Environmental Sciences B.S.

All students must meet the Degree and University Requirements.

All students must meet the Catamount Core Curriculum Requirements.

All students must meet the Rubenstein Core Curriculum Requirements

Students in the ENSC major must choose one of the following concentrations or a Program Director approved self-design concentration (12-15 credits): 

Agriculture and the Environment

Conservation Biology and Biodiversity

Ecological Design

Environmental Analysis and Assessment

Environmental Biology

Environmental Geology

Environmental Health

Global Environment and Climate Change

Water Resources

Self Designed Concentration

Major Requirements

A total of 120 credits is required for the degree.

Requirement DescriptionCredits
BCOR 1400Exploring Biology 14
or BIOL 1400 Principles of Biology 1
or BIOL 1000 AP Biology 1
BCOR 1450Exploring Biology 24
or BIOL 1450 Principles of Biology 2
or BIOL 1005 AP Biology 2
CHEM 1400General Chemistry 14
CHEM 1450General Chemistry 24
CHEM 1580Intro Organic Chemistry w/lab 14
or CHEM 2580 Organic Chemistry 1
ENSC 2990Special Topics (When offered as Integrated Earth Systems Lab)4
or GEOL 1400 Environmental Geology
or ALE 2610 Fundamentals of Soil Science
MATH 1212Fundamentals of Calculus I3
or MATH 1234 Calculus I
MATH 1224Fundamentals of Calculus II3
or MATH 1248 Calculus II
NR 2100Environmental Communication3
NR 2400Applied Environ Statistics3-4
or NR 2401 Intro Environmental Statistics
NR 2430Intro to Geog Info Systems3
ENSC 1010Intro Environmental Sci3
ENSC 1090Orientation to Env Sciences 21
ENSC 2300Global Environmental Assessmnt3
ENSC 3600Pollutant Mvmt/Air,Land&Water4
ENSC 4010Recovery&Restor Altered Ecosys4
ENSC 4020Applied Envir Assess Analysis4
1

Students interested in concentrations such as environmental analysis and assessment should consider taking more advanced courses, such as CHEM 2580/CHEM 2585.

2

Internal and external transfer students to ENSC are exempt from ENSC 1090

Concentration Requirements

Environmental Science majors may apply up to 3 credits of  internship, research, or independent study experience toward their concentration  requirements if approved by the Program Director. Experiences must include learning objectives and activities directly related to the student's major concentration and include substantive deliverables that demonstrate a depth of academic knowledge and disciplinary practice.1

Agriculture and the Environment Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
Choose 12-15 credits from the following courses:12-15
Intro to Agroecology
Entomology & Pest Mgmt
Weed Ecology & Management
Plant Pathology
Sust Veg Crops Production
Forage and Pasture Mgmnt
Permaculture
Soil Fertility & Conservation
Advanced Agroecology
Eco Frontiers in Agroecology
Biological Control
Soil Morph and Land Use
Chemistry of Soil & Water
Soil Ecology
Soil/Water Pollution/Bioremed
The Real Cost of Food
Agricultural Policy and Ethics
Human Health in the Food Syst
Farm to Table: Food Sys
Human Health in the Food Syst
Plant Systematics
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

Conservation Biology and Biodiversity Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
WFB 3240Conservation Biology4
Choose 8-11 additional credits from the following courses:8-11
Soil Ecology
Zoos, Exotics & Endang Species
Wildlife Hlth & Consrvation
Genetics
Climate Change Genetics
Plant-Animal Interactions
Community Ecology
Mammalogy
Population Genetics
Dendrology
Forest Ecosystem Analysis
Wildland Fire
Forest Ecosystem Health
Sustain Mgmt Forest Ecosys
Landscape Restor & Leadership
Land Management for Wildlife 2
Plant Systematics
How Plants Can Save the World
Ecological Invasions
Global Change Ecology
Traditional Ecol. Knowledge
Biodiversity Law
Special Topics (When offered as AI for Ecology)
Landscape Ecology
Field Ecology Practicum
Ecosystem Ecology
Stream Ecology
Wildlife Conservation
Methods Fisheries and Wildlife
Ornithology
Field Ornithology
Herpetology
Field Herpetology
Prin of Wildlife Management
Wildlife Disease Ecology
Human Wildlife Coexistence
Fisheries Biology & Techniques
Special Topics (When offered Wetlands Wildlife, WFB 3710)
Ichthyology
Fisheries Management
Wildlife Behavior
Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

2

May not double count NR 4063 for both RSENR Core and concentration requirements. 

Ecological Design Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
SEP 3880Ecological Design & Living Tec3
Choose 9-12 additional credits from the following courses:9-12
Greenhouse Operations & Mgmt
Landscape Design Fundamentals
Landscape Design Studio
Permaculture
Soil Fertility & Conservation
Ecological Landscape Design
Soil Ecology
Soil/Water Pollution/Bioremed
Energy Alternatives
Sustainable Community Dev
Community Org & Development
Economics of Sustainability
Community Design Studio
Energy Policy and Economics
Environmental Systems
Water Quality Engineering
Geoenvironmental Engineering
Special Topics (When offered as Energy System Transitions)
Ecological Restor Politics 2
Ecotourism
Outdoor Recreation Planning
Sustainability Science
Energy and Climate Law
Legal Aspects of Envi Planning
Advanced Ecological Design
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

2

May not double count NR 4065 for RSENR Core and concentration requirements.

