Environmental Science (Interdisciplinary), BS

Total number of hours for the program: 120.

Sustainability and science are the hallmarks of WCU’s interdisciplinary B.S. in Environmental Science. The major includes a core, taken by all students, consisting of solid foundations in biology, chemistry, geology, and geospatial analysis, as well as a sequence of four courses just for Environmental Science majors, from the freshman introduction to the senior capstone. This core is complemented by a set of Advanced Electives - Environment & Society and Advanced Environmental Science - which allows for increasing course choice in how students build their major. Students will then select a second, concurrent major that is relevant to their intended environmental career path.

This program must be taken as part of a double major and requires 36 hours of courses. Students must complete a second major to graduate.

Liberal Studies Hours (42 hours)

Liberal Studies Program Requirements

Major Requirements (36 hours)

A GPA of 2.00 or higher is required in the major.

Foundations and Core in Environmental Science (25 hours)

All majors must take these courses:

BIOL 141 - Principles of Biology II Credits: 4
(The BIOL 140 pre-req is waived for students in the Environmental Science program.)
CHEM 139 - General Chemistry I Credits: 4
ES 150 - Introduction and Approaches to Environmental Science Credits: 4
ES 370 - Sustainability in a Changing World Credits: 3
ES 395 - Seminar in Energy, Economics, and the Environment Credits: 1
ES 495 - Senior Research Seminar in Environmental Science Credits: 3
GEOG 221 - Introduction to Geospatial Analysis Credits: 3
GEOL 145 - Climate Change and Water Resources Credits: 3
or GEOL 151 - Earth: Geology, Resources, Hazards, and Environment Credits: 3

Environment and Society (3 hours)

Choose one course from the following:

ANTH 351 - Environmental Anthropology Credits: 3
ECON 310 - Natural Resource Economics Credits: 3
ENVH 412 - Solid and Hazardous Materials Management Credits: 3
HIST 460 - Environmental History Credits: 3
PAR 330 - Wilderness: Ethics and Aesthetics in the American Landscape Credits: 3
PAR 333 - Environmental and Animal Ethics Credits: 3
PSC 326 - Natural Resources Policy and Administration Credits: 3
PSC 354 - International Environmental Politics Credits: 3
PSC 374 - Global Water Politics Credits: 3
SOC 371 - Environmental Sociology Credits: 3

Advanced Environmental Science (8 hours)

Choose 2 or 3 courses (8 hours total) from the following:

BIOL 304 - General Ecology Credits: 3
BIOL 306 - Evolutionary Biology Credits: 3
BIOL 326 - Plants and Human Affairs Credits: 3
BIOL 375 - Methods in Ecology and Evolution Credits: 4
BIOL 441 - Conservation Biology Credits: 3
CHEM 330 - Aquatic Chemistry Credits: 4
ENVH 310 - Water Quality Control Credits: 3
ENVH 311 - Water Quality Control Laboratory Credits: 1
ENVH 375 - Environmental Toxicology Credits: 3
ENVH 430 - Vector-Borne Disease Control Credits: 3
ENVH 431 - Vector-Borne Disease Control Laboratory Credits: 1
ENVH 440 - Air Quality Control Credits: 3
ENVH 450 - Air Quality Control Lab Credits: 1
GEOG 300 - Weather and Climate Credits: 3
GEOG 324 - Introduction to Remote Sensing Credits: 4
GEOL 302 - Geomorphology Credits: 4
GEOL 305 - Soils and Hydrology Credits: 4
GEOL 405 - Hydrogeology Credits: 4
GEOL 410 - Fluvial Geomorphology Credits: 3
GEOL 423 - Contaminated Rivers: Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Credits: 3
GEOL 455 - Wetlands Credits: 3
GEOL 465 - Environmental Geochemistry Credits: 3
NRM 320 - Soil Conservation Credits: 3
NRM 330 - Introduction to Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Credits: 3
NRM 344 - Applied Geographic Information Systems Credits: 4
NRM 460 - Watershed Management Credits: 3
NRM 472 - Geospatial Science Applications Credits: 4