Major Requirements
The Environmental Studies major has four major components that together form the basis for a robust background for our students.
- Introductory Courses: These courses are meant to introduce students to the range of topics and approaches utilized in studying environmental issues.
- Intermediate Courses: These courses are designed to give students an overview of the important texts that scholars and practitioners use as the basis of their understanding of environmental issues and to give students a “real world” experience working in the environmental field. The courses are also meant to allow students to reflect on their goals as Environmental Studies majors.
- Capstone Course: The ENVI 488 - Sr Seminar in Environmental St course is intended to provide students the opportunity to utilize their background in environmental studies to address an environmental issue as part of an interdisciplinary team. A student may also fulfill their capstone requirement by participating in ENVI 644 - Honors Independent .
- Disciplinary or Interdisciplinary Emphasis: The emphasis allows students to gain depth in a particular disciplinary approach to examining environmental issues or in a particular environmental theme or problem considered from an interdisciplinary perspective. The emphasis includes a series of six courses to provide depth and a methods course to insure students have the appropriate “tools” to implement their area of study.
The Environmental Studies major consists of 9 - 10 courses (40 credits) in environmental studies and related subjects plus a 7-course emphasis. Since some double counting of courses is allowed, a minimum of 15 courses (60 credits) is required for the major.
The ten course requirement is distributed as follows:
Introductory Courses: Must take 3
Required Environmental Studies Courses: 4 courses
Distribution Courses: Introductory environmental studies courses may be distributed as follows:
- One Natural Science course (beyond the required introductory course): Pre-approved courses include ENVI 120 - Environmental Geology , ENVI 130 - Science of Renewable Energy , ENVI 133 - Environmental Science , ENVI 140 - The Earth’s Climate System , ENVI 144 - Lakes, Streams and Rivers , ENVI 150 - Climate and Society , ENVI 160 - Dynamic Earth and Global Change , and ENVI 285 - Ecology and ENVI 194 , ENVI 294 , ENVI 394 (natural science topic courses). Other natural science courses require prior approval by the Environmental Studies Department Chair.
- One Social Science Course: Pre-approved courses include ENVI 172 - Psychology in the Material World , ENVI 225 - 100 Words for Snow: Language and Nature , ENVI 231 - Environmental Economics and Policy , ENVI 232 - People, Agriculture and the Environment , ENVI 252 - Water and Power , ENVI 258 - Geog of Environmental Hazards , ENVI 259 - Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic , ENVI 270 - Psychology of Sustainable Behavior , ENVI 333 - Economics of Global Food Problems , ENVI 335 - Science and Citizenship , ENVI 365 - Environmental Anthropology , ENVI 368 - Sustainable Development and Global Future , ENVI 370 - Education and the Challenge of Globalization , ENVI 375 - Rural Landscapes and Livelihoods , ENVI 477 - Comparative Environment and Development Studies , ENVI 478 - Cities of the 21st Century , ECON 119 - Principles of Economics when taught by Amy Damon or Sarah West, and ENVI 194 , ENVI 294 , ENVI 394 (social science topic courses). Other social science courses require prior approval by the Environmental Studies Department Chair.
- One Humanities Course: Pre-approved courses include ENVI 221 - Environmental Ethics , ENVI 236 - Consumer Nation: American Consumer Culture in the 20th Century , ENVI 237 - Environmental Justice , ENVI 241 - Food, Environment, and Society in 20th Century America , ENVI 260 - Science Fiction: From Matrix Baby Cannibals to Brave New Worlds , ENVI 262 - Studies in Literature and the Natural World , ENVI 275 - Outdoor Environmental Education , ENVI 340 - US Urban Environmental History , ENVI 343 - Imperial Nature: The United States and the Global Environment , ENVI 345 - Car Country: The Automobile and the American Environment , and ENVI 194 , ENVI 294 , and ENVI 394 (humanities topic courses). Other humanities courses require prior approval by the Environmental Studies Department Chair.
Capstone Course: The senior capstone requirement in Environmental Studies will be satisfied by completing ENVI 488 - Sr Seminar in Environmental St or ENVI 644 - Honors Independent .
Disciplinary or Interdisciplinary emphasis of seven courses:
Disciplinary Option
- 6 courses in a discipline, 2 must be 300 or 400 level courses
- 1 methods course related to the focus of the emphasis
*Disciplinary emphases in departments other than those listed below must be approved by the chair.
Interdisciplinary Option
- 6 courses organized around a clear theme or environmental problem, 2 must be 300 or 400 level courses
- 1 methods course related to the focus of the emphasis
*All interdisciplinary emphasis plans should be designed in consultation with members of the Environmental Studies Department and must be approved by the Chair.
*Introductory environmental studies courses may not be counted.
Preapproved Emphases
Disciplinary Emphases
Anthropology
Biology
Chemistry
Economics
Educational Studies
The above will also fulfill requirements for a minor in Educational Studies. The added course to complete an Educational Studies major will be EDUC 624 - Internship or Independent Study in Environmental Education.
Geography
- ENVI 232 - People, Agriculture and the Environment
- ENVI 258 - Geog of Environmental Hazards or ENVI 252 - Water and Power
- ENVI 477 - Comparative Environment and Development Studies or ENVI 478 - Cities of the 21st Century
- GEOG 111 - Human Geography of Global Issues
- 1 regional Geography course (Geography of Africa/Geography of Latin America/Geography of US and Canada and other regional Geography courses as offered)
- 1 - 200 or 300 level geography course (e.g.: Medical Geography, Urban Geography, Urban Social Geography, Advanced GIS, Discipline and Methods, Urban GIS, World Urbanization, Environmental GIS, Remote Sensing, Health GIS)
- Methods: GEOG 225 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Geology
A total of 6 courses in the Geology Department must be taken to complete an emphasis in Geology. These courses should be selected after discussion with a faculty member in the Geology Department. There is no single required course, but we expect at least 3 courses will be at or above the 200-level. Note: A Geology minor is 5 courses, with GEOL 160 and GEOL 165 required.
