Please pay close attention to the courses listed here and the explanations of which requirements are filled by each course. The information here is more on target than the information you will get anywhere else (including from a degree audit since the computer does not know which course substitutions can be made).

Please note that since the “additional courses/supporting courses” requirement tends to create the most confusion, those courses are listed in a separate section—read the list of courses carefully so you know what counts where, and you should review your selections with your adviser.

Required Courses

BIOL 110: Basic Concepts and Biodiversity (4 credits)

Also fulfills a general education in the natural sciences (GN) requirement.

ECON 102 or 104: Microeconomics/Macroeconomics (3 credits)

Also fulfills a general education requirement in the social sciences (GS).

ENVST 100N: Visions of Nature (3 credits)

Counts as a general education course (GN) for non-majors only. This is the “gateway” course for Environmental Studies, an interdisciplinary look at the natural world, an introduction to environmental science, art, literature, history, ethics, policy, law, and economics. Field trips are a required component of the course.

INTSP 370: Internship Preparation (1 credit)

This course will be very helpful in helping you find, secure, and prepare for an internship, including completing the online proposal. If you are planning on taking an internship anytime in the next year, you MUST take this course, it is required before taking ENVST 395.

ENVST 395: Internship (3 credits)

If you plan on doing an internship anytime next academic year, you should get in touch with Dr. Emili to have your internship approved and Dr. Dolney who will work with you on the academic requirements.

GEOG 260: Geographic Information in a Changing World: Introduction to GIScience (3 credits)

This course will substitute for the required GEOG 160.

GEOSC 1: Physical Geology (3 credits)

STAT 200: Statistics (4 credits) OR STAT 250: Biostatistics (3 credits)

HIST 453: US Environmental History (3 credits)

NOTE: PLSC 235: Environmental Politics (3 credits) is not being offered for fall 2025.

Recommended Courses that fulfill the "Additional/Supporting Courses" Requirements

The courses that fill this requirement are specific. Not any social science course counts—it has to be one that is relevant to the environmental studies major (because it deals with human relations to nature or environmental issues, for example). For bachelor of arts majors, two of the three selections in the additional courses (one each in natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities) must be at the 400 level. For bachelor of science majors, you need not one but two courses in natural sciences, both at the 400 level.

Natural Sciences Requirement: Also useful for those pursuing a Biology Minor

  • BIOL 435: Ecology of Lakes and Streams (3 credits)
  • BIOL 472: Human Physiology (3 credits). The 1-credit lab for this course is BIOL 473: Laboratory in Mammalian Physiology.

Social Sciences Requirement

  • AN SC 215: Pets and Society (3 credits)
  • ANTH 45N: Cultural Diversity: A Global Perspective (US, IL) (3 credits)
  • GEOSC 212N: Earthquakes and Human History (3 credits)
  • METEO 3: Weather Revealed: Introductory Meteorology (3 credits)

Arts and Humanities Requirement

  • ARCH 170N: Introduction to Sustainable Architecture (Web) (GA, GN) (3 credits). This is a web-based class offered through University Park with seats saved for ENVST majors.
  • HIST 12, Pennsylvania History, US (3 credits)
  • HIST 110: Introduction to Global Environmental History, GH, IL (3 credits)
  • PHIL 233: Ethics and the Design of Technology (3 credits)
  • ENGL 424: Creative Writing and the Natural World (3 credits)

Courses required only in the ENVBS degree program

  • BIOL 230W: Biology: Molecules and Cells (3 credits): This OR BIOL 222 OR BIOL 240.
  • CHEM 110/111: Chemical Principles I/Experimental Chemistry I (3 credits/1 credit)
  • CHEM 202: Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (3 credits)
  • MATH 110: Techniques of Calculus I (4 credits) OR Math 140: Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (4 credits)
  • PHYS 250: Introductory Physics I (4 credits)

Interesting Electives Focused on Environmental Themes

  • BISC 3: Environmental Science (3 credits)
  • EGEE 101: Energy and the Environment, GN (3 credits)