Choose the Environmental Studies track
The Environmental Studies track requires a minimum of 15 s.h. This program is designed for students interested in the environment from physical and sociocultural perspectives. These students may have career expectations or personal interests in resource management, physical geography, climatology, environmental policy or law, global environmental change, sustainable development, or other complex environmental issues. Career goals may involve one of the environmental professions, such as landscape ecology or climatology; environmental planning and regulation; or environmental law, policy, and politics. The program stresses the interrelationships among social and natural processes that affect the environment.
Students of environmental studies can build expertise in environmental change, environmental policy and decision support, GIS for environmental studies, remote sensing, landscape ecology, field methods and statistical analyses, and environmental justice. Training in field observation, remote sensing, geographical information systems, quantitative analysis/computing, and cartographic representation are included in this concentration. The program also provides a sound foundation for graduate or professional-level studies in either the natural or social aspects of the environment. Students also have the opportunity to learn from leading experts in landscape ecology, environmental sampling, land use/land cover change, and computer simulation.
Track requirements
In addition to the common requirements, students in the Environmental Studies track complete a common track course (3 s.h.) and at least 12 s.h. of upper-level geographical and sustainability sciences courses. Students should pay close attention to prerequisites for the upper-level courses in each track in order to develop a study plan that allows them to complete their major in a timely way.
Students in the Environmental Studies track who wish to gain additional experience in theory and application of geographic information systems (GIS) should take GIS-based courses offered by the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences. Students may use GEOG:3001 Special Topics to fulfill a track requirement if the course content is applicable.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Common course—all environmental studies track students take this: | ||
| GEOG:1070 | Contemporary Environmental Issues | 3 |
Students choose a total of four upper-level courses (at least 12 s.h.) from the following, in consultation with their advisor. Those who wish to gain additional experience in theory and application of GIS systems should take GEOG:3520 GIS for Environmental Studies and GEOG:4520 GIS for Environmental Studies: Applications, or they should earn 6 s.h. in other GIS-based geographical and sustainability sciences courses.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least one of these: | ||
| GEOG:2310/EES:2310 | Introduction to Climatology | 3 |
| GEOG:2374/BIOL:2374 | Biogeography | 3 |
| GEOG:2410 | Environment and Development | 3 |
| GEOG:2930 | Water Resources | 3 |
| GEOG:3500 | Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GEOG:3520 | GIS for Environmental Studies | 3 |
| At least one of these: | ||
| GEOG:3310 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
| GEOG:3315 | Ecosystem Ecology | 3 |
| GEOG:3320/EES:3260 | Wetlands: Function, Geography, and Management | 3 |
| GEOG:3340 | Ecosystem Services: Human Dependence on Natural Systems | 3 |
| GEOG:3350 | Urban Ecology | 3 |
| GEOG:3400 | Iowa Environmental Policy in Practice | 3 |
| GEOG:3760/GHS:3760 | Hazards and Society | 3 |
| GEOG:3920/URP:3001 | Planning Livable Cities | 3 |
| GEOG:4010 | Field Methods in Physical Geography | 3 |
| GEOG:4200 | Sustainability as a System Science | 3 |
| GEOG:4470 | Ecological Climatology | 3 |
| GEOG:4500 | Advanced Remote Sensing | 4 |
| GEOG:4520 | GIS for Environmental Studies: Applications | 3 |
| GEOG:4650 | Simulation in Environmental Geography | 3 |
| GEOG:4750/URP:4750 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 4 |
| GEOG:4770 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
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