, 4 credits)
- ECON 370 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (4 credits)
- ENVR 212 Society and Sustainability (4 credits)
- ENVR 222 Minnesota Ecosystem Management (4 credits)
- ENVR 270 Environmental Education & Interpretation (4 credits)
- ENVR 298 Special Topics (4 credits)
- GEOG 331 Conservation Geography (4 credits)
- HIST 228 Environmental History (4 credits)
- POLS 309 Environmental Policy (4 credits)
- PSYC 334 Psychology of Sustainability (4 credits)
- PHIL 258 Environmental Ethics (4 credits)
Minor in Environmental Science
Complete 12 credits from the list, including courses from at least two categories. No more than one 100-level course may be taken from a single category.
Biology
- BIOL 102 Conservation Biology (4 credits)
- BIOL 207 Genetics, Ecology, and Evolution (4 credits)
- BIOL 209 Biology of Sustainability (4 credits)
- BIOL 328 Environmental Toxicology and Health (4 credits)
Chemistry
- CHEM 101 Environmental Chemistry (4 credits)
- CHEM 109 General Chem for ENGR (4 credits)
- CHEM 111 General Chemistry I (4 credits)
- CHEM 115 Accelerated General Chemistry (4 credits)
Geology/Environmental Science
- ESCI 132 Intro to Environmental Science (4 credits)
- GEOL 111 Intro to Physical Geology (4 credits)
- GEOL 115 Environmental Geology (4 credits)
- GEOL 162 The Earth's Record of Climate (4 credits)
- GEOL 163 Applied Geology (4 credits)
- GEOL 220 Oceanography (4 credits)
- GEOL 260 Regional GEOL & Field Methods (4 credits)
Upper-level Environmental Science course. All students will complete this course. (4 credits)
- ESCI 310 Environmental Problem Solving (4 credits)
Capstone Course. Select one course from this list. (4 credits)
- ESCI 430 Senior Research Seminar (4 credits)
- ESCI 491 Independent Research (4 credits)
- ENGR 468 Environmental Engineering (4 credits)