PROGRAM DEFINITION
The Environmental Studies major at NU is a distinct program that allows students the opportunity to experience an interdisciplinary field that goes beyond the campus classroom and into the field with real undergraduate research! The goal of the Environmental Studies major is to educate students in:
• The fundamentals of environmental and social sciences.
• Global environmental issues.
• Opportunities for working toward protection of the environment and solution of environmental problems.
The Environmental Studies program is a joint interdisciplinary major offered through the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) and the College of Arts and Sciences (ASC). Because the program provides a holistic view of the environment and human-environmental relationships, students majoring in Environmental Studies will acquire the knowledge and technical skills they will need for active participation in environmental careers.
All students majoring in Environmental Studies complete a set of core and collateral courses that provide a comprehensive education in environmental science, issues, policies, and analytical skills. In addition, students choose an area of emphasis; students in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource Science will complete an emphasis in natural resources. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences will choose any one of the following areas of emphasis: anthropology, biological sciences, chemistry, geography, geology, meteorology-climatology, or sociology. For information on each emphasis area please visit the Environmental Studies Program web page at: http://www.unl.edu/esp.
NEBRASKA POINTS OF DISTINCTION
• Students may choose a liberal arts background by completing a Bachelors of Arts Degree or a program with a greater focus on the sciences with a Bachelors of Science Degree.
• Holistic, interdisciplinary focus.
• One of only six environmental studies programs (600 programs at universities and colleges nation-wide) which requires completion of an undergraduate Environmental Studies Senior Thesis.
• Environmental Studies Senior Thesis grant availability to aid in financing the senior thesis experience.
• Capstone Environmental Studies Senior Seminar that continues the program’s commitment to the exposure and critical analysis of far-reaching environmental issues.
FACILITIES
Because of its interdisciplinary nature, the Environmental Studies program is not housed in a single building. However, the Environmental Resource Center, located on the third floor of the City Campus Union, provides environmental information, job, internship, and scholarship postings, meeting and study areas, completed Environmental Studies Senior Theses, coordination between various environmentally related student groups (e.g. Ecology Now, the Soil and Water Resources Club, the Wildlife Club, etc.), and is also the program’s primary advising office.
PROGRAM EXPECTATIONS (What’s expected of you as an undergraduate student)
All Environmental Studies majors must complete a set of core courses, which provide a breadth of knowledge of environmental science, issues, and policies, regardless of the undergraduate college or emphasis area. This includes a three-credit hour senior thesis, ENVR 499A and B, and a one credit hour senior seminar, ENVR 496. Students must also complete a set of collateral courses devised to provide useful analytical tools. The collateral courses will vary depending on which degree is pursued, the Bachelor of Arts (BA), the Bachelor of Science (BS), or the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources (BSNR).
FACULTY
http://www.unl.edu/esp
