Environmental Studies Courses

The ES Major or Concentration begins (in most cases for Sophomores or First-Year Students) with the introductory seminar, a class of about 24 students focusing on global environmental problems viewed from a scientific perspective but treated within the larger context of political, economic and ethical concerns. Students then select three additional core courses, one each from the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. The core course choices provide a significant focus on discipline-centered studies of the environment, and include areas such as environmental history and ethics, conservation biology, earth system science, environmental chimistry, literature of the environment, and environmental policy. Choices for the remainder of the requirements (Cognates for the ES Major, electives for the ES Concentration) include a number of off-campus studies as well as a large selection of courses listed under the Cognates groups, some of them from allied departments. Examples of the former include winter ecology, desert ecology, and tropical ecology, or participation in programs in Costa Rica, south India, Australia, or Superior Studies in northern Minnesota. The capstone seminar, required of ES majors, is also an option as one of the elective choices for the Concentration.

Current Offerings

CORE COURSES
ES 101: The Culture of Nature
ES 125: Conservation Biology
ES 137: Introduction to Environmental Studies
ES 232: Environmental Policy and Regulation
ES 259: Saving Wild Places

COGNATE COURSES
ES 150: Minnesota Natural History
ES 201: Topics in Global Environmental Politics
ES 245: Global Climate Change
ES 255: Remote Sensing & Geographic Info. Systems
ES 260: Biosphere Ecology (January 2003)
ES 270: Ethics and the American Landscape
ES 399: Senior Seminar In Environmental Studies