Environmental Science

Protect our earth

Are you fascinated by nature’s wonders and passionate about caring for the Earth? By majoring in environmental science, you’ll get ready to become a problem solver and agent of constructive social change. You’ll learn how to make a difference by mitigating environmental degradation, assisting communities that are harmed by pollution, finding ways to clean up environmental damage and preserving natural resources.

The Alverno difference

With zero large lecture halls at Alverno, you’ll never feel like just a number. Our small and interactive classes allow you to build strong relationships with your peers and instructors as well as learn from each other. You’ll collaborate with other STEM students, and you’ll see how much you can achieve when you have faculty like ours actively promoting your success.

Alverno’s curriculum provides you with a strong foundation in the sciences and also in the liberal arts. Our emphasis on using ability-based and reflective learning across the curriculum teaches you to transfer knowledge across disciplines and to better understand how you learn. This makes you a stronger problem solver, which is what environmental science issues require.

Hands-on learning is what we do both in and out of the classroom. All students complete at least one internship, and STEM students have the opportunity to participate in faculty-student research projects, share research at conferences and attend events to meet, network and learn from professional scientists.

Looking for more experiences outside of the classroom? Join one of Alverno’s student organizations — including the Team Green environmental club — to practice your leadership skills and connect with other students. You might also work with faculty on research projects: our students recently traveled to an island near Savannah, Georgia, to study how the microbes in the sediment of a salt marsh participate in nutrient cycling and global warming. Another student did a three-week field experience at Yellowstone National Park. Past students also have presented their work at professional conferences.

As an Alverno environmental science student, you will learn how to:

• Use evidence-based conclusions: You will gather data and analyze both the information and the source to evaluate the validity and the viewpoint. Environmental problems have stakeholders from various perspectives. By looking at the problem from various viewpoints you will make better decisions, based on evidence.
• Find creative solutions: Environmental issues can be complex, but a multi-disciplined background will help you develop adaptive strategies for both existing problems and practices, to mitigate the negative impacts.
• Communicate to diverse audiences: Scientific issues affect everyone, so being able to clearly communicate your findings to general audiences and to scientific audiences is key.

Environmental science majors are ready for careers in:

• Environmental consulting
• Nonprofits and environmental justice advocacy
• Governmental regulatory work
• Corporate sustainability
• Environmental law
• And more!