Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies

In the Environmental Studies Program (ENVS) we seek to motivate and prepare students to rise to the challenges and opportunities associated with human-environment interactions. Environmental degradation is an escalating problem from local to global scales. Training students to understand and address these environmental problems is our core mission and is why we believe that environmental studies is an essential component of a modern liberal arts education. The field of Environmental Studies views the earth, and our place in it, as a set of complex, interacting socio-ecological systems. To understand this complexity, ENVS draws on concepts and methods from the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, as complementary lenses through which to view these systems. But we also seek to overcome the limitations of any one of these perspectives by applying innovative approaches that integrate the traditional disciplines in new and productive ways. Research and teaching strengths in the program include environmental governance, ecosystem science, environmental and ecological economics, biodiversity conservation, climate change, and sustainable food systems. A defining element of environmental studies is active engagement with real-world environmental problems. One contemporary concept we employ to frame this practical engagement is sustainability. The quest for sustainability asks the difficult question, how can humans live well on the planet without compromising the ability of current and future generations to do the same? A number of our courses have a specific focus on “hands-on” engagement with sustainability (ENVS 3: Environment and Society: Towards Sustainability, ENVS 50: Environmental Problem Analysis and the Africa Foreign Study Program). To meet the needs of our students, we offer a major in Environmental Studies and three minors: Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, and Sustainability. We also offer the Africa Foreign Study Program that travels to South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia where we explore the themes of environmental studies within the particular environment, culture and history of the southern Africa region. Environmental Studies Major Learning Outcomes: The Environmental Studies major prepares students for careers as leaders in understanding and addressing complex environmental issues from a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary perspective. Students: Master core concepts and methods from ecological and physical sciences and their application in environmental problem solving. Master core concepts and methods from economic, political, and social analysis as they pertain to the design and evaluation of environmental policies and institutions. Appreciate the ethical, cross-cultural, and historical context of environmental issues and the links between human and natural systems. Understand the transnational character of environmental problems and ways of addressing them, including interactions across local to global scales. Apply systems concepts and methodologies to analyze and understand interactions between social and environmental processes. Reflect critically about their roles and identities as citizens, consumers and environmental actors in a complex, interconnected world. Demonstrate proficiency in quantitative methods, qualitative analysis, critical thinking, and written and oral communication needed to conduct high-level work as interdisciplinary scholars and/or practitioners.