Environmental Studies Minor

Dr. Rob Alexander, Coordinator
Phone: (540) 568-3771
Email: alexanrw@jmu.edu
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/environment/studies.shtml

The environmental studies minor provides a cross disciplinary education engaging socio-cultural, scientific and technical issues raised by the oft-conflicting needs and desires of globally interacting societies. Designed to complement any major, the goals of the environmental studies minor include:

To help undergraduates develop an awareness of the cultural, political and scientific aspects of the world’s environmental problems.
To better prepare students for further study at the graduate or professional school level and careers in the expanding field of environmental professions.

Overview of Requirements

The minimum requirement for a minor in environmental studies is a minimum of 21 credit hours taken from the three categories: Introduction to Environment and Environmental Science Literacy, The Socio-Cultural Context of Environmental Studies and the Senior Seminar capstone course.

No more than two courses from a single subject (e.g., GEOG, GEOL, ANTH, ENG) may count toward completion of the minor. Students wishing to complete more than one of the environment minors (environmental management , environmental science and environmental studies) may receive dual credit for the capstone course (ENVT 400 ), but may not receive dual credit for any other courses that might be shared by the minors.

Courses

Introduction to Environment and Environmental Science Literacy

Fundamental to exploring the problems which emerge through the human/nature interaction is an understanding of core scientific concepts and processes that underlie natural systems. Therefore, minors will take an environmental science course that provides a broad survey of core concepts as well as an environmental science course that provides a targeted focus on an environmental science topic.

Introduction to Environment

Select one course from the following, which can be double-counted with General Education :

BIO 103. Contemporary Biology [C3NS] 3.00
BIO 250. Quantitative Ecology and Evolution 4.00
ENVT 200. Environmental Systems Theory 3.00
GEOG 210. Physical Geography (2, 2) 4.00
GEOL 102. Environment: Earth [C3NS] 3.00
GEOL 110. Physical Geology [C3NS] 3.00
GEOL 115. Earth Systems and Climate Change [C3NS] 3.00
GEOL 210. Applied Physical Geology [C3NS] 3.00
ISAT 100. Environmental and Energy Sustainability [C3PP] 3.00
ISAT 112. Environmental Issues in Science and Technology (2,3) [C3PP] 4.00

Environmental Science Literacy

Select one course from the following, which can be double-counted with General Education :

BIO 457. Biological Applications of Geographic Information Systems 4.00
BIO 459. Freshwater Ecology 4.00
GEOG 327. Climatology 3.00
GEOL 211. Introduction to Oceanography [C3NS] 3.00
GEOL 230. Evolution of Earth (3, 2) 4.00
GEOL 310 A - D. Environmental Impact 2.00 - 3.00, repeatable to 6 credits
GEOL 320. Meteorology 3.00
GEOL 430. Environmental Soil Science (2, 2) 3.00
ISAT 320. Fundamentals of Environmental Science & Technology I 4.00
PHYS 215. Energy and the Environment [C3PP] 3.00

The Socio-Cultural Context of Environmental Studies

Environmental studies involves a breadth of knowledge regarding the intersections of social and natural systems and how human activity and thought, over time, reflect the tensions, challenges and opportunities of a human society embedded in a finite natural environment.

Select four courses (a minimum of 12 credit hours) from the following. Only two courses with the same course subject may be taken.

ECON 305. Environmental Economics 3.00
ECON 340. Economics of Natural Resources 3.00
EDUC 455. Perspectives in Environmental Education 3.00
ENG 221. Literature/Culture/Ideas [C2L] 3.00 (Lit, Nature, Env section only)
ENG 371. Literature and the Environment 3.00
ENG 372. Ecocriticism and Environmental Ethics 3.00
ENG 390. The Environmental Imagination 3.00
GEOG 290. Human-Environment Interactions 3.00
GEOG 300. Population Geography 3.00
GEOG 310. Environmental Issues 1.00 - 4.00
or
GEOL 310 A - D. Environmental Impact 2.00 - 3.00, repeatable to 6 credits
GEOG 322. Agricultural Systems 3.00
GEOG 325. Environmental Ethics 3.00
GEOG 427. Water Resources of the World 3.00
GEOG 429. Sustainability: An Ecological Perspective 3.00
or
ISAT 429. Sustainability: An Ecological Perspective 3.00
HIST 427. U.S. Environmental History 3.00
ISAT 290. Introduction to Systems Thinking for Complex Problems 3.00
ISAT 421. Environmental Policy & Regulation 3.00
PPA 484. Environmental Regulatory Policy and Politics 3.00
SCOM 302. Third Wave Ecofeminism 3.00
or
WGSS 302. Third Wave Ecofeminism 3.00
SCOM 354. Environmental Communication and Advocacy 3.00
or
WRTC 326. Environmental Communication and Advocacy 3.00
SOCI 311. Sociology of the Environment 3.00
SOCI 357. Sociology of Disasters 3.00
WRTC 416. Rhetoric of Environmental Science and Technology 3.00
or
SCOM 465. Rhetoric of Environmental Science and Technology 3.00
Approved special topics courses
Approved internship programs
Approved study abroad courses

Senior Seminar Capstone Course

The culminating experience for the environmental studies minor is the combined capstone, co-taught by two faculty members from different fields and joined by the environmental science and environmental management minors. With a small size, opportunities for experiential field trips and engagement with current environmental challenges, ENVT 400 creates an all hands on deck opportunity to demonstrate competency in environmental studies and to make a difference with real environmental problems.

ENVT 400. Capstone Seminar in Environmental Problem Solving 3.00