Sustainability, Ecology and Policy B.S.
All students must meet the University Requirements.
All students must meet the College Requirements.
There are three concentrations available under the Sustainability, Ecology and Policy major:
Integrated Natural Resources Concentration
Environmental Planning, Policy and Law Concentration - The University of Vermont (UVM) and Vermont Law School (VLS) offer unique 3+2 and 3+3 dual-degree programs. The dual-degree programs enable highly-focused students to earn both degrees in less time and at less cost from two distinguished institutions. In addition to the dual-degree programs, VLS offers a guaranteed admission program for UVM graduates. Learn more about the dual-degree and guaranteed admission programs. Students who select the concentration in Environmental Planning, Policy and Law are well-positioned to complete the UVM/VLS 3+2 and 3+3 programs, and earn a BS in Sustainability, Ecology and Policy and a Juris Doctor (JD) in five or six years. Students who wish to pursue this opportunity should consult with the Director of the Sustainability, Ecology and Policy Program about their academic plans.
Integrated Natural Resources Concentration
Integrated Natural Resources (INR) is a self-designed major. INR is the right choice for students who have strong interests in natural resources and the environment, clear academic direction, and the motivation to develop a well-focused, personally meaningful course of study. Working closely with a faculty advisor, the student builds on a solid foundation of natural resources courses to create an individualized program that combines course work from disciplines within and outside the school.
A total of 120 credits is required for the degree.
Required courses
(minimum nine credits)
| Students select from a list of approved courses, at least one course in each of three areas: | ||
Biology/ecology | ||
NR courses in social sciences and communications | ||
Quantitative and analytical methods | ||
| These courses are in addition to those taken to fulfill RSENR's general education requirements. The list of approved courses is available on the RSENR website. | ||
Individualized Program of Study
(minimum thirty-nine credits)
The student develops an Individualized Program of Study composed primarily of intermediate level RSENR courses (ENVS, ENSC, FOR, NR, PRT or WFB prefix). This must include at least twenty-four credits inside the school and no more than six credits below the 100-level. With careful selection of courses, students develop concentrations such as Environmental Education, Sustainable Resource Management, Environmental Health, and Spatial Analysis of Natural Resources. All programs of study must be endorsed by the advisor, then approved by the faculty. If not approved, the student may not continue in the INR concentration and must seek another major. The program of study is to be approved by the end of the sophomore year (sixty credits). Transfer students with more than sixty credits must have a program of study approved as part of the transfer application. It is expected that transfer students will be active in the program for at least two years (four semesters) after transferring into the INR concentration. Any course substitution request should be approved prior to the end of the add/drop period for the semester in which the student plans to enroll in the substitute course.
Applied Ecology Concentration
The Applied Ecology curriculum explores the biology and ecology of plants and animals in both aquatic and terrestrial systems and allows students to select courses around specific individual interests. Please note that courses taken for concentrations may NOT be double-counted for distribution requirements.
A total of 120 credits is required for the degree.
