B.A. in Environmental Studies
45-50 credit hours required.
Program is currently being revised. Please see contact person for more information.
The major includes course offerings from twelve departments and programs. The curriculum emphasizes the social sciences and the humanities to prepare students to shape viable environmental policy and practice, as citizens as well as environmental educators, interpreters, planners, analysts, advocates, managers, writers, and other careers. The major also prepares for graduate school in related environmental fields.
The curriculum’s distinctive feature is that it employs the nearby Adirondack Park as case study and field site, grounding theory in the experience of a protected area of international importance. First-year students are advised to begin with the Adirondacks Environmental Studies Semester. In partnership with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the Capstone centers on a service-learning field residency in the Forest Preserve, usually serving as a summit guide doing public interpretation and stewardship at a restored Adirondack fire tower during the summer after the junior year. In a three-credit fall seminar, seniors develop and present a project, usually interpretive, based upon their field work.
A grade of 2.0 or better must be achieved in all courses.
Each student is required also to complete a minor in one of the disciplines that offer courses for the Environmental Studies major, with no more than two courses counting toward the major. All disciplines participate except Computer Science, Modern Language, Theater/ Drama, Education, and Music.
Curriculum under revision 2011; please consult your Environmental Studies advisor.
All courses are 3 credits unless noted. Credits are divided as follows:
| Credits | ||
| Humanities and Social Sciences |
15-17 | |
| ENVR 110 | Introduction to Environmental Studies | |
| ENVR 310 | Adirondack Environmental Studies | |
Plus Two of the Following |
||
| ANTH 325 | Environmental Anthropology | |
| LITR 351 | Nature and Literature | |
| PHIL 330 | Environmental Ethics | |
| POLS 355 | Politics and the Environment (4 credits) | |
Plus One of the Following |
||
| ANTH 270 | Museum Studies | |
| ARTH 103 | Landscape Art | |
| ECON 320 | Environmental Economics | |
| HIST 453 | Nature and American History | |
| HLTH 300 | Critical Issues in Human Ecology | |
| PHYS 325 | Energy and the Environment | |
| POLS 395 | Water Policy (4 credits) | |
| POLS 344 | Global Climate Change | |
| SOCI 340 | Environment and Society | |
| ENVR 395 | Environmental Issues | |
| COMM 375 | Environmental Communications | |
| And Other Courses to be Listed. | ||
Sciences |
12 |
|
| Three of the Following, Each From A Different Department | ||
| BIOL 111 | Adirondack Ecology | |
| BIOL 148 | Biodiversity Conservation | |
| BIOL 300 | Ecology (Prereqs: BIOL 151 & 152) | |
| CHEM 301 | Fundamentals of Environmental Science | |
| GEOL 101 | Environmental Geology | |
| GEOL 103 | Physical Geology | |
| GEOL 106 | Geology of National Parks | |
| PHYS 325 | Energy and the Environment | |
Plus One of the Following |
||
| BIOL 312 | Entomology (Prereqs: BIOL 151 & 152) | |
| BIOL 409 | Limnology (Prereqs: BIOL 151 & 152) | |
| BIOL 400 | Field Ecology (Prereqs: BIOL 151& 152) | |
| CHEM 395 | Sustainable Manufacturing (Prereq: one semester college science) |
|
| GEOL 407 | Environmental Geophysics (Prereq: GEOL 101, 103, or 106) |
|
| GEOL 421 | Environmental Geology Problems (Prereq: GEOL 103) | |
| PHYS 330 | Meteorology (Prereq: one semester college science) | |
| And Other Courses To Be Listed. | ||
Skills |
9 |
|
| COMP 304 | Technical Writing (Prereq: COMP 201; 4 credits) | |
| WILD 240 | Backpacking II (2 credits) | |
| WILD 320 | Outdoor Education (Prereq: WILD 240) | |
Adirondack Capstone |
9-12 |
|
| Dossier and Interview Required | ||
| ENVR 390 | Field Preparation | |
| ENVR 391 | Field Residency (3-6 credits) | |
| ENVR 490 | Project and Seminar | |