Environmental Science (BS, BA, minor)

Program Goals

The B.S. degree in Environmental Science is designed to prepare students for graduate study and/or employment in the Environmental Science field. The courses that comprise the major will expose the student to all the major sub-disciplines in Biology and their application in the field of Environmental Science. In addition, the student can choose electives based on his or her particular interests. There are two tracks in this degree program, one in Biology and one in Chemistry.

The requirements for the Biology track are described below.

Program Goals

  1. To prepare students to conduct and communicate original scientific investigations.
  2. To graduate students who (a) have a solid grounding in environmental science and biology with significant exposure to chemistry, physics, mathematics and statistics, and (b) and can make the connections with the social sciences that are critical in understanding and resolving environmental issues.
  3. To prepare and graduate students who enter graduate school or who obtain employment in the environmental field.

Outcomes

Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

  • Students are able to apply the scientific method and complete an independent research project.
  • Students are able to effectively communicate scientific concepts through written, spoken and visual means.
  • Students are able to synthesize information and apply their knowledge to develop solutions for environmental problems.
  • Students are able to make connections between organism needs and environmental resources.
  • Students are able to explain global physical processes and how these processes lead to changes that cause evolutionary adaptation in populations.
  • Students are able to connect nutrient cycling and energy flow from the individual organism level to the ecosystem level.
  • Students are able to describe ecosystem structure and correlate structure with function for all levels of the ecosystem.

Requirements

Please see the University Catalog for more information and program requirements.

Contact

For more information contact the Biology Department.