School of Earth, Environment and Society

Program Details | Environmental Studies Bachelor’s

This program is for students who are interested in understanding environment-society interactions through a social science lens. This will help prepare students seeking to enter environmental policy and governance careers, as well as those seeking to contribute to environmental success stories and inform positive socio-environmental change. The major focuses on providing social science foundations, including critical theoretical and humanities approaches, with a focus on equity, justice and policy applications.

This major is distinct from the Environmental Sciences major (science track and management track) which focuses more explicitly on science and would be appropriate for students seeking science-based careers. While this major includes basic scientific foundations in climate and ecosystem science, it does not involve extensive science credits and instead takes an interdisciplinary social science focus. 

Students are encouraged to pursue minors and certificates to complement the major and to focus on specific areas of interest, including Climate Science and Adaptation, Water Resources, GIS, Environmental Science and Sustainability.

The Honors Track in Environmental Studies allows outstanding undergraduate students to obtain recognition for exceptional performance in coursework and research. 

Core Courses

Core courses will give students basic foundations in natural science, social science, environmental justice, policy, and methods in environmental studies.

  • ESM 150 Orientation to Environmental Sciences and Management (1 credit)
  • ESM 407, Geog 407, G 407, Anth 407, or EES 407 Seminar (1 credit)

Critical Social Science and Environmental Justice Foundations (8 credits)

  • Geog 230 Environment and Society: Global Perspectives or ESM 330 Environmental and Ecological Literacy
  • Geog 345U Resource Management or Geog 348U Cultural and Political Ecology

Environmental Management and Policy Foundations (8 credits)

  • ESM 222 Applied Environmental Studies: Policy Consideration
  • ESM 335 Introduction to Environmental Management

Natural Science Foundations (12 credits)

  • ESM 220 Introduction to Environmental Systems
  • Geog 210 Physical Geography
  • Mth 111Z Precalculus I: Functions -- Mth 111Z may be waived with ALEKS math placement score of 60 or above.

Methods (12 credits)

  • ESM 333 Methods of Data Collection, Analysis, Representation, and Modeling for Environmental Managers and ESM 334 Methods of Data Collection, Analysis, Representation, and Modeling for Environmental Managers Lab (6 credits)
  • ESM 342 Field Methods (2 credits)
  • Geog 380U Maps and Geographic Information (4 credits)

Electives

Electives include 300- and 400-level classes. At least 4 classes (16 credits) must be at the 400 level, including at least 1 class in ESM and 1 class in Geog.

Students will take 6 elective courses with at least 4 from within 1 focal area.

Students may work with advisors to substitute other courses not on these lists (for example, relevant courses with a 410 course number).

Environmental Justice and Environmental Humanities

  • Anth 414 Culture and Ecology
  • Anth 418 Environmental Anthropology
  • BSt 304 The Civil Rights Movement
  • BSt 305U/Hst 312U African History, Before 1800
  • BSt 325U Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
  • BSt 357U Caribbean Spirituality and Resistance
  • BSt 412 Oregon African American History
  • BSt 414 Racism
  • BSt 484 African American Community Development
  • CFS 488 Structural Oppression
  • CFS 489 Activism for Social Change
  • ESM 487 Environmental Justice
  • ELP 349U Gandhi, Zapata and New Agrarianism
  • ELP 418 Permaculture & Whole Systems Design: Principles and Practices for Sustainable Systems
  • Eng 368U Literature and Ecology
  • Geog 348U Cultural and Political Ecology
  • Geog 430 Cultural Geography
  • Geog 462 Sense of Place
  • Geog 467 Community Resilience in Coupled Socio-Ecological Systems
  • Hst 339U The Environment and History
  • Hst 440 American Environmental History
  • Hst 491 Reading Seminar
  • NAS 342 Indigenous Gardens and Food Justice
  • NAS 348 Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability
  • NAS 392 Indigenous Ways of Knowing
  • NAS 407 Indigenous Ecological Healing Practices
  • PHE 443U Environmental Health
  • PHE 450 Epidemiology
  • PHE 452U Gender, Race, Class and Health
  • Phl 310U Environmental Ethics
  • Phl 449 Philosophy of Sustainability
  • Psy 413 Ecopsychology
  • Soc 320U Global Capitalism and Inequality
  • Soc 330U Sociology of Food Inequalities
  • Soc 337U Prejudice, Privilege, and Power
  • Soc 465 Environmental Sociology
  • SySc 350U Indigenous and Systems Perspectives on Sustainability
  • WS 306U Global Gender Issues
  • WS 308U Topics in Gender, Literature, and Popular Culture
  • WS 332U Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in the United States
  • WS 369U Global Reproductive Justice
  • WS 375U Topics in Sexuality Studies