No more than 3 courses can be taken at the 100-level.
Recommended courses:
At least 3 courses at the 200+ level.
Recommended courses:
1 required Methods course - choose from:
History
- At least 4 of the 7 required courses should be cross-listed between history and ES (or otherwise have a clear environmental focus).
- Methods: Any of Prof. Chris Wells’ 300-level courses or HIST 379 - The Study of History
Mathematics/Computer Science
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- (if a student tests out of this course, they may choose another course from the list of electives below)
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- Any 2 of the following with the same prefix (COMP or MATH):
Philosophy
Physics
One 400 level course required.
Political Science
3 required courses:
4 courses from this list depending on the student’s interest in domestic or international issues (others may be applicable):
Psychology
Interdisciplinary Emphases
Climate Science and Policy
Consensus is growing on the national and international scale that climate change is real and urgent action is needed. However, responses differ among policy makers and other actors about the methods we should use to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. This interdisciplinary emphasis examines the climate change problem and the most effective policy and development options for carbon mitigation strategies. Students can opt for a emphasis that weighs more heavily on either the science or policy dimensions.
4 required courses:
2 elective courses:
1 required Methods course - choose from:
Potential Study Away Options:
- HECUA - Minnesota - Environmental Sustainability: Science, Public Policy and Community Action
- SIS - Iceland summer program
- Macalester South Africa Program
- SEA-Semester at Sea (Oceans and Climate voyage or other)
Communication Studies
Communication of environmental ideas and beliefs by individuals, institutions, societies, and cultures are central to the definition and solution of environmental problems. This emphasis focuses on how environmental messages and media (traditional and social media) are crafted, distributed, and received. This includes a wide range of themes including journalism, social marketing, risk communication and collaboration and conflict.
4 required courses:
2 elective courses:
- - Intro to Digital Photography
- ART 299 - Film Photography (St. Kate’s)
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- COJO 372 - Environmental Communications (with Mark Neuzil at UST)
- COJO 480 - Communication Ethics (with Mark Neuzil at UST)
1 required Methods course:
NOTE: It is understood that students will seek out opportunities to develop environmental themes in their project/portfolio work in the non-ES courses.
Community and Global Health
The emphasis in Community and Global Health (CGH) aims to connect the Environmental Studies major with the College’s Concentration in Community and Global Health. Environmental conditions are known to have a significant impact on human health. Students in the CGH emphasis receive an introduction to the issues involved in health issues and then can take a broad interdisciplinary approach to these issues or tailor the emphasis with a focus on science, social science or humanities.
3 required courses:
Any 3 of the Following:
1 required Methods course:
Environmental Justice
Poor and minority populations have historically borne the brunt of environmental inequalities in the United States, suffering disproportionately from the effects of pollution, dispossession of land, resource depletion, dangerous jobs, limited access to common resources, and exposure to environmental hazards. This interdisciplinary emphasis focuses on the ways that race, ethnicity, class, and gender have shaped the political and economic dimensions of environmental injustices, along with more recent political movements pushing to rectify environmental injustices and to develop new possibilities for understanding the human place in nature.
3 required core courses:
3 elective core courses:
1 required Methods course - choose from:
Environmental Science
From water scarcity to toxics exposure to climate change, scientific understanding is a crucial component of assessing and addressing the major environmental issues facing the world. This interdisciplinary emphasis provides a background in the physical and natural sciences most closely tied to environmental issues. Students also acquire further specialization in one area of their choosing.
5 required core courses:
3 elective core courses:
- At least three other Science courses within one discipline (BIOL, CHEM, GEOL, PHYS)
Food Systems
The food system emphasis allows focus on an interconnected set of biological, technological, economic, and social issues that connect to how food systems work. Food system topics include small and large scale food production, access and consumption issues as well as a concern for the biophysical properties to agroecological systems.
3 required courses:
3 electives from this list in consultation with your advisor:
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- - Dirt and Development
- - Food, Env. and Society
- (Amy Damon - there are Econ prereqs)
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1 Method courses - choose from:
- TBD in consultation with your advisor.
International Environment and Development
This interdisciplinary emphasis focuses on the concept of sustainable development by tracing historical and contemporary understandings of wealth and resource distribution within and between countries. These courses provide students with a grounding in the economic, political, and cultural conceptions of development, focusing on states in the Global South.
1 required course:
5 elective core courses:
1 required Methods course - choose from:
Sustainable Design
By marshaling natural resources in creative ways and on an unprecedented scale, industrial nations have developed new methods of converting the raw materials of nature–wood and metal, soil and water, coal and oil–into an economy capable of delivering fantastic comfort, abundance, and convenience to a steadily growing number of people. Yet the material advances of the industrial revolution are also directly responsible for many of the most serious environmental problems that now confront humanity. This interdisciplinary emphasis combines coursework at Macalester and DIS - Copenhagen to develop the skills of sustainable design: the active attempt to re-design the material world in ways that mitigate or eliminate the negative environmental impact of the buildings, products, and industrial systems on which the modern world relies.
Macalester