Required Courses
| BIOL 001 | Principles of Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 002 | Principles of Biology | 4 |
| ENSC 149 | SU: Climate Change II 4 | 1 or 3 |
| or ENVS 188 | SU:Sustainability Science | |
| MATH 019 | QR: Fundamentals of Calculus I 1 | 3 |
| NR 140 | Applied Environ Statistics 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 023 | Outline of General Chemistry | 4-8 |
| or CHEM 031 & CHEM 032 | General Chemistry 1 and General Chemistry 2 | |
| CHEM 026 | Outline of Organic & Biochem | 4-8 |
| or CHEM 042 | Intro Organic Chemistry | |
| or CHEM 141 & CHEM 142 | Organic Chemistry 1 and Organic Chemistry 2 | |
| NR 143 | Intro to Geog Info Systems | 3 |
| or NR 146 | Remote Sensing of Natural Res | |
| FOR 111 | Nat Res Ecol and Assessment 1 | 4 |
| Students chose at least 9 credits in strong ecological content courses from the following list, in consultation with their advisor. | ||
| SU:Ecology and Evolution | ||
| Introduction to Marine Science | ||
| Community Ecology | ||
| Plant-Animal Interactions | ||
| Evolution | ||
| Recovery&Restor Altered Ecosys | ||
| Biogeography | ||
| Global Biogeochemical Cycles | ||
| Limnology | ||
| Stream Ecology | ||
| Global Change Ecology | ||
| SU: Advanced Agroecology | ||
| Soil Ecology | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| Behavioral Ecology | ||
| Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology | ||
| Forest Ecosystem Analysis | ||
| Environmental Microbiology | ||
| Landscape Ecology | ||
| Ecosystems Ecology | ||
| Students choose up to 18 credits (to total 27) in courses to contribute to, or expand ecological understanding, or strong ecological content, in consultation with their advisor. | ||
| Field Zoology of Arthropods | ||
| Sociobiology | ||
| SU:Sustainability Science | ||
| The Circumpolar Arctic | ||
| Global Environmental Change | ||
| Field Herpetology | ||
| Field Geology | ||
| Environmental Geochemistry | ||
| Biology of Fungi | ||
| QR:Ecological Modeling | ||
| Mammalogy | ||
| Population Genetics | ||
| Landscape Natural History | ||
| SU:Climate Chg: Sci & Percept | ||
| Glacial Geology | ||
| Dendrology | ||
| Multi-Resource Silviculture | ||
| Weather, Climate & Landscapes | ||
| Climatology: Concepts & Tools | ||
| Earth System Science | ||
| Environmental Geology | ||
| Geomorphology | ||
| SU:Water as a Natural Resource | ||
| Intro to Geog Info Systems 4 | ||
| Remote Sensing of Natural Res 4 | ||
| Ecol Design & Living Technol | ||
| Plant Physiology | ||
| Morph & Evo of Vascular Plants | ||
| Plant Systematics | ||
| SU:How Plants Can Save World | ||
| Plant Anatomy | ||
| Tropical Plant Systematics | ||
| SU: Fundmntls of Soil Science | ||
| Ecological Landscape Design | ||
| Chemistry of Soil & Water | ||
| Ornithology | ||
| Field Ornithology | ||
| Ichthyology | ||
| Wildlife Behavior | ||
| Geochemistry of Natural Waters | ||
| Additional Options: | ||
| Internship 2 | ||
| Independent Study 2 | ||
| Undergraduate Research 2 | ||
| Internship 2 | ||
| Independent Study 2 | ||
| Honors 3 | ||
| 1 | MATH 019 and NR 140 also fulfill RSENR general education requirements. |
| 2 | A maximum of 6 credits may count toward either strong ecological content OR expands ecological understanding with the Program Chair's approval. |
| 3 | A maximum of 3 credits may count toward either strong ecological content OR expands ecological understanding with the Program Chair's approval. |
| 4 | May not double count for required courses. |
Any course substitution request should be approved prior to the end of the add/drop period for the semester in which the student plans to enroll in the substitute course.
Environmental Planning, Policy and Law Concentration
The Environmental Planning, Policy and Law curriculum explores interactions among individuals, communities, and society with nature, resources, and the environment. It allows students to select courses around specific individual interests such as natural resource planning and community, policy and economic dimensions of resource planning, and international dimensions of resource planning. Please note that courses taken for concentrations may NOT be double-counted for distribution requirements.
A total of 120 credits is required for the degree.
