The BA concentrations

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BA Concentrations

The purposes of the concentrations are to help students to choose among the many electives available, and to encourage students to think of their course choices in relationship to their potential professional goals.  The concentrations are a recommendation by the Program, they are not part of the official degree or the official transcript.

Courses in the concentrations are selected from among the courses described for the BA major. Requirements 5] through 9] of the proposed BA are satisfied by selecting a five (5) course concentration.  

The requirements are:

5]  Humanities Core Course (see list A)
6]  Human-Environment Systems Science Course (see list B)
7]  #1  Environmental Studies Elective (see list C)
8]  #2  Environmental Studies Elective (see list C)
9]  #3  Environmental Studies Elective (see list C)

See the "BA requirements" page for lists A, B, C.

The concentration is selected in collaboration with an academic advisor, preferably by the fall of the third year.  Some flexibility in following these lists is expected.

Environmental Policy, Politics, and Economics

  1. Select three (3) social science courses from the following: ENST 245 Environmental Policy, ENST 255 Environmental Justice, ENST 260 Environmental Law, ENST 355 Topics in Environmental Policy, ECON 231 Resources and the Environment, ECON 334 Natural Resource Economics
  2. Select one (1) Humanities course from list A.
  3. Select one (1) Human-Environment Systems Science Course from list B.

Environmental Planning

  1. Select three (3) social science courses from the following: ENST 215 Environmental Planning, ENST 230 Ecological Design, ENST 255 Environmental Justice, ANTH 260 Anthropological Perspectives on Human-Environmental Relations
  2. Select one (1) Humanities course from list A.
  3. Select one (1) Human-Environment Systems Science Course from list B.

Environmental Ethics/Humanities

  1. Select four (4) humanities courses from the following: ANTH 260 Anthropological Perspectives on Human-Environment Relations, ENGL 340 Seminar on Medieval Nature Writing and Ecosemiotics, ENST 205 Green Utopias, ENST 207 American Environmental History, ENST 229 Environmental Thinkers, ENST 247 Environmental History of the Ancient World, ENST 255 Environmental Justice, ENST 260 Environmental Law, ENST 371 North American Disasters, PHIL 218 Ecology, Nature and the Future, RELI 226 Environmental Ethics, RELI 234-01 The End of Nature and the Posthuman Future, RELI 234-02 The Ethics of Consumption
  2. Select one (1) Human-Environment Systems Science Course from list B.

Environmental Advocacy

Select 5 courses from these lists.

  1. Select at least one (1) science course from the following: CHEM 160 Introduction to Environmental Chemistry, BIOL 415 Conservation Biology, ENST 211 Environmental Pollution and Control, ENST 221 Hazardous Waste and Society, GEOG 232 Evolution, Ecology, and Human Impact, GEOG 233 Food and Environment, GEOG 257 Global Environmental Change, GEOL 205 Introduction to Geochemistry
  2. Select at least one (1) humanities course from the following: ENST 205 Green Utopias, RELI 226 Environmental Ethics, PHIL 218 Ecology, Nature and the Future, ENST 207 American Environmental History
  3. Select at least one (1) social science course from the following: ENST 255 Environmental Justice, ENST 242 Environmental History of the Developing World, ENST 240 Sustainable Resource Management, ENST 215 Environmental Planning, ENST 230 Introduction to Ecological Design.

International Environmental Perspectives

  1. Select three (3) social science courses from the following: ENST 215 Environmental Planning, ENST 226 Water Politics and Policy, ENST 255 Environmental Justice, ENST 345 International Environmental Politics, ENST 355 Topics in International Environmental Perspectives, GEOG 257 Global Environmental Change.
  2. Select one (1) humanities course from the following: ENST 247 Environmental History of the Ancient World, ENST 242 Environmental History of the Developing World, RELI 226 Environmental Ethics.
  3. Select one (1) Human-Environment Systems Science Course from list B.

Students are also encouraged to develop language skills and to spend a semester abroad.

Environmental and Human Health

Select 5 courses from these lists.

  1. Select at least one (1) science course from the following: GEOG 233 Food and the Environment, GEOG 257 Global Environmental Change, ENST 211 Environmental Pollution and Control, ENST 221 Hazardous Waste and Society, GEOL 207 Geohazards,
  2. Select at least one (1) humanities course from the following: ENST 371 North American Disasters, RELI 234-01 End of Nature, PHIL 218 Ecology, Nature, and the Future, ANTH 260 Human-Environment Relationships.
  3. Select at least one (1) social science course from the following: ANTH 410 Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Environment, GEOG 2XX Cultural Landscapes
  4. Select one(1) Human-Environment Systems Science Course from list B if not satisfied by the choice in #1 of this section..

Students are also encouraged to choose among CHEG 444 Green engineering, GEOG 204 Applied GIS, GEOL 230 Environmental GIS, HIST 271 Medicine in U.S, or ECON 321 Human Health Economics.

Perspectives on Sustainability

  1. Select at least one (1) science course from the following: GEOG 233 Food and the Environment, GEOG 257 Global Environmental Change, ENST 211 Environmental Pollution and Control, ENST 221 Hazardous Waste and Society, GEOL 207 Geohazards,
  2. Select at least one (1) social science courses from the following: ENST 215 Environmental Planning, ENST 230 Ecological Design, ECON 231 Resources and the Environment
  3. Select one (1) Humanities course from list A.

Students are also encouraged to take GEOG 204 Introduction to GIS or GEOL 230 Environmental GIS

Student-Designed Concentration

Each student may also create, in consultation with their academic advisor, a 5 course concentration from among the acceptable courses for the major.   Each self-designed concentration must contain at least one (1) humanities course from list A and one (1) Human-Environment Systems Science Course from list B.