Environment and Sustainability

Associate Dean: Dawn Mulhern
Email: mulhern_d@fortlewis.edu

Chair: Jared Beeton
Email: jbeeton@fortlewis.edu

Environmental Conservation and Management Major

Environmental Conservation and Management Major puts you in the field where the mountains greet the desert southwest and the snowmelt meets the rivers. With the outdoors as your classroom, you’ll develop practical skills while studying climate change, food systems, traditional ecological knowledge, natural resource management, environmental justice, water conservation, public policy, and more. Common careers for Environmental Conservation & Management graduates include:

National park service and other public lands management
Environmental consulting and monitoring
Environmental policy, advocacy, and law
Land conservation and restoration
Organic farming and sustainable agriculture
Renewable energy
Environmental education
Tribal resource planning and management

Environmental Science Major

With a blend of geology, biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics courses, FLC’s Environmental Science program immerses you in an interdisciplinary approach to scientific inquiry and practice. Your path to this Bachelor of Science degree includes exploration of how the air and water connect us to the Earth, and to one another, in a region with a long history of resilience in the face of environmental change. Common careers for Environmental Science graduates include:

Air and water quality analysis
Environmental impact assessment
Environmental health and preservation
Wildlife and ecological monitoring

Environmental Policy Minor

The Environmental Policy minor would be an excellent addition to any student at Fort Lewis College, majoring outside of Environmental Studies. By completing the Environmental Policy minor, students enhance their preparation for graduate school or a career in areas such as environmental management, public policy, environmental justice, government, law, and tribal government. As described for the Environmental Studies major, the Environmental Policy minor is interdisciplinary and is designed to prepare dynamic leaders who can negotiate the ecological and sociocultural aspects of complex environmental problems. Students are strongly encouraged to work closely with their advisors and faculty mentors to ensure they design a course of study that best suits their career goals and fulfills all prerequisites and general education requirements in a timely fashion. Students interested in completing the minor should contact the Program Coordinator to learn about the courses, internships, and practicum opportunities.

There are two required components to the minor:

1. Students select 18 credits from a list of existing courses representing the diverse perspectives on environmental policy (see below).

2. Students must take PS 288 - Introduction to Environmental Policy [LAC-SS] at the beginning of their minor-related coursework and ENV 395 - Collaborative Environmental Research during their junior or senior year. The latter course is one in which students and faculty of varied backgrounds come together to work on joint projects related to local, regional, or national environmental concerns.

Majors

Environmental Conservation and Management Major
Environmental Science Major

Minor

Environmental Policy Minor

Certificate

Regenerative Food Systems Certificate

Whether you want to be a farmer, advocate for food security, or better understand environmental justice, FLC’s Regenerative Food Systems certificate is a great addition to your major. With courses shaped around field trips and land-based work, you’ll roll up your sleeves and experience firsthand how food systems can (and should) be sustainable and renewing for the planet and people alike.