Requirements for a Major in Environmental Sciences

A total of fifty four to fifty six (54-56) hours and one additional environmental experience as follows:

  1. Four Introductory Courses:
    1. ENVS 150: Environment and Society.
    2. Three introductory courses from the following list:
      1. BIOL 120(L): Introduction to Environmental Sciences.
      2. CHEM 120/125L: Foundations of Chemistry.
      3. ENVS 106(L): Introductory Topics in Environmental Science.
      4. ENVS 107: Environment, Conservation & Policy Issues. (Global Environmental Challenges Semester in Ecuador)
      5. ENVS 108: Tropical Biology. (Global Environmental Challenges Semester in Ecuador)
      6. ENVS 111(L): Physical Geology.
      7. ENVS 170: Rocky Mountain Field Research. (at Teton Science Schools)
      8. MATH 214: Discrete Mathematical Modeling with Biological Applications.
  2. One statistics course from the following list:
    1. ECON 290: Statistical Analysis for Economics and Business.
    2. MATH 111: Applied Statistics for Liberal Arts.
    3. MATH 211: Applied Statistics for the Formal & Natural Sciences
    4. PSYC 211: Statistical Methods.
  3. Four upper-level Environmental Sciences electives. Three courses must contain a lab component. Courses must come from at least two departments. Additional courses may be designated by the Environmental Studies and Sciences program.
    1. Prerequisite: ENVS 225 (GIS)
      1. ENVS 325: Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing.
    2. Prerequisites: ENVS 111(L) or BIOL 120(L) or CHEM 120/125L
      1. ENVS 206(L): Topics in Environmental Science.
      2. ENVS 211(L): Geomorphology.
    3. Prerequisites: BIOL 120(L) and CHEM 120/125L or BIOL 130/131L and 140/141L
      1. BIOL 309: Science of Climate Change.
      2. BIOL 311(L): Invertebrate Biology.
      3. BIOL 312: Environmental Issues in Southern Africa.
      4. BIOL 315(L): Ecology.
      5. BIOL 316(L): Freshwater Ecology.
      6. BIOL 318(L): Entomology.
      7. BIOL 320(L): Conservation Biology.
      8. BIOL 321(L): Animal Behavior.
      9. BIOL 345(L): Ornithology.
      10. BIOL 348(L): Wildlife Biology.
      11. BIOL 365: Advanced Topics in Biology. (Environmentally related topic approved by the chair of the Environmental Studies and Sciences program)
    4. Prerequisites: BIOL 120 and CHEM 120/125L or BIOL 130/131L, BIOL 140/141L, and CHEM 120/125L
      1. BIOL 280: Microbial Methods in Ecology. (Semester in Environmental Science Program, Woods Hole)
      2. ENVS 260: Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis. (Semester in Environmental Science Program, Woods Hole)
      3. ENVS 270: Terrestrial Ecosystem Analysis. (Semester in Environmental Science Program, Woods Hole)
      4. ENVS 450: Independent Research Project. (Semester in Environmental Science Program, Woods Hole)
    5. Prerequisites: BIOL 130/131L and 140/141L
      1. BIOL 300(L): Evolution.
      2. BIOL 301(L): Microbiology.
      3. BIOL 302: Parasitology
      4. BIOL 308(L): Mycology.
      5. BIOL 322(L): Plant Diversity and Evolution.
      6. BIOL 350(L): Comparative Vertebrate Morphology.
      7. BIOL 365(L): Advanced Topics in Biology. (Environmentally related topic approved by the chair of the Environmental Studies and Sciences program)
    6. Prerequisite: CHEM 120/125L
      1. CHEM 206: Environmental Chemistry.
      2. CHEM 211: Organic Chemistry I.
    7. Prerequisite: CHEM 211

CHEM 240(L): Analytical Chemistry.

