Environmental Science Minor
Not open to majors in Environmental Science or Environmental Studies or Psychology.
No more than two courses applied to a minor may overlap with the student's declared major.
Minor Requirements (22 Credits)
- Two courses at or above the 200-level in BIO, CHEM or ENV
- Required Courses:
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- BIO 101 Introduction to Biology: Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology
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An introduction to the biological sciences. Topics include the principles of genetics, evolutionary theory, ecology, and conservation biology. Students enrolling in this course must enroll in the parallel laboratory section BIO 101L.
- BIO 101L Laboratory to Introduction to Biology: Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology
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The laboratory course parallels the topics in BIO 101 and provides lab-based investigations of the material covered in BIO 101. Students must register for both BIO 101 and the lab section concurrently. (This course carries an additional laboratory fee.)
- ENV 200 Understanding Environmental Issues
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This case study based course serves as the bridge experience for students completing their introductory course requirements for the ESS major or the ENV minor and who are now moving into the upper-level courses (However it is open to all interested students meeting the prerequisite). Through detailed examination of several case studies at the local, regional, and global levels, students synthesize material from introductory level courses to explore the interdisciplinary nature of today’s environmental issues. They examine what different disciplines offer to our understanding of and attempt to solve these issues.
- Two additional 100-level science courses in BIO, CHEM, ENV, or GEO
- One of the following:
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- ENV 250 Quantitative Methods for Environmental Science
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The course exposes students to a range of quantitative methods used in the environmental sciences. It will introduce students to the science of geographic information systems (GIS) and their use in understanding and analyzing environmental issues. Students will gain hands-on experience with GIS software. This course will also examine statistical methods commonly applied in quantitative environmental research. It assumes students already possess a background in statistics and environmental science.
- MAT 182 Statistics For Everybody
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Statistics for Everybody is an introductory course covering essential applied statistical concepts and techniques. It incorporates a well known Social Science statistical portal called the Survey Documentation and Analysis tool throughout the course. The course begins with an understanding of how we conceptualize and operationalize statistical concepts into measurable variables. We then begin to explore data using descriptive statistics and simple data visualizations – learning both how to create and interpret meaningful data visualizations. Next we learn how to compare and contrast different variables and cohorts, exploring similarities through correlation and differences through means testing. Finally, we explore more advanced analysis techniques including developing contingency tables and multiple regression models, examining their outputs (z-scores, p-values) to better understand the notion of statistical significance. Students culminate their learning with a final project, leveraging their own hypotheses and statistical analyses in order to present their own unique findings.
Students must complete one of the above requirements with an Academic Travel course in ENV.
No more than two courses applied to a minor may overlap with the student's declared major.