The BSES minor is an interdisciplinary program of study that may strengthen and complement a major. Students should have a basic foundation in science knowledge. Graduates will understand the basics of principles and concepts that will include some of the following disciplines: biology, chemistry, physical and atmospheric sciences, geology, and ecology. Goals of the minor are:
1. Knowledge of environmental science methods to collect, analyze, and interpret data.
1.1 Apply laboratory and field research techniques to examine environmental sciences questions/problems
1.2 Understand benefits, trade-offs, and coordination of laboratory vs field environmental science
1.3 Use digital tools to understand and solve quantitative problems including computer software for statistical, tabular, graphical or spatial analysis of data
1.4 Apply statistical techniques in sampling and analysis
2.Systems thinking at the intersections of natural sciences, social sciences, public policy, and environmental management
2.1 Understand cultural, historical context in which natural systems exist
2.2 Identify relationships among human, biological, chemical and other disciplinary sub-systems
2.3 Compare and evaluate environmental systems across space and time
2.4 Select relevant information and data to address a particular environmental challenge
2.5 Assess complexity in a given environmental system (e.g., feedback loops, emergent qualities, etc.)
2.6 Understand the institutional structures (policy, incentives, economics) that are used to manage natural systems
3.Technical communication skills (including graphs and tables as well as text) for a variety of audiences
3.1 Write and speak effectively to communicate technical environmental science information that is concise, well-organized, well-referenced, and distinguishes between observation and inference.
3.2 Develop graphic visuals that effectively communicate environmental science information in the form of charts, tables, figures.
3.3 Interpret and translate environmental science information for a variety of audiences including scientists, policy-makers, and the general public.
Joint minor with O'Neill and College of Arts and Sciences.
Requirements(Five courses)
A GPA of at least 2.000 is required, with no course grade lower than C–. In fulfilling the below requirements, students must also meet all other College requirements for minors. It is recommended that students have taken MATH-M 119 or higher and CHEM-C 117 or higher (or equivalents).
1. Introductory Course.One (1) course from the Introductory Course list.
- EAS-E 105Earth: Our Habitable Planet (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 107Physical Systems of the Environment (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 208 Environment and Society (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 272 Introduction to Environmental Science (3 cr.) (R: SPEA-E 183)
2. Electives.Four (4) additional courses from the Environmental Science Electives list; at least three must be at the 300-400 level.
- BIOL-B 300 Vascular Plants (4 cr.)
- BIOL-L 211 Molecular Biology (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 307 Biodiversity (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 311 Genetics (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 318 Evolution (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 319 Genetics Laboratory (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 326 Biodiverse City (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 328 Disease Ecology and Evolution (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 350 Environmental Biology (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 376 Biology of Birds (4 cr.)
- BIOL-L 402 Ecosystem Ecology and Global Change (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 472 Microbial Ecology (3 cr.
- BIOL-L 473 Ecology (3 cr.)
- BIOL-L 474 Field and Laboratory Ecology (2 cr.)
- BIOL-M 250 Microbiology (3 cr.)
- BIOL-M 315 Microbiology Laboratory (2 cr.)
- BIOL-M 465 Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (3 cr.)
- BIOL-Z 373 Entomology (3 cr.)
- BIOL-Z 374 Invertebrate Zoology (3 cr.)
- BIOL-Z 375 Invertebrate Zoology Laboratory (2 cr.)
- BIOL-Z 406 Vertebrate Zoology (5 cr.)
- BIOL-Z 476 Biology of Fishes (3 cr.)
- CHEM-A 314 Biological and Environmental Chemical Analysis (2 cr.)
- CHEM-A 315 Chemical Measurements Laboratory (2 cr.)
- CHEM-A 316 Bioanalytical Chemistry Laboratory (2 cr.)
- CHEM-C 317 Equilibria and Electrochemistry (2 cr.)
- CHEM-C 318 Spectrochemistry and Separations (2 cr.)
- EAS-A 315Climate Engineering (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 332Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 339 Weather Analysis and Forecasting (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 340/GEOG-G 304 Physical Meteorology and Climatology (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 347 Atmospheric Instrumentation (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 364 Dynamic Meteorology I (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 437 Advanced Meteorology and Climatology (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 445Climate Dynamics (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 474Future and Current Trends in Extremes (3 cr.)
