College of Arts and Sciences
Program Director: Linda Auker, PhD
Affiliated Faculty
Linda A. Auker, Assistant Professor of Biology, BS, Long Island University; MS University of Rhode Island; PhD University of New Hampshire
Allan W. Austin, Professor of History and Government, BA, MA Bowling Green State University; PhD University of Cincinnati
Brian F. Carso, Jr., Associate Professor of History and Government, BA, MA University of Rochester; JD State University of NY at Buffalo, School of Law; PhD Boston University
Joseph Curran, Professor of Religious Studies, BA University of Scranton; PhD Boston College
Michael P. Orleski, Associate Professor of Physics, BS, MS East Stroudsburg University; MS, PhD Lehigh University
Melanie Shepherd, Professor of Philosophy, BA Hanover College, PhD The Pennsylvania State University
Cosima B. Wiese, Professor of Biology, BA Bucknell University; MSc, PhD The Pennsylvania State University
Mateusz Wosik, Assistant Professor of Biology, BSc Elmhurst College; PhD University of Toronto
The Environmental Studies program prepares students to analyze and respond to environmental situations through an interdisciplinary program of study in the arts and sciences. Students will develop the skills of policy-analysis, communication, and imagination by studying environmental issues through a variety of disciplines in the humanities, and they will develop the scientific knowledge and skills in data-analysis necessary for a technical understanding of environmental issues by studying those issues from the perspectives of the sciences. The knowledge and skills developed through engagement with these interdisciplinary perspectives will allow students to think, speak, and act effectively to promote environmental conditions in which all life can flourish.
Program and Student Learning Outcomes:
PLO 1) Develop students’ comprehension of the philosophical and ethical dimensions of environmentalism, and of the various meanings of the idea of nature.
SLO1.1) Students will formulate multiple theories of the meaning of nature.
SLO1.2) Students will communicate philosophical and ethical theories underlying environmentalism.
PLO 2) Cultivate an understanding of the natural environment that is shaped by evolutionary history, human history and pre-history, and the history of environmental advocacy.
SLO2.1) Students will evaluate a variety of historical perspectives on the environment.
PLO 3) Develop the mathematical, scientific, geographical, and socio-economic literacy necessary to analyze an environmental situation.
SLO 3.1) Students will demonstrate proficiency in statistics.
SLO 3.2) Students will demonstrate the scientific knowledge necessary to understand environmental issues.
SLO 3.3) Students will demonstrate the socio-economic literacy necessary to understand environmental issues.
PLO 4) Allow students to construct and apply a framework to analyze environmental challenges from a multi- and inter-disciplinary perspective.
SLO 4.1) Students will apply knowledge in humanistic and scientific disciplines in order to analyze environmental problems.
SLO 4.2) Students will construct and apply a multi- and interdisciplinary framework to an environmental challenge.
Curriculum:
Required Courses
All students must take the following required classes:
BIO 106 Introduction to Environmental Science
CHM 101 Chemistry in Context I (standard or pre-Law track); or CHM 133 Chemical Principles I (Environmental Science track); or CHM 104 General Chemistry (pre-DPT track)
ENV 100 Environment and Society
ENV 200 Issues in Sustainability
ENV 300 Environmental Research Design
ENV 400 Senior Capstone
HIS 235 Introduction to U.S. Environmental History
MTH 115 Basic Statistics
PHL 202 Environmental Philosophy
PHY 142 Earth Science
Those in the Environmental Science track must also complete:
BIO 113 Genetics, Evolution and Ecology
BIO 310 Environmental Biology
BIO 425 Ecology
CHM 134 Chemical Principles II
Elective Courses
Students in all tracks except Environmental Science must also complete a total of six (6) electives in the following areas (list reflects current approved offerings; additions to these groups will be indicated in subsequent catalogs and on the student’s advising worksheet/degree audit):
For students in all tracks other than Environmental Science, the combination must include:
- 1 from A
- 1 from B
- 1 from A or C
- 1 from B or D
- 2 from any group
Students in the Environmental Science must complete four (4) electives in the following distribution:
- 1 from A
- 1 from A or C
- 2 from any group
Please refer to the sample plans of study for all tracks for further information.
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