The Urban Environmental Studies Minor
The minor in Urban Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary program linked to a disciplinary major. The program is designed to broaden an understanding of both environmental science and policy. The program examines scientific, economic, political, cultural, and ethical concepts regarding the complex relationships between the natural world and the human‑modified world in order to ensure a sustainable society for future generations. The following courses are required (6 units):
- ES 150 Introduction to Environmental Studies
- BI 411 General Ecology or BI 314 Conservation Biology
- EC 340 Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment
- PL 307 Environmental Ethics or RE 320 Religion and the Natural World
- PS 250 The Public Policy Process or PY 220 Environment and Behavior
- Senior Capstone Experience: This experience must be supervised by a faculty member in the student's major field of study and must be approved by a faculty member teaching in the environmental studies minor. The requirement may be met through the student's senior interim, an independent study, or an approved internship, each with an environmental emphasis.
Courses used to satisfy environmental studies minor requirements may count towards major requirements in biology, economics, philosophy, political science, and psychology.
The set of courses required in the minor comprise the essential components of an interdisciplinary environmental studies program. In addition to these courses, students are encouraged to apply knowledge learned in other courses to the examination of environmental issues.
Further study in the natural sciences (chemistry, field biology, and physics) and economics, specifically microeconomic theory and applications, would provide greater depth to the knowledge acquired in the environmental studies minor.
Additional courses recommended for the Urban Environmental Studies minor:
- BI 206 Field Botany
- BI 332 Vertebrate Field Zoology
- CH 101 Introductory Chemistry
- CS 170 Introduction to Computing
- EC 202 Principles of Economics II