Environmental Studies

Program Coordinator - Pete J. McCormick
Email: mccormick_p@fortlewis.edu

Professors: David A.Gonzales, Andy J.Gulliford, and Larry K. Hartsfield
Associate Professors - Cynthia E.Dott, Kim Hannula, Pete J. McCormick and Robert Sonora
Assistant Professors - Rebecca L Austin, Brad Clark, Rebecca Clausen, and Yohannes Woldemariam

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary degree program that provides students with the social, political, and scientific background for careers focused on environmental issues. The program prepares dynamic leaders who can negotiate the ecological and sociocultural aspects of complex local and global environmental issues that face societies today. The flexibility of the curriculum allows students to create a course of study that is most appropriate for their own career goals, while providing the rigorous background expected of all professionals in environmentally oriented fields.

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary degree program that provides students with the social, political, and scientific background for careers focused on environmental issues. Environmental Studies is unique in that it unites a broad array of disciplines, and students are expected to explore courses in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities in order to gain a broad understanding of environmental issues. The curriculum includes introductory coursework in Environmental Studies and distribution requirements in Human-Environment Relations and Policy and in Scientific Literacy. The knowledge gained in the curriculum is applied in a series of upper-division research and experiential courses (ENVS320, ENVS395, ENVS410, and ENVS496). This four-semester capstone experience for Environmental Studies majors requires at least 150 hours of community-based learning and research and directed research through the Environmental Colloquium and Senior Seminar courses . These opportunities will allow students to develop expertise in a particular aspect of Environmental Studies and provide them with valuable field experience that will guide them and set them apart from the competition in their career pursuits.

The major is designed to prepare students for graduate studies or careers in environmental management, public policy, environmental justice, government, and law, to name a few, as well as careers in policy, tribal government, environmental management, sustainability, regional planning and local food production, for example. Students will be introduced to numerous career options through courses like Introduction to Environmental Studies and Community Internship.

When coupling an Environmental Studies major with an additional major or minor in biology, chemistry, geology, or physics, students will be well prepared for graduate studies and careers in environmental science. Students interested in further study or careers in scientific research should explore majors in biology, chemistry, geosciences, and physics. Degree options in Environmental Biology and Environmental Geology may be of particular interest to students wishing to study science in an environmental context.

Majors and Minors in Environmental Studies:

Environmental Policy Minor

Environmental Studies Major