Environmental Studies Major
A major in Environmental Studies at the College of Idaho offers students an interdisciplinary education in the complex relationships among natural systems and human cultures. We acknowledge that addressing environmental issues requires understanding and skills that emerge from many disciplines, not only one or two. Accordingly, a set of Core courses engages the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences, ensuring that students analyze pressing environmental challenges, historical environmental assumptions, and a range of both physical and cultural manifestations of both human and nonhuman nature. Through additional coursework, Environmental Studies-Natural Science majors explore the role of scientific and mathematical inquiry, and utilize scientific methods to further our understanding of the natural world, applying scientific reasoning to test hypotheses and using quantitative techniques to solve problems to further an understanding of the natural world. An interdisciplinary capstone course enables students to contribute to a particular environmental challenge facing the larger regional community.
I. Environmental Studies Core (29 credits)
| ENV-151 | Introduction to Human Geography | 3 credits |
| ENV-161 | Environmental Systems Science | 3 credits |
| ENV-161L | Environmental Systems Science Lab | 1 credit |
| ENV-200 | Nature and Culture: Introduction to Environmental Studies | 3 credits |
| ENG-239 | Visions of Environment | 3 credits |
| CHE-141 | General Chemistry I | 3 credits |
| CHE-141L | General Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 credit |
| PHI-340 | Environmental Philosophy | 3 credits |
| ENV-350 | Introduction to Geographic Information System (GIS) | 2 credits |
| ENV-350L | Introduction to Geographic InformationSystem Lab | 1 credit |
| ENV-402 | Senior Capstone | 3 credits |
II. Math (3 credits)
Take ONE of the following math courses:
| MAT-125 | Data Analysis and Statistics | 3 credits |
| MAT-212 | Multiple Regression Analysis | 3 credits |
The credits for the math requirement (
MAT-125 or
MAT-212) are counted in the Professional Foundations minor.
III. Natural History/Earth Science (4 credits)
Take ONE of the following lab/field courses:
IV. Geography (3 credits)
Take ONE upper-division geography course:
| ENV-330 | Working Landscapes and Global Climate | 3 credits |
| ENV-355 | Urban Geography | 3 credits |
| ENV-357 | Applied Cartography | 3 credits |
V. Electives (6–8 credits)
Take TWO of the following courses (NOTE: BIO-203 is a prerequisite for the 300-level BIO courses):
Total Credit Hours: 42