Majoring & Minoring

Environmental Studies

Considering Environmental Studies?

Environmental Studies at Southwestern is one of our premier interdisciplinary programs. It is designed to expose students to a wide range of perspectives and disciplinary orientations to understanding ‘the natural environment’ and human-environment interactions and connections. Students graduating with Environmental Studies pursue a wide variety of careers in government, NGOs, the sustainability sector, environmental law, or go on to graduate school to deepen their knowledge.

Major in Environmental Studies

Nine courses:

ENV49-104 Introduction to Environmental Studies
ENV49-204 Environmental GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
ENV49-364 US Environmental Policy
ENV49-964 Capstone in Environmental Studies
Two courses in the Natural Sciences
- One course from:
  - BIO50-144 Environmental Science
  - BIO50-154 Climate Change
  - BIO50-164 Beyond Dirt
  - BIO50-414 Plant Ecology
  - ENV49-224 Ecolab
- One additional natural science course from the previous list or the following:
  - BIO50-183/181 Evolutionary and Ecological Foundations of
  - Biology/Investigations in Biology
  - BIO50-194 Science of Chocolate
  - BIO50-384 Conservation Biology
  - BIO50-434 Ecology
  - CHE51-024 Chemistry of the Environment
  - CHE51-034 Chemistry of Food
  - CHE51-504 Instrumentation in Environmental and Biological Analysis
  - PHY53-034 Introduction to Earth Science
  - PHY53-354 Energy and the Environment
One course on Environmental Justice from the following list:
These courses explicitly examine and theorize power structures in relationship to environmental issues
- ANT35-334 Global Environmental Justice
- ENG10-714 American Environmental Literature
- FST04-254 Latinx Spiritualities
- REL19-334 Apocalypse and Dystopia
- REL19-344 Animals and Religion
- REL19-374 Sacred Space and the Environment
One course in the Environmental Humanities from the following list:
These courses are taught from humanistic perspectives (religion, history, English, comparative literature, philosophy, art history) and include an analysis of the human-environment relationship in the interpretive endeavors of the course
- COM75-464 Environmental Communication
- ENG10-714 American Environmental Literature
- GER12-354 German Culture
- GER12-714 Transnational Identity Narratives: Gender/Nature/Culture
- HIS16-014 Disease, Health and Medicine in World History
- HIS16-484 The History of the U.S. West
- PHI18-234 Environmental Philosophy
- REL19-334 Apocalypse and Dystopia
- REL19-344 Animals and Religion
- REL19-364 Pilgrimage
- REL19-374 Sacred Space and the Environment
- SPA15-634 Nature and Culture
One additional upper-level course from the list below, any of the previous categories above or additional courses contributing to Environmental Studies notated each semester in Self Service.
- CHI22-334 Intermediate/Advanced Modern Chinese
- EDU40-514 Teaching Science in the Elementary and Middle School
- ENV49-214 Texas Our(?) Texas
- ENV49-464 Sustainable Cities
- THE72-814 Theatre Sustainability
Required supporting course for Environmental Studies major: One course
- MAT52-114 Introduction to Statistics

Notes: No course may satisfy more than one requirement within the major. Biology 50-434 Ecology and Chemistry 51-504 Instrumentation in Environmental and Biological Analysis are advanced courses and have prerequisites, and these prerequisites do not count toward the Environmental Studies major. Students who have a special interest in the natural sciences are encouraged to minor in one of those disciplines, and to include one or more of these advanced classes in their program of study.

While not required, students in Environmental Studies are encouraged to complete an Academic Internship and an Intercultural Learning Experience.

Minor in Environmental Studies

Five Courses:

ENV49-104 Introduction to Environmental Studies
One course in the Natural Sciences from:
- BIO50-144 Environmental Science
- BIO50-154 Climate Change
- BIO50-164 Beyond Dirt
- BIO50-414 Plant Ecology
- ENV49-224 Ecolab
Three additional Environmental Studies courses, at least one of which must come from the Humanities area or from courses contributing to the Environmental Justice requirement.

Capstone

In your senior year, all majors will take Capstone (ENV 49-964) - usually Fall Semester

Study Abroad

We also strongly recommend students study abroad. School for Field Studies (SFS) and School for International Training (SIT) are excellent programs, as are a number of possibilities through ISEP and IES. Set up a meeting the Intercultural Learning Office!

Internships

We also strongly recommend students complete an internship before they graduate! Set up a meeting with Internship Services in Career Services.

Advising

Finally, make sure you meet with an Environmental Studies Professor (if one is not already your advisor) for guidance about the major. This helps keep you on track!

General Education Requirements

We also strongly encourage Environmental Studies students to fulfill their general education/distribution requirements with courses that have special pertinence to the study of the environment.