Earn your BS in Environmental Policy and Planning
Are you committed to environmental protection and stewardship? The interdisciplinary environmental policy and planning (EPPL) major trains students to tackle environmental problems through action, advocacy, and compliance. It is excellent preparation for a career in environmental law. The planning track provides tools for working in city, county, or regional planning, or in land and resource use assessment. The policy track offers training for positions in the public or private sector.
The EPPL major integrates a group of courses to comprise a coherent approach to the study of the human dimensions of environmental problems. The major provides a recognizable, meaningful label to a concentration of courses that are customized by the student, thus making graduates viable as potential employees or candidates for graduate education. The major is managed by the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences.
Requirements
The BS with a major in environmental policy and planning requires the following coursework:
| Course type | Semester hours |
|---|---|
| Introductory courses | 17-18 |
| Intermediate courses | 12 |
| Methods courses | 13-14 |
| Capstone course/research project | 1-4 |
| Track courses | 12 |
| Total hours | 55-62 |
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| All of these: | ||
| ECON:1100 | Principles of Microeconomics | 4 |
| ENVS:2010 | Interdisciplinary Environmental Seminar | 1 |
| GEOG:1070 | Contemporary Environmental Issues | 3 |
| GEOG:2013/BUS:2013/URP:2013 | Introduction to Sustainability | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| GEOG:1046/ANTH:1046/GWSS:1046 | Environmental Politics in India | 3 |
| ANTH:2261 | Human Impacts on the Environment | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| EES:1080/ENVS:1080 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3-4 |
| EES:1085/ENVS:1085 | Fundamentals of Environmental Science | 4 |
| GEOG:1020 | The Global Environment | 3 |
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| Two of these: | ||
| POLI:1400 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLI:3111 | American Public Policy | 3 |
| GEOG:3400 | Iowa Environmental Policy in Practice | 3 |
| GEOG:3780/GHS:3780 | U.S. Energy Policy in Global Context | 3 |
| HIST:3230 | American Environmental History | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| ANTH:3103 | Environment and Culture | 3 |
| GEOG:3300 | Envisioning Future Worlds: Sustainable Development and Its Alternatives | 3 |
| NAIS:1290 | Native American Foods and Foodways | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| CNW:2740 | The Art and Craft of Writing about the Environment | 3 |
| JMC:1800 | Environmental Communication | 3 |
| PBAF:3560 | Public Policy and Persuasion | 3 |
| RHET:3700 | Advocacy and Sustainability: Crafting Stories of People, Place, and Resilience | 3 |
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| All of these: | ||
| GEOG:2050 | Foundations of GIS | 3 |
| GEOG:3520 | GIS for Environmental Studies | 3 |
| STAT:2010 | Statistical Methods and Computing | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| STAT:3120/IGPI:3120 | Probability and Statistics | 4 |
| POLI:3000 | Analyzing Political Data | 3 |
| ANTH:5110 | Anthropological Data Analysis | 3 |
| STAT:4143/PSQF:4143 | Introduction to Statistical Methods | 3 |
Students complete a capstone course or research project requirement. Capstone or research project courses are typically taken by students during their senior year. Students who choose GEOG:3992 Undergraduate Research must make arrangements with a faculty advisor.
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| ENVS:3010/EES:3010/GEOG:3003 | Interdisciplinary Environmental Seminar | 1 |
| GEOG:3992 | Undergraduate Research (consult advisor) | 1 |
| Honors students choose from the following options: | ||
| One of these: | ||
| GEOG:4995 | Honors Thesis | 3 |
| POLI:4601 | Honors Senior Thesis | 3 |
| ANTH:4995 | Honors Research Seminar | 2 |
| Or, both of these: | ||
| HIST:3995 | History Honors Research Seminar | 3 |
| HIST:3996 | Honors Thesis | 3 |
Students who earn a second major in anthropology, geography, political science, or history must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours of coursework in the second major that they do not also count toward the major in environmental policy and planning. The 12 semester hours of courses must be offered by the second major's administrative home: anthropology (prefix ANTH), geographical and sustainability sciences (prefix GEOG), or political science (prefix POLI). This requirement applies whether students earn the same degree (BA or BS) with both majors or earn a BA with one major and a BS with the other. However, honors students in environmental policy and planning may count their honors thesis credit toward this 12 semester hours requirement. Students may not use a course to satisfy more than one requirement of the major.