- EAS-A 476 Climate Change Science (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 225 Earth Materials (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 226 Earth Processes (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 227 Earth Climate and History (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 316 Mineral Resources (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 330Human Impacts on Earth Systems: Quantifying Impacts, Designing Solutions (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 333 Sedimentary and Tectonic Processes (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 334 Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (3-4 cr.)
- EAS-E 341 Natural History of Coral Reefs (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 351 Elements of Hydrology (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 406 Introduction to Geochemistry (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 411 Invertebrate Paleontology (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 412 Vertebrate Paleontology (3 cr.)
- EAS-E 415 Principles of Geomorphology (3-4 cr.)
- EAS-E 423 Methods in Applied Geophysics (3-4 cr.)
- EAS-E 444 Methods in Analytical Geochemistry (1-2cr.)
- EAS-E 451 Principles of Hydrogeology (2-4 cr.)
- EAS-E 488Paleoclimatology: The Geological Record of Earth's Climate History (3 cr.)
- EAS-X 329Field Methods in Environmental Geology (3 cr.)
- EAS-X 420 Regional Geology Field Trip (3 cr.)
- EAS-X 429Field Geology in the Rocky Mountains (6 cr.)
- GEOG-G 307 Biogeography: The Distribution of Life (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 315Environmental Conservation (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 336 Environmental Remote Sensing (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 338 Geographic Information Science (3 cr.) or SPEA-E 418 Vector-based GIS (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 341 Ecological Restoration: Science and Politics (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 350 Field Methods in Physical Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 368Water in the Midwest (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 405 Ecological Climatology (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 407Climate Dynamics (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 436 Advanced Remote Sensing: Digital Image Processing (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 438 Advanced Geographic Information Science (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 439 GIS and Environmental Analysis
- GEOG-G 444 Climate Change Impacts (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 451 Water Resources (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 452 Tree-Ring Science (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 453Water and Society (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 481Terrestrial Ecosystem Modeling (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 485Geospatial Programming (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 488 Applied Spatial Statistics (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 489 Geospatial Analysis of Big Data in Python (3 cr.)
- PHYS-P 310Environmental Physics (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 260 Introduction to Water Resources (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 332 Introduction to Applied Ecology (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 355 Introduction to Limnology ((3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 375 Techniques in Environmental Science (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 400 Topics in Environmental Studies (1-3 cr.) (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- SPEA-E 410 Introduction to Environmental Toxicology (3 cr.) (R: any organismal biology course)
- SPEA-E 417 Fundamentals of Sustainable Agriculture (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 422Urban Forestry Management (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 426 Applied Math for Environmental Science (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 429 Application of GIS (3 cr.) (P: SPEA-E 418)
- SPEA-E 431 Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 440 Wetlands Ecology and Management (4 cr.) (P: SPEA-E 272)
- SPEA-E 442 Habitat Analysis—Terrestrial (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 443 Habitat Analysis—Aquatic (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 444 Hazardous Materials (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 450 Soil Science and Management (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 451 Air Pollution and Control (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 452Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 455 Limnology (4 cr.)(P: BIOL-L 111 (or equivalent) and CHEM-C 117 (or equivalent), or permission of the instructor)
- SPEA-E 456 Lake and Watershed Management (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 457 Introduction to Conservation Biology (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 460 Fisheries and Wildlife Management (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 461 Fisheries and Wildlife Management Laboratory (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 464 Organic Pollutants: Environmental Chemistry and Fate (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 470 Elements of Fluid Mechanics (3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 482Overseas Topics in Environmental Science (0-15 cr.) (approved topics only; consult SPEA advisor; repeatable with different topics)
- SPEA-V 413Food Systems and Community Resilience (3 cr.)
Up to six (6) credit hours (combined total) of any of the following:
- BIOL-X 490 Individual Study (1-12 cr.)
- EAS-X 498 Undergraduate Research in Geology (1-6 cr.)
- GEOG-X 490 Undergraduate Readings and Research in Geography (1-3 cr.)
- SPEA-E 490 Directed Research in Environmental Science (1-4 cr.)
Orother courses approved by the BSES program director.
