Students in the Environmental Science and Studies (ESS) Program develop the multidisciplinary background and skills required to address the complex environmental issues/problems that confront us today. The program draws on the skills, talents, and expertise from faculty across the campus including the College of Science and Mathematics, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Business and Economics, and the College of Health Professions. This approach is necessary because most environmental problems resist solution from any single discipline.
The
ESS program has two primary educational functions. One is to provide the
fundamental scientific, technical, and social knowledge that program
graduates will need to assess, plan, and evaluate environmental concerns,
particularly those confronting metropolitan regions. The other is to
instill the wide range of cognitive skills and content mastery which
students will need to effectively analyze environmental issues and
propose realistic plans for solving environmental problems at local,
regional, and national levels.
The program is structured so that all students, regardless of their area
of specialization, take courses in
the environmental sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences; this
curriculum establishes the scientific principles and awareness of the
social and political context of environmental debates and decision
making. All students also
take a series of courses to give them an area of specialization.
The required senior
seminar integrates students' programs of study, and the senior
internship/research experience gives first-hand practice in an
environmental field. The environmental problems addressed in many of the
program's classes and seminars focus on the adjacent urban/suburban
environment including its impact on the surrounding regions.
The Environmental Science and Studies major has two concentrations: the Environmental
Science Concentration and the Environmental
Studies Concentration. There is considerable overlap in the core
courses between the two concentrations. As students progress through the
program, they begin to specialize in their area of greatest interest.
The senior year brings students from both concentrations together for a
senior seminar course that emphasizes application of concepts to real world
problems.