Environmental Policy and Governance

  • CR 305U Ecology of War and Peace
  • CR 313 Environmental Conflict Resolution
  • Ec 332U Economics of Environmental Issues
  • Ec 430 Resource and Environmental Economics
  • Ec 438 Energy Economics
  • ELP 348U Introduction to Global Political Ecology
  • Eng 498 Ecology, Criticism, and Culture
  • ESM 429 Environmental Impact Assessment
  • ESM 435 Natural Resource Policy and Management
  • ESM 463 Water Quality Policy & Management
  • ESM 464 Climate Adaptation: Managing Environmental Risks and Vulnerabilities
  • ESM 483 Marine Conservation and Management
  • Geog 347U Environmental Issues and Action
  • Geog 412 Global Climate Change Science and Socio-environmental Impact Assessment
  • PS 319U Politics of the Environment
  • PS 389U Environmental Political Theory
  • PS 449 International Environmental Politics and Law
  • PS 477 Global Food Politics and Policy

Resource Management and Sustainable Systems

  • ESM 355U Understanding Environmental Sustainability I
  • ESM 356U Understanding Environmental Sustainability II
  • ESM 416 Ecosystem Restoration
  • ESM 418/Geog 418 Landscape Ecology
  • ESM 420 Ecological Toxicology
  • ESM 424 Wetland Ecology
  • ESM 425 Watershed Hydrology
  • ESM 427 Watershed Biogeochemistry
  • ESM 428 Urban Ecology
  • ESM 440/Geog 440 The Ecology & Management of Wildfire
  • ESM 444 Forest Ecology
  • ESM 480 Coastal Marine Ecology
  • ESM 485 Ecology and Management of Bio-Invasions
  • Geog 310U/EES 333U Climate and Water Resources
  • Geog 311U Climatology
  • Geog 312U/EES 334U Climate Variability and Change
  • Geog 313U Biogeography
  • Geog 314U Severe Weather
  • Geog 320 Geomorphology
  • Geog 322U Mountains
  • Geog 333U/Ph 333U Weather
  • Geog 340U Global Water Issues and Sustainability
  • Geog 345U Resource Management
  • Geog 346U World Population and Food Supply
  • Geog 412 Global Climate Change Science and Socio-environmental Impact Assessment
  • Geog 413 Disturbance Biogeography of Pacific Northwest
  • Geog 414 Hydrology
  • Geog 415 Soils and Land Use
  • Geog 442 Sustainable Cities
  • Geog 445 Resource Management Topics
  • Geog 446 Water Resource Management
  • Geog 447 Urban Streams
  • Geog 448 The Urban Forest
  • Geog 449 Geography of Food
  • NAS 392 Indigenous Ways of Knowing
  • USP 313U Urban Environmental Issues
  • USP 434 Green Buildings
  • USP 490 Green Economics and Sustainable Development

Interdisciplinary Skills

  • Comm 327 Environmental Campaigns
  • Comm 416 Communicating Environmental Controversies
  • Comm 445 Risk and Strategic Communication
  • Comm 448 Science Communication
  • CR 313 Environmental Conflict Resolution
  • Ec 427 Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • ELP 350U Introduction to Leadership for Sustainability
  • ESM 340 Research Methods in Environmental Science
  • ESM 451 Project Management for Scientists
  • Geog 420 Field Methods in Physical Geography
  • Geog 425 Field Methods in Human Geography
  • Geog 480 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing
  • Geog 484 Cartographic Applications of GIS
  • Geog 488 Geographic Information Systems I: Introduction
  • Geog 490 GIS Programming
  • Geog 496 Introduction to Spatial Quantitative Analysis
  • NAS 442 Decolonizing Methodologies: Insurgent Research and Indigenous Education
  • Soc 396 Social Research Methods, Social Statistics
  • Soc 397 Social Research Methods
  • SySc 342U Systems Thinking for Social Change
  • SySc 413 Holistic Strategies for Problem Solving
  • USP 316 Community Organizing and Social Change
  • Wr 327 Technical Report Writing

Total Credit Hours: 62-66

No more than one course taken under the undifferentiated grading option (pass/no pass) will be accepted toward fulfilling major requirements. 

All courses used to satisfy the Environmental Studies major requirements, whether taken in the School or in other departments, must be graded C- or above or P.