Environmental Science (ENV) major

What you will study

Alverno’s Environmental Science Bachelor of Science degree will provide a strong background in math and science, including research and communication skills, and will allow students to choose electives that best fit their career goals while also clearly connecting to environmental science skill sets. Students can prepare for further studies in graduate school with rigorous science and math courses, or for careers in public or private sectors, including nonprofits.

Careers in environmental science span fields ranging from environmental justice activism and creating public policy to planning and managing corporate sustainability programs to environmental research to conservation and restoration work. Environmental science students have a broad range of science courses and other electives to choose from, depending on their areas of interest. Course work in environmental science prepares students to view the interconnections both among the sciences and within the social, political, technological and cultural institutions that create and enact environmental policies.

Students will learn about the physical forces that shape our world (physical, chemical, and biological processes), and the disciplines and perspectives framing environmental issues. Learning to support arguments with evidence and to communicate scientific findings to a broader community in order to create change (i.e. for environmental justice) are essential features of any career in environmental science. As such, the three advanced outcomes of the major include 1) effective communication, listening, and persuasion, 2) data gathering/analysis, and 3) problem management/adaptive strategy development.

Environmental science requires course work in chemistry, biology, and earth science, in order to prepare students to draw from multiple disciplines to explore the complexity and interconnected nature of environmental issues. Students learn to formulate viable approaches to environmental issues, design and conduct environmental research using appropriate technology supported by laboratory and field data, and to communicate their findings to various audiences using language, technology, concepts, models, and strategies appropriate to the discipline. Effective visual communication of numerical, spatial, and temporal data is especially important. Finally, students will professionally apply their discipline-based learning in one or more off-campus settings.

The Academic Map should be used for planning purposes only. All official graduation requirements are listed on a student's Academic Evaluation. Course sequence is subject to change. All students must complete a minimum of 120 credits to earn a Bachelors Degree.