Environmental Studies - Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The BA in Environmental Studies, offered by the Department of Environmental Studies (ENVS), is an interdisciplinary degree program that combines and integrates different types of knowledge to address the complex environmental, resource and sustainability challenges in coupled human-environment systems. This is accomplished by addressing the grand challenges related to sustaining the planet and its people. How is it possible to meet the needs of a growing human population while sustaining climate, air and water systems, natural resources, species assemblages and ecosystems on land and in the oceans? How can the well-being of those at risk of global environmental change in an unequal world be improved while not compromising future generations? Our research expertise includes food systems, dimensions of global change, conservation biology, restoration ecology, ecosystem biogeochemistry, environmental governance, science and policy interactions, environmental inequality and climate justice, environmental ethics, sustainable livelihoods and behavioral dimensions of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Undergraduate students acquire an awareness of the complexity of factors relating to human interactions with the environment. They become acutely aware that environmental problems have both human and biophysical components, and gain knowledge of the general principles of human-environmental interactions, global habitability, environmental change and sustainable societies. The ENVS major includes introductory coursework in natural sciences, economics and mathematics; intermediate coursework in policy, ethics, economics and writing; and advanced coursework offered by several departments and programs across CU Boulder.

Requirements

Students must complete:

• The general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Foundational courses in sciences, policy, ethics, economics, writing and math.
• 12 credit hours of upper-division coursework to specialize in an area of interest.
• An internship or field course.
• A cornerstone course.
• A capstone course.

Required Courses and Credits

Approved courses that fulfill the major requirements are listed on the program's curriculum webpage. To explore suggested focus areas and learn how to select courses that align with specific interests, visit the ENVS Guidance Documents webpage.

Additional Information

Application Requirement

Application courses aim to help students do one or more of the following:

1. Develop specific, practical skills,
2. Acquire practical, ‘hands-on’ experience, and/or
3. Apply their knowledge and skills in "real-world" contexts. Many application classes are taught outside of the classroom (e.g., as field courses, internships, or Education Abroad classes) but some applications classes are taught in the classroom but engage in real-world projects with clients or stakeholders or teach practical skills.

Cornerstone Requirement

Cornerstone courses aim to synthesize knowledge and skills gained in lower-division environmental courses. These courses are all taught within the ENVS department and are one of the core opportunities in the ENVS curriculum for students to engage with environmental challenges and solutions from an applied, interdisciplinary approach to the human dimensions of environmental change that integrates the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Cornerstone courses engage students in an in-depth study of a specific topic (e.g., climate change, energy, natural resources, or sustainability). Students become conversant with how science, policy and values can be integrated into environmental problem solving and gain competencies in critically engaging with proposed solutions to environmental challenges. Cornerstone courses are intended for juniors and must be completed at CU Boulder. These courses help students to prepare for specialization and capstone courses.

Capstone Requirement

Capstone courses aim to synthesize knowledge and skills gained throughout the ENVS curriculum. These courses are all taught within the ENVS department and are the culminating opportunity in the ENVS curriculum for students to engage with environmental challenges and solutions from an applied, interdisciplinary, approach to the human dimensions of environmental change that integrates the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Capstone courses engage students in an in-depth study of a specific topic (e.g., climate change, energy, natural resources, or sustainability). These courses contain a project-based experience, whereby students work alone or in groups to develop a significant capstone project (i.e., a project that is undertaken over several weeks or the entire semester). This project can be more theoretical and scholarly, or more applied. Students become conversant with how science, policy, and values can be integrated into environmental problem solving and gain competencies in critically engaging with proposed solutions to environmental challenges. Capstone courses are intended for seniors and must be completed at CU Boulder.

An alternative to completing an ENVS capstone course is to complete a department-approved Honors Thesis project. The thesis option requires that students work closely with an ENVS faculty member to conduct an original research project: designing a study and methodology, collecting and analyzing data, writing up their findings into a written thesis, and defending that thesis to a committee of faculty. There are particular requirements to conduct an Honors thesis; students should see the ENVS Honors webpage and consult with their advisor.

Specialization Requirement

Specialization courses allow students to focus on one aspect of environmental studies and develop a greater depth of understanding on a topic. Specialization courses focus on one or more specific aspects of either the human dimensions of environmental change, or  environmental science. Specialization courses are all upper-division (i.e., 3000- or 4000-level) courses.

Students have extensive latitude in the specialization courses they choose and can select specialization classes that in aggregate help them to develop expertise in an area of focus that meets their interests and goals. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credits of specialization courses. Upper division courses that fulfill the intermediate natural science, intermediate social science, policy, application, cornerstone and capstone requirements may apply toward the specialization requirement if those areas are already fulfilled with another course. No course may apply to two areas in the ENVS major.

Four-Year Plan of Study

Through the required coursework for the major, students will complete all 12 credits of both the Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences, including the lab, areas of the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement as well 3 credits of the Arts and Humanities part of this requirement and the QRMS component of the Gen Ed Skills Requirement.

Learning Outcomes 

Students will be able to:

• Integrate scientific principles of earth systems and human-environment interactions, understanding of perspectives and values, and practical responses in the study of environmental problems and proposed solutions.
• Evaluate different sources, claims and data for environmental topics and construct their own arguments.
• Produce an independent research-based analysis of an environmental issue.
• Evaluate contrasting perspectives on and values for environmental issues.
• Generate effective communication about environmental topics in written and oral format.
• Evaluate how environmental movements, policies, decision-making processes, benefits, information and burdens are shaped by and influence systems of exploitation and inequality.

Curriculum Principles

For the classes that environmental studies faculty teach, we strive to build student skills and knowledge from freshman to senior year through designing a curriculum that deliberately scaffolds skills and knowledge. This will be accomplished through communication amongst the faculty as facilitated by the curriculum committee to make sure that each individual class is serving students’ learning in light of the larger program goals. Curriculum mapping and analysis of assessments will help to ensure that we are delivering the curriculum we intend and serving the students’ educational goals. For classes that are taught by other departments we will review and align major requirements so that those classes serve the overall learning outcomes of the major and the students’ educational progress.

Curriculum Goal Statement

The environmental studies undergraduate major is focused on training students rigorously in the multiple dimensions of environmental change through courses that integrate scientific understanding of human-environment interactions, practical responses to environmental problems, and the values that shape our decisions and behavior.