Environment and Sustainability, Environmental Science Track, (BS in Interdisciplinary Studies)

The Environment & Sustainability Program

The Environment & Sustainability Program (ENSP) seeks to provide students with the ability to recognize the complex environmental problems threatening our planet and create potential paths towards a more sustainable future. Taking courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, students majoring and minoring in ENSP develop an interdisciplinary toolkit to identify, analyze, and ameliorate the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

Majors have the option to pursue one of three tracks: Environmental Humanities (B.A.), Environmental Science (B.S.), or Environmental Policy (B.A.). Each track provides students with the opportunity to obtain more depth in their area of interest. ENSP graduates regularly find an array of employment opportunities in business, government, and non-profit organizations. In addition, many ENSP graduates go on to pursue advanced degrees in environmental science, environmental studies, business, law, and other disciplines.

For further information, updates, and additional descriptive visit https://www.wm.edu/environment.

Required Credit Hours: 32

Course Requirements

The following courses are required proficiencies and are not included in ENSP Science Track credit total:

  • Adv. Math Proficiency - MATH 131 Calculus I for Life Sciences (4 cr)
  • Introduction to Biology - BIOL 204+BIOL 204L Introduction to Organisms, Ecology, Evolution Laboratory (4 cr)
  • Introduction to Geology - GEOL 101 The Dynamic Earth: Physical Geology/GEOL 110 Earth's Environmental Systems: Physical Geography+GEOL 160 Investigating the Earth: Introductory Geology Laboratory OR GEOL 250 Geologic Evolution of VA (4 cr)
  • Introduction to Chemistry - CHEM 103 General Chemistry I + CHEM 103L General Chemistry Lab I (4 cr)
Introduction to Environment & Sustainability3
Introduction to Environment and Sustainability
Introduction to Environmental Policy3
Select one of the following:
Introduction to Environmental Policy
Intro to Public Policy
Methods in Environment & Sustainability
Select one of the following:3
Introduction to Conservation GIS
Quantitative Methods in Conservation
Principles and Methods of Statistics
Econometrics
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis
Topics in Government (Quantitative Methods)
or other approved GIS or Statistics course
Speaker Series on Environment & Sustainability1
Seminar Topics in Environmental Science and Policy
Additional Env Natural Science Course in Biology3
Select one of the following:
Integrative Biology: Animals
Integrative Biology: Plants
Ecology
Evolution of Organisms
Conservation Biology
Animal Behavior
Population and Community Ecology
Entomology
Marine Invertebrate Biology
Advanced Seminar in Biology (Marine Ecology)
Additional Env Natural Science Course in Geology
Select one of the following:3
Age of Dinosaurs
Planetary Geology
Global Climate Change
Environmental Geology
Regional Field Geology
Paleontology
MSCI 421
or other approved course
Natural Science Course with Field Lab Component4
Select one of the following:
Intro to Ornithology
Aquatic Ecology
Wetland Ecosystems
Entomology
and Entomology Lab
Field Methods in the Earth Sciences
Watershed Dynamics
Hydrology
Environmental Geochemistry
Earth Surface Processes
Paleoclimatology & Paleoceanography
or other approved course
Environmental Ethics & Justice
Select one of the following:3
Environmental Justice
Conservation Ethics
Emergent Ecologies
Earth Science for Environmental Justice
Issues in Environmental Ethics
or other approved course
Environmental Social Sciences
Select one of the following:
The Anthropocene
Environ Archaeology
Archaeology of North America
Native Cultures of South America
People, Cultures, and the Environment of Polynesia
Consumer Behavior
Sustainability Inspired Innovation and Design
Political Ecology of Conservation
Sustainable Livelihoods
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Economics of Climate Change
Topics in Ed Studies (Educating for Climate Justsice)
Topics in Environmental Social Sciences
Political Economy of Extreme Weather
Global Environmental Politics
Topics in Government (Political Economy of Climate Change)
Environmental Sociology
Political Ecology of Health & Disease (Or other approved course)
Environmental Humanities
Select one of the following:3
Introduction to Native Studies
Environmental Anthropology
Art and Ecology
Seminar Topics in Art History (Art & Environmental Justice)
Indigenous Knowledges & Conservation
Studies in Contemporary Literature (Literature of the Anthropocene)
Topics in British Literature Before 1700 (Early Modern Ecologies)
Topics in Environmental Arts, Literature, & Film
Seminar in Film and Media Studies (Eco Cinema)
Environmental Cultures
American West, 1890-
Ecocritical Italy: Narrating the Anthropocene
Topics in Japanese Literature and Culture (Cultures of Catastrophe)
or other approved course
Capstone Experience
Select one of the following:3
Special Topics in Environmental Science and Policy
Independent Research
Honors
Internship
Major Computing & Writing Requirement
Select one of the following: 13
Special Topics in Environmental Science and Policy
Independent Research
Honors
Internship
Total Hours32