Required Courses
| ANTH 021 | D2: SU: Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| or GEOG 050 | D2:SU:Global Envmnts& Cultures | |
| ENSC 149 | SU: Climate Change II | 1 or 3 |
| or ENVS 188 | SU:Sustainability Science | |
| CDAE 002 | D2:SU:World Food,Pop & Develop | 3-4 |
| or ENVS 002 | D2:SU:Solutions in Env Studies | |
| EC 011 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| or EC 012 | Principles of Microeconomics | |
| or CDAE 061 | SU:Principles of Comm Dev Econ | |
| POLS 021 | American Political System | 3 |
| or POLS 071 | Comparative World Politics | |
| or POLS 051 | Intro International Relations | |
| PHIL 021 | Intro PHIL-Ethics | 3 |
| or PHIL 022 | Intro PHIL-Ethics of Eating | |
| or PHIL 023 | Intro PHIL-Environm. Ethics | |
| or ENVS 178 | Environmental Ethics | |
| or CDAE 208 | Agricultural Policy and Ethics | |
| SOC 001 | SU: Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| or SOC 011 | Social Problems | |
| Students choose 21 credits in Content Courses from the following list in consultation with their advisor. | 21 | |
| Sustainable Community Dev | ||
| Int'l Environmental Governance | ||
| Zoos, Exotics & Endang Species | ||
| Community&Int'l Econ Transform | ||
| D1:Environmental Justice | ||
| Community Develpmt:St Lucia I | ||
| Smart Resilient Communities | ||
| Rural Geography | ||
| Int'l Environmental Governance | ||
| Wilderness Educ & Leadership 4 | ||
| Agricultural Policy and Ethics 3 | ||
| Community Org & Development | ||
| Economics of Sustainability | ||
| Adv Top:Zoo,Exotic,Endang Spec | ||
| Contemp Policy Iss:Comm Dev | ||
| SU:Economics Envirnmntl Policy | ||
| D2: Ecofeminism | ||
| Radical Environmentalism | ||
| Environmental Law | ||
| Environmental Education 4 | ||
| Urban Geography | ||
| Historic Preservation Law | ||
| History on the Land | ||
| SU:Water as a Natural Resource | ||
| Intro to Environmental Policy | ||
| Intro to Ecological Economics | ||
| Tourism Planning | ||
| Ecotourism | ||
| Outdoor Recreation Planning | ||
| Environmental Interpretation 4 | ||
| SU:Sociology of Disaster | ||
| SL:C Ross Env Pb Srv Practicum 4 | ||
| Our Consuming Society | ||
| D2: Environmental Anthropology | ||
| Environmental Ethics | ||
| Political Ecology | ||
| Gender, Space & Environment | ||
| Population, Environment & Soc | ||
| Students choose 6 credits in Tools Courses from the following list, in consultation with their advisor. | 6 | |
| Project Development & Planning | ||
| Environmental Education 4 | ||
| Geog Info:Cncpts & Applic | ||
| Intro to Geog Info Systems | ||
| Remote Sensing of Natural Res | ||
| Wilderness Educ & Leadership 4 | ||
| Adv Geospatial Techniques | ||
| GIS Practicum | ||
| SL:C Ross Env Pb Srv Practicum 4 | ||
| Geospatial Cncpt&Visualization | ||
| Ecol Design & Living Technol | ||
| Environmental Interpretation 4 | ||
| Fund of Social Research | ||
or SOC 100 | Fund of Social Research | |
| Landscape Design Fundamentals | ||
| Ecological Landscape Design | ||
| Argument & Advocacy | ||
| Ethnographic Field Methods | ||
6 credits of a modern foreign language | ||
| Additional Options: | ||
| Internship 1 | ||
| Independent Study 1 | ||
| Undergraduate Research 1 | ||
| Internship 1 | ||
| Independent Study 1 | ||
| Honors 2 | ||
| 1 | A maximum of 6 credits may count toward either content courses OR tools courses with the Program Chair's approval. |
| 2 | A maximum of 3 credits may count toward either content courses OR tools courses with the Program Chair's approval. |
| 3 | May not double count for both required courses and option electives. |
| 4 | May be counted as either content or tools but may NOT be double counted. |
Any course substitution request should be approved prior to the end of the add/drop period for the semester in which the student plans to enroll in the substitute course.