Environmental Science, B.S.

The Environmental Science Major consists 53-68 credits, depending on advising and the interests of the student. Courses denoted with an asterisk (*) also satisfy the University’s Common Core requirements. All students must take at least 21 credit hours from the list below at Westfield State University. A minimum grade point average of 2.7 in the Environmental Science major is required to be eligible to graduate with a degree in Environmental Science.

Required Environmental Science Courses (26-28 credits)

ENVS 0105 - Natural History and Field Techniques Credits: 3
ENVS 0180 - Introductory Environmental Science Seminar Credits: 1
MATH 0123 - Mathematical Methods in the Natural Sciences Credits: 3 *
Choose one:
ENVS 0101 - Principles of Environmental Science Credits: 3 * or
BIOL 0102 - Environmental Biology Credits: 4 *
Choose one:
ENVS 0225 - Natural Resource Conservation and Management Credits: 4 or
ENVS 0241 - Restoration Ecology Credits: 4 or
BIOL 0202 - Conservation Biology Credits: 4
Choose one:
BIOL 0233 - Environmental Legislation Credits: 3 or
GPS 0225 - Legal Issues in Zoning and Planning Credits: 3
Choose one:
ENVS 0330 - Environmental Data Analysis Credits: 4 or
GPS 0246 - Quantitative Methods for Social and Physical Science Credits: 3 *
Choose one:
ENVS 0240 - Writing for Environmental Science Credits: 3 or
ENGL 0392 - Business and Technical Writing Credits: 3

Required Fundamental Lab Science Classes (15-16 credits)

BIOL 0128 - General Biology II Credits: 4 *
CHEM 0109 - General Chemistry I Credits: 4 *
Choose one:
CHEM 0111 - General Chemistry II Credits: 4 * or
ENVS 0210 - Environmental Chemistry, Toxicology and Pollution Credits: 3
Choose one:
GPS 0102 - Physical Geography Credits: 4 * or
GEOL 0101 - Physical Geology with Laboratory Credits: 4 *

Areas of Study - Dimensions

12-16 credits, by advisement; must choose one from each of the three dimensions, plus one additional course from any of the three areas.

Upper-Level Course Requirements

Pick at least 2 courses from the following list. Please note that these may also be used to satisfy other requirements in the major.

BIOL 0325 - Ecosystems Credits: 4
BIOL 0340 - Forest Ecology Credits: 3
ENVS 0300 - Wetlands Assessment and Planning Credits: 4
ENVS 0309 - Wildlife Ecology and Management Credits: 4
ENVS 0311 - Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Credits: 3
ENVS 0317 - Special Topics in Environmental Science Credits: 1-4
ENVS 0330 - Environmental Data Analysis Credits: 4
ENVS 0341 - Ecological Restoration Credits: 4
ENVS 0350 - Environmental Science Internship Credits: 3-9
ENVS 0352 - Planning Green Sustainable Cities Credits: 3
ENVS 0399 - Independent Research Credits: 1-3
GPS 0344 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems Credits: 3

Capstone Senior Thesis/Seminar

Senior status is required.

ENVS 0390 - Environmental Science Senior Seminar Credits: 3

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 .