Environmental Analysis and Assessment Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
Choose a minimum of 12-15 credits from the following courses:12-15
Soil Morph and Land Use
Chemistry of Soil & Water
Fundamentals of Biochemistry
Environmental Systems
Water Quality Engineering
Environmental Quanti. Analysis
Quantitative Analysis
Inorganic Chemistry
Physical Chem for Life Science
Instrumental Analysis
Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
Advanced Physical Chemistry
Nat Res Ecol and Assessment 1
Nat Res Ecol and Assessment 2
Environmental Geochemistry
Geochemistry of Natural Waters
Methods in Microbial Ecology
Environmental Microbiology
Remote Sensing
Research Methods
Environ. Consulting Capstone 2
Field Ecology Practicum
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

2

May not double count NR 4064 for both RSENR Core and concentration requirements.  

Environmental Biology Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
Choose 12-15 additional credits from the following courses:12-15
Soil Ecology
Ecology and Evolution
Genetics
Climate Change Genetics
Vertebrate Zoology
Plant-Animal Interactions
Community Ecology
Evolution
Population Genetics
Methods in Microbial Ecology
Plant Physiology
Plant Systematics
Biology of Fungi
Ecological Invasions
Global Change Ecology
Field Ecology Practicum
Landscape Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
Limnology
Stream Ecology
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

Environmental Geology Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
GEOL 1400Environmental Geology 24
Choose 8-11 additional credits from the following courses: 8-11
Soil Morph and Land Use
Chemistry of Soil & Water
Soil/Water Pollution/Bioremed
Geoenvironmental Engineering
Earth Through Time
Topics in Envt & Surface Geo
Environmental Geochemistry
Environmental Geochem w/lab
Geohealth
Geocomputing
Earth Materials w/lab
Geomorphology
Field Geology
Rock Chronicles
Geochemistry of Natural Waters
Geomaterial Analysis
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

2

Cannot double count GEOL 1400 towards ENSC major and concentration requirements.

Environmental Health Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
SEP 2070Human Health & the Environment3
Choose 9-12 additional credits from the following courses:9-12
Global Health Devel & Diversit
Foundations of Global Health
Anthro Research Global Health
Fundamentals of Biochemistry
Adv Biochem of Human Disease
Neurobiology
Environmental Systems
Human Health in the Food Syst
Issues in Women's Health
Introduction to Public Health
Epidemics: Dynam of Inf Diseas
Fndns of Global Health
Rsrch Methods in Public Health
Health Communication
Epi, Pub Hlth & Emerg Disease
Microbiol & Infectious Disease
Human Health in the Food Syst
Health and Sustainability
Toxicology
Population Health Research
Environmental Justice
Women's Health and Environment
Arctic Env, Society & Politics
Med Biostat&Epidemiology
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

Global Environment and Climate Change Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
Choose 12-15 credits from the following courses:12-15
Soil Morph and Land Use
Climate Change Genetics
Physiology of Global Change
Energy Alternatives
Environmental Systems
Economics of Climate Change
Climate Change I
Climate Change II
Wildland Fire
Forest Ecosystem Health
Weather, Climate & Landscapes
Climatology: Concepts & Tools
Global Environmental Change
Topics in Climate & Water (Paleoclimatology)
Topics In Global Change
Topics in Human Env Interact (The Anthropocene)
Geomorphology
Adaptation to Climate Change 2
Global Change Ecology
Water as a Natural Resource
Sustainability Science
Energy and Climate Law
Landscape Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

2

May not double count NR 4062 for RSENR Core and concentration requirements. 

Water Resources Concentration

Requirement DescriptionCredits
Choose 12-15 credits from the following courses:12-15
Chemistry of Soil & Water
Soil/Water Pollution/Bioremed
Environmental Systems
Water Quality Engineering
Introduction to Marine Science
Topics in Climate & Water (Snow Hydrology)
Environmental Geochemistry
Geomorphology
Geochemistry of Natural Waters
Water as a Natural Resource
Special Topics (When offered as Marine Ecology or Marine Policy or Oceanography)
Ecological Design & Living Tec
Stream Ecology
Limnology
Advanced Ecological Design
Global Change Ecology
Field Herpetology
Fisheries Biology & Techniques
Ichthyology
Fisheries Management
1

Up to 3 credits of ENSC 2991/3991, 2993/3993 or 2995/3995 can be applied towards concentration credits if a relevant experiential learning plan has been approved by the Program Director prior to the start of the experience. 

Self-Designed concentration

Students may develop learning objectives and a concentration curriculum in consultation with the ENSC Program Director to focus on their specific area of interest.  Students must complete a minimum of 12 -15 credits of pre-approved coursework.