Campuses:
This is archival data. This system was retired as of August 21, 2023 and the information on this page has not been updated since then. For current information, visit catalogs.umn.edu.
Morris Campus
Environmental Studies B.A.M Acad Dean's Admin
Academic Affairs
This is an interdisciplinary major under the authority of the vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean. The program is administered by the environmental studies program coordinator.
Objectives: The environmental studies major is designed to serve those interested in a broad knowledge of the natural environment and the role of humans in it. Students acquire a foundation of knowledge in economics, policy, science, humanities, and statistics. Carefully chosen electives, a required practical internship or research experience, and a capstone seminar provide depth of experience and help students prepare for graduate and professional programs, as well as for careers in education, government service, and the private sector.
Program Student Learning Outcomes:
1 - Environmental competency
Awareness and understanding of one’s own impacts as well as broader human-environment interactions; ability to think critically about individual and collective choices and future consequences thereof.
2 - Environmental issues as multifaceted and multidisciplinary
Understanding the underpinnings of modern environmental movements and problems, including but not limited to basic ecology, ethical principles, meaning(s) of nature, and ways of valuing (e.g. economic, intrinsic) our environment; ability to articulate diverse perspectives on major environmental challenges.
3 - Knowledge of major environmental challenges
Ability to articulate and effectively address major intertwined challenges including climate change, loss of biodiversity, water pollution and scarcity, human security and environmental justice, and legacy pollution such as hazardous or nuclear waste sites.
4 - Research methods and creative expression
Familiarity with several qualitative and quantitative methods germane to environmental studies; successful application of at least one such method in the context of a major assignment or project.
5 - Cultivating an understanding of place in global context
Understanding of interactions among biophysical, economic, and social aspects of particular places or regions and connections to larger global forces or issues; for example, the relationships of various agricultural production systems to the biophysical, social and economic landscapes in western Minnesota and how these systems relate to state, national and global contexts of food policy, food production and distribution patterns, climate change, and other issues.
Program Delivery
This program is available:
Admission Requirements
For information about University of Minnesota admission requirements, visit the
Office of Admissions
website.
General Requirements
All students are required to complete general University and college requirements. For more
information, see the general education requirements.
Program Requirements
Students are required to complete 2 semester(s) of
any second language.
with a grade of C-, or better, or S, or demonstrate proficiency in the language(s) as defined by the department
or college.
Requirements for the major include successful completion of two elements:
Element 1: The Environmental Studies Core
Element 2: The Environmental Studies Elective Block
Selection of electives must be intentional and done in close consultation with an environmental studies advisor. Students must submit an elective plan (preferably by the end of sophomore year), to be approved by the environmental studies program coordinator. Elective plans must be designed to ensure that there is sufficient depth of coverage in the chosen ENST electives. For many students, a second major (or minor) in a closely related discipline is desirable. Electives often can be selected in such a way that they also count toward the second major. Elective courses, other than those listed below, may be appropriate to add depth and provide more theoretical context for the environmentally focused coursework. Approval of alternative electives requires written consent of the course instructor and the program coordinator.
No grades below C- are allowed. Courses may not be taken S-N, unless offered S-N only.
A minimum GPA of 2.00 is required in the major to graduate. The GPA includes all, and only, University of Minnesota coursework. Grades of "F" are included in GPA calculation until they are replaced.
Element 1: The Environmental Studies Core
Students must successfully complete each of the following requirements in order to satisfy this element of the major. NOTE: If students choose to take the biology sequence instead of EnSt 2101, they must complete BOTH Biol 1111 and Biol 2101.
ECON 1111 {Inactive}
[SS]
(4.0 cr)
ENGL 2106 - Topics in Writing: The Environmental Imagination: Reading and Writing about the Natural World
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
or
PHIL 2114 - Environmental Ethics
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
ENST 1101 - Environmental Problems and Policy
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
ENST 2101 {Inactive}
[SCI-L]
(4.0 cr)
or
BIOL 1111 - Fundamentals of Genetics, Evolution, and Development
[SCI]
(3.0 cr)
BIOL 2101 - Evolution of Biodiversity
[SCI-L]
(4.0 cr)
ENST 3988 - Environmental Studies Pre-Internship Seminar
(1.0 cr)
ENST 3989 - Environmental Studies Post-Internship Seminar
(1.0 cr)
ENST 4901 - Senior Capstone Experience
(4.0 cr)
GEOL 1101 - Physical Geology
[SCI-L]
(4.0 cr)
Element 2: Environmental Studies Elective Block
Students must successfully complete at least 24 credits from the electives listed below, subject to the following restrictions:
