Environmental Studies

Full Time Faculty: Louisa Bradtmiller, Dan Hornbach (Chair), Roopali Phadke, Chris Wells

Part Time Faculty: Jerald Dosch, Christie Manning, Marianne Milligan

Affiliated Faculty: Holly Barcus (Geography), Terry Boychuk (Sociology), Eric Carter (Geography), Amy Damon (Economics), Mark Davis (Biology), Jim Doyle (Physics & Astronomy), Arjun Guneratne (Anthropology), Ruthanne Kurth-Schai (Educational Studies), Keith Kuwata (Chemistry), Scott Legge (Anthropology), Kelly MacGregor (Geology), Diane Michelfelder (Philosophy), Jamie Monson (History), William Moseley (Geography), Suzanne Savanick Hansen (College Sustainability Manager), Dan Trudeau (Geography), Sarah West (Economics)

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary department based on a holistic understanding of environmental issues occurring at the local, national, and global level. The department teaches students to use the tools and perspectives of the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences to understand the causes and consequences of environmental problems and to develop solutions to these problems.

The learning goals for our students include:

The ability to think systematically about complicated problems.
The ability to recognize and communicate with diverse kinds of specialists.
The ability to understand the premises of diverse disciplines.
The ability to appreciate the nature of scientific uncertainty and controversy.
The capacity for consensus building and appreciation of group dynamics.
The ability to appreciate the nature of our species, spirituality, aesthetics, and relationships and differences among cultures.

Consistent with Macalester’s mission statement, which emphasizes internationalism, and in recognition of the global nature of many environmental issues, the faculty encourages students to participate in off-campus national and international programs of study and research.

General Distribution Requirements

ENVI 120 , ENVI 130 , ENVI 133 , ENVI 140 , ENVI 144 , ENVI 150 , ENVI 160 , and ENVI 285 count toward the general distribution requirement in mathematics and natural science. ENVI 172 , ENVI 215 , ENVI 225 , ENVI 231 , ENVI 232 , ENVI 252 , ENVI 258 , ENVI 259 , ENVI 270 , ENVI 333 , ENVI 335 , ENVI 365 , ENVI 368 , ENVI 370 , ENVI 375 , ENVI 477 , and ENVI 478 count toward the general distribution requirement in social science. ENVI 221 , ENVI 234 , ENVI 236 , ENVI 237 , ENVI 260 , ENVI 262 , ENVI 280 , ENVI 340 , ENVI 343 , and ENVI 345 count toward the distribution requirement in humanities.

General Education Requirements

Courses that meet the general education requirements in writing, quantitative thinking, internationalism and U.S identities and differences will be posted on the Registrar’s web page in advance of registration for each semester. Additional information general distribution requirement and the general education requirements can be found in the graduation requirements section of this catalog.

Advanced Placement

Students who received a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement (AP) environmental science exam will receive 4 credits towards the College’s graduation requirement. Students may then choose to opt out of the introductory courses ENVI 133 - Environmental Science or ENVI 140 - The Earth’s Climate System . However, students must still complete two Natural Science courses (beyond the required introductory course) from the approved list of courses below. One of these courses must be a laboratory based course.

Honors Program

The Environmental Studies Department participates in the honors program. Eligibility requirements, application procedures, and specific project expectations for the Environmental Studies Department are available from either the department office or the Director of Academic Programs.

Topics Courses

ENVI 194 , ENVI 294 , ENVI 394 , ENVI 494

Topics are occasional courses, offered by instructors at their own initiative or in response to student requests. They will be announced at registration. Topics courses, depending on their content, may satisfy major requirements or college distribution requirements. This will be noted in the course description available for registration. (4 credits)

Independent Study

The department offers independent study options in the form of independent projects, internships, preceptorships and Honors independent projects. For more information contact the department and review the Curriculum section of the catalog.