Environmental Science, B.S.

Required Course Work: Environmental Science Major

The Environmental Science Major consists of 35-40 credits, dependent on advising and the interests of the student. All students must take at least 21 credit hours from the list below at Westfield State University.

Required Environmental Science Courses - 10-11 Credits

One of the Following:

BIOL 0102 - Environmental Biology Credits: 4 or
ENVS 0106 - Introduction to Environmental Analysis Credits: 3 or
GARP 0106 - Introduction to Environmental Analysis Credits: 3

And also:

BIOL 0128 - Introduction to Organismal, Ecological, and Evolutionary Biology Credits: 4
CHEM 0109 - General Chemistry I Credits: 4
CHEM 0111 - General Chemistry II Credits: 4
ENGL 0392 - Business and Technical Writing Credits: 3
GARP 0102 - Physical Geography Credits: 4
GEOL 0101 - Physical Geology with Laboratory Credits: 4

Areas of Study

(22-26 credits, by advisement; choose one required course and one optional course from each category, plus one additional optional course):

Natural Dimensions

Required:

BIOL 0201 - General Ecology Credits: 4 or
BIOL 0202 - Conservation Biology Credits: 4

Options*:

BIOL 0208 - Marine Biology Credits: 4
BIOL 0211 - Plant Biology Credits: 4
BIOL 0212 - Mammalogy Credits: 4
BIOL 0216 - Flora of Massachusetts Credits: 4
BIOL 0217 - Invertebrate Zoology Credits: 4
BIOL 0219 - Aquatic Biology Credits: 4
BIOL 0223 - Microbiology Credits: 4
BIOL 0235 - Ornithology Credits: 4
BIOL 0305 - Plant Communities Credits: 4
BIOL 0325 - Ecosystems Credits: 4
BIOL 0334 - Animal Behavior Credits: 4
ENVS 0317 - Special Topics in Environmental Science Credits: 3
GARP 0230 - Meteorology Credits: 3
GARP 0220 - Landform Evaluation for Planners Credits: 3

Human Dimensions

Required:

GARP 0225 - Legal Issues in Zoning and Planning Credits: 3 or
BIOL 0233 - Environmental Legislation Credits: 3

Options*:

GARP 0217 - Global Issues of the Future Credits: 3
GARP 0219 - Land Use and Resource Planning Credits: 3
GARP 0238 - Environmental Impact Analysis Credits: 3 or
ENVS 0238 - Environmental Impact Analysis Credits: 3
GARP 0352 - Planning Green Sustainable Cities Credits: 3
POLS 0204 - Introduction to Public Administration Credits: 3
POLS 0318 - Public Management Skills Credits: 3
ECON 0320 - Environmental Economics Credits: 3
ECON 0321 - Natural Resource Economics Credits: 3
ENVS 0251 - Water Resources Planning and Management Credits: 4 or
GARP 0251 - Water Resources Planning and Management Credits: 4

Methods/Technology Dimensions

Required:

GARP 0246 - Quantitative Methodsfor Social and Physical Science Credits: 3

Options*:

GARP 0236 - Environmental Analysis II Credits: 3 or
ENVS 0236 - Environmental Analysis II Credits: 3
GARP 0243 - Introduction to Remote Sensing Credits: 3
GARP 0244 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems Credits: 3
GARP 0340 - Data Collection and Analysis Credits: 3
GARP 0344 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems Credits: 3
CHEM 0201 - Organic Chemistry I Credits: 4
CHEM 0203 - Organic Chemistry II Credits: 4
CHEM 0311 - Instrumental Analysis Credits: 4
ENVS 0317 - Special Topics in Environmental Science Credits: 3

Note:

*Equivalent or additional transfer course work may be applied toward completion of Option requirements, pending approval of the department chair.

Senior Thesis/Seminar or Internship (Select one by advisement; 3 credits):

ENVS 0350 - Environmental Science Internship Credits: 3-9
ENVS 0390 - Environmental Science Senior Seminar Credits: 3
ENVS 0399 - Independent Reasearch Credits: 1-3

Recommended Core Course Work:

Humanities Section - 18 Credits

(6 credits taken from each section)

English Composition

(6 credits required for all bachelor’s degree candidates)

ENGL 0101 - English Composition I Credits: 3
ENGL 0102 - English Composition II: Writing About Texts Credits: 3

Literary and Philosophical Analysis - 6 Credits

PHIL 0102 - Introduction to Ethics Credits: 3
PHIL 0110 - Introduction to Philosophy of Science Credits: 3

Appreciation of Fine Arts - 6 Credits

ART 0104 - Design Fundamentals Credits: 3
Second course to be selected by advisement Credits: 3

Social Sciences Section - 12 Credits

(3 credits must be taken from the US History and Government area)

State and Local Government

POLS 0101 - American National Government Credits: 3

Social Understanding - 9 Credits

GARP 0101 - World Regional Geography Credits: 3
SOCI 0101 - Principles of Sociology Credits: 3
ECON 0101 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credits: 3 or
ECON 0102 - Principles of Microeconomics Credits: 3

Math/Applied Analytical Reasoning - 6 Credits

(3 credits must be from the Traditional Mathematics area)

Traditional Mathematics

MATH 0104 - Pre-Calculus Credits: 3 or
MATH 0108 - Elementary Statistics Credits: 3

Applied Analytical Reasoning

GARP 0246 - Quantitative Methodsfor Social and Physical Science Credits: 3

Diversity Section - 6 Credits

(3 credits taken from each area)

Global: selected by advisement - 3 Credits

United States: selected by advisement - 3 Credits

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in the Common Core .