1. Courses used to satisfy this element may not be used to complete the Core element.
2. At least 16 credits must come from the Upper Division Electives Block.
3. At least 4 credits of the Upper Division Electives must come from Category A.
4. At least 4 credits of the Upper Division Electives must come from Category B.
Lower Division Electives
Take at most 8 credit(s) from the following:
·
ANTH 1103 {Inactive}
[SS]
(4.0 cr)
·
ANTH 1201 {Inactive}
[SCI-L]
(5.0 cr)
·
ANTH 2039 - Agro-Archeaology
[SS]
(2.0 cr)
·
CHEM 1001 - Chemistry for the Curious Citizen: The Role of Chemistry in the Environment and Everyday Life
[SCI-L]
(3.0 cr)
·
CHEM 1101 - General Chemistry I
[SCI-L]
(5.0 cr)
·
CHEM 1102 - General Chemistry II
[SCI-L]
(5.0 cr)
·
CMR 2102 - Communication and the Environment: Analysis and Criticism
[HUM]
(2.0 cr)
·
ENGL 2106 - Topics in Writing: The Environmental Imagination: Reading and Writing about the Natural World
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
ENGL 2173 - The Nature Essay: Writing and Reading Creative Non-fiction about the Natural World
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
ENST 2201 - Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture
(4.0 cr)
·
GEOL 2001 - Natural and Unnatural Geologic Hazards
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
HIST 1812 - FIRE!: An introductory Seminar to American Environmental History
[IC]
(4.0 cr)
·
HIST 2451 - The American West
[HIST]
(4.0 cr)
·
IS 2039 - Understanding Cuba
[IP]
(2.0 cr)
·
PHIL 2114 - Environmental Ethics
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
PHYS 3004 - Atmospheric Physics
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
POL 1201 - American Government and Politics
[E/CR]
(4.0 cr)
·
SOC 2201 {Inactive}
[HDIV]
(4.0 cr)
·
ENST 1201 {Inactive}
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
or
GEOL 2161 - GIS and Remote Sensing
[SCI]
(4.0 cr)
Upper Division Elective Courses
Take 16 or more credit(s) from the following:
Category A: Science and Mathematics Electives
Take 4 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
BIOL 3131 - Ecology
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4071 {Inactive}
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4131 - Vertebrate Natural History
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4151 - Entomology
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4172 - Plant Systematics
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4191 - Freshwater Biology
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4332 {Inactive}
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4333 {Inactive}
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4334 {Inactive}
(4.0 cr)
·
BIOL 4351 - Conservation Biology
(4.0 cr)
·
CHEM 3101 - Analytical Chemistry
[SCI-L]
(4.0 cr)
·
CHEM 3301 {Inactive}
[SCI]
(4.0 cr)
·
ESCI 3301 {Inactive}
[SCI]
(4.0 cr)
·
GEOL 3011 - Earth Resources
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
GEOL 3501 - Hydrology
[SCI]
(4.0 cr)
·
Category B: Social Science Electives
Take 4 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
ANTH 3251 {Inactive}
[ENVT]
(2.0 cr)
·
ANTH 3704 {Inactive}
[SCI]
(4.0 cr)
·
ANTH 3761 {Inactive}
[SCI]
(2.0 cr)
·
ECON 3007 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics I
[ENVT]
(2.0 cr)
·
ECON 3008 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics II
[ENVT]
(2.0 cr)
·
ECON 3136 - Economics of the Green Power Transition: New Business Models and Regulatory Strategies
[ENVT]
(2.0 cr)
·
ENST 3001 - Water Resources Policy
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
ENST 3101 - Industrial Ecology
(4.0 cr)
·
GEOG 3501 - Geographic Information Systems
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
HIST 3361 - An Environmental and Geographic History of the United States
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
POL 3272 - Making Environmental Public Policy
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
POL 3355 {Inactive}
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
POL 3514 {Inactive}
[IP]
(4.0 cr)
·
SOC 3131 {Inactive}
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
Category C: Humanities Electives
Take 0 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
ENGL 3062 {Inactive}
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
ENST 3112 - Climate Change and Moral Responsibility
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
·
ENST 3201 - Environmental Justice
[E/CR]
(4.0 cr)
·
FREN 3507 - Modern Studies: French for Sustainability
[ENVT]
(2.0 cr)
·
IS 3053 - Irish Texts and Contexts
[ENVT]
(4.0 cr)
|
|
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Spring Even Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 1.0] |
Prerequisites: | 1101 |
Grading Basis: | S-N only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 1.0] |
Prerequisites: | 3988 or # |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Prerequisites: | 3989 or 3996, sr status or # |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Fall Odd Year |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Chem 1001/1006/1007/1801 |
Typically offered: | Periodic Summer |
Credits: | 5.0 [max 5.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 5.0 [max 5.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | S-N only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Hist 3451/Hist 2451 |
Typically offered: | Fall Even Year |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Spring Even Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Odd Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Even Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Even Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Spring Even Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Odd Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Spring Odd Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Even Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Odd Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Spring Even Year |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Prerequisites: | 4 cr of EnSt or # |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Prerequisites: | 4 cr of EnSt or # |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Summer |