  1. Prerequisite: CHEM 240(L)
    1. CHEM 406: Advanced Analytical Chemistry.
  2. Prerequisites: PHYS 111 and PHYS 112
    1. PHYS 260: Science of Climate Change.
  3. Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor
    1. ENVS 451-452: Research.
    2. ENVS 495-496: Honors Tutorial.
  4. Two Environmental Studies electives from the following list:
    1. ANSO 201: Human Evolution.
    2. ANSO 221: North of the Rio Grande: Indigenous People of North America.
    3. ANSO 251: Nature and Society.
    4. ANSO 265: Selected Introductory Topics in Anthropology and Sociology. (i.e. Southern Foodscapes, or other environmentally-related topic approved by the chair of the Environmental Studies and Sciences program)
    5. ANSO 271: Ecological Anthropology.
    6. ANSO 273: Gender and the Environment.
    7. ANSO 345: Just Food.
    8. ART 166: Art and Science.
    9. CHIN 216: Asian Urbanization through Cinema.
    10. CHIN 218: Taste and Power: Asian Foodways
    11. ECON 100: Introduction to Economics
    12. ECON 349: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics.
    13. ENVS 205: Topics in Environmental Studies. (When approved by the chair of the Environmental Studies and Sciences program)
    14. ENVS 207: Linking the Local to the Global. (Global Environmental Challenges Semester in Ecuador)
    15. ENVS 250: Beyond Catastrophe: Feminist Approaches to Environmental Transformation.
    16. FREN 442: Francophone Ecocriticism.
    17. FYWS 151: Energy & Waste.
    18. FYWS 151: Consuming Cultures & the Problem of Waste.
    19. HIST 105: Disease & Epidemics.
    20. HIST 201: History of Environmental Thought.
    21. HIST 207: Global Environmental History.
    22. HIST 208: Agriculture, Society, and the Environment: Toward a Vision for People, Place, and Planet.
    23. HIST 209: Natural Disasters.
    24. HIST 307: Nature and War.
    25. HUM 201: Search for Values. (Bakewell's, Colley's, Jackson’s, Loth's, or Rogers' section only)
    26. INTS 220: Global Ecopolitics.
    27. INTS 221: Population and National Security.
    28. INTS 222: Global Health Politics.
    29. INTS 340: The Politics of Migration.
    30. INTS 341: Comparative Ecopolitics.
    31. PHIL 230: Environmental Ethics.
    32. PHIL 315: Philosophy of Science & Nature.
    33. PHIL 332: Animal Ethics.
    34. PHIL 401: Ethics of Captivity.
    35. PLAW 206: Urban Politics and Policy.
    36. PLAW 380: Infrastructure Policy 
    37. RELS 101/102: The Bible and the Environment.
    38. RELS 101: The Bible and the City.
    39. RELS 101/102: The Bible and Food.
    40. RELS 102: The Bible, Climate & End of World
    41. RELS 220: Landscape and Ecological Spirituality.
    42. RELS 258. Religion, Nature, and Environmental Crisis.
    43. RELS 300: Religion, Nature, and the Anthropocene.
    44. RELS 301: Socially Engaged Buddhism.
    45. SPAN 318: Ecocritical Perspectives in Latin America.
    46. SPAN 321: Toxic Matters in Latin America and the Latinx World
    47. URBN 310: Intro to Urban Planning & Design
    48. URBN 201: Introduction to Urban Studies.
    49. URBN 235: Principles of Public Health.
    50. URBN 265: Asian Urbanization through Cinema.
    51. URBN 310: Intro to Urban Planning & Design.
    52. URBN 320: Globalization and Cities.
    53. URBN 365: Urban Planning and Design.
  5. ENVS 225: Geographic Information Systems.
  6. ENVS 486: Senior Seminar.
  7. Experiential Learning. Each student in the major will be required to complete an environmentally oriented experience in which they will have a substantial engagement with environmental issues outside the Rhodes campus. There are several ways to complete this requirement, some of which are credit-bearing, but others are not. As with the College’s F11 requirement, students are not required to receive academic credit. The experiential learning component may be fulfilled by a course that counts as one of the electives for the major. Students may enroll in one of the courses listed below (Section A) or receive approval from the Chair of the Program for an alternative experience (Section B).
    1. Students may enroll in one of the following:
      1. ARCE 120: Field Research in Environmental Archaeology.
      2. ARCE 450: Archaeological Field School.
      3. BIOL 314: Environmental Field Study in Namibia.
      4. ENVS 170: Rocky Mountain Field Research (at Teton Science Schools).
      5. ENVS 207: Linking the Local to the Global. (Global Environmental Challenges Semester in Ecuador)
      6. ENVS 450: Independent Research Project. (Semester in Environmental Science Program, Woods Hole)
      7. ENVS 451-452: Research.
      8. ENVS 460: Internship in Environmental Studies and Sciences.
      9. ENVS 495-496: Honors Tutorial.
    2. Experiences other than those listed above must be approved by the chair of the Environmental Studies and Sciences Program and will require a substantial essay, evaluated by the chair of the program, which links the student’s experience with what they learned in the classroom. Experiences may include organized service projects at Rhodes with faculty or staff oversight (such as the Summer Service Fellowships) or study abroad experiences approved by Rhodes with significant environmental content as determined by the chair of the Environmental Studies and Sciences program.

N.B.: Although not required for the major, COMP 141: Computer Science I, is strongly recommended.