EPPL majors may also earn minors in geography and geographic information science (GISci).
Major tracks
Students choose either the planning track or the policy track and complete their track's required coursework.
The planning track requires 12 semester hours. Some of these courses have prerequisites; students must complete all of a course's prerequisites before they may register for the course or seek permission of the instructor.
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| ECON:3625/URP:3135 | Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| GEOG:3800 | Environmental Economics and Policy | 3 |
| Three of these: | ||
| ECON:3640/URP:3134 | Regional and Urban Economics | 3 |
| GEOG:2410 | Environment and Development | 3 |
| GEOG:2930 | Water Resources | 3 |
| GEOG:3210/OEH:3210 | Health, Work, and the Environment | 3 |
| GEOG:3315 | Ecosystem Ecology | 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:4770 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| NAIS:1290/AMST:1290/GHS:1290/HIST:1290 | Native American Foods and Foodways | 3 |
| URP:3001/GEOG:3920 | Planning Livable Cities | 3 |
| URP:3350/ECON:3750/GEOG:3940 | Transportation Economics | 3 |
The policy track requires 12 semester hours. Some of these courses have prerequisites; students must complete all of a course's prerequisites before they may register for the course.
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| GEOG:4750 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 3 |
| POLI:2417 | Comparative Environmental Policy | 3 |
| Three of these: | ||
| ANTH:3237/MUSM:3237 | Politics of the Archeological Past | 3 |
| ANTH:3240 | Cultural Resources Management Archeology: Practice and Practicalities | 3 |
| CPH:3400/GEOG:3210 | Health, Work, and the Environment | 3 |
| GEOG:2331 | Human Dimensions of Climate | 3 |
| GEOG:3400 | Iowa Environmental Policy in Practice | 3 |
| HIST:3128 | Topics in Global Environmental History | 3 |
| HIST:3230 | American Environmental History | 3 |
| NAIS:1290/AMST:1290/GHS:1290/HIST:1290 | Native American Foods and Foodways | 3 |
| POLI:3100 | American State Politics | 3 |
| POLI:3102 | The U.S. Congress | 3 |
| POLI:3110 | Local Politics | 3 |
| POLI:3111 | American Public Policy | 3 |
| POLI:3117 | Bureaucratic Politics and Public Administration | 3 |
| POLI:3118 | Interest Groups | 3 |
| POLI:3123 | State Politics in Iowa (section EXW) | 3 |
| POLI:3126 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
| POLI:3128 | Politics of the U.S. National Parks System | 3 |
| POLI:3204/SOC:3525 | Public Opinion | 3 |
| POLI:3424 | Global Development | 3 |
| POLI:3408 | Chinese Politics and Society | 3 |
Courses may not be used to satisfy more than one requirement. * For the policy electives, the course POLI:3125 Perspectives on Contemporary Iowa must be taken concurrently with POLI:3124 Political Science Des Moines Internship Program. Credit from POLI:3124 does not count toward the major
Majors in Environmental Policy & Planning may minor in Anthropology, Geography, Political Science, or Geographic Information Science (among others); no more than 6 semester hours can count toward both the major and the minor.
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Honors in the major
Students have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. Honors students in the program must maintain a cumulative UI GPA of at least 3.33 and a GPA of at least 3.33 in all work for the major. They must be admitted to the major's honors program by the first semester of their senior year or earlier.
Honors students pursue study beyond the typical undergraduate level. They work under the direction of a faculty member to conduct original research and then prepare and present an honors thesis based on their research. The thesis is reviewed by a committee of at least three faculty members. Students earn credit for the thesis by registering for GEOG:4995 Honors Thesis or POLI:4601 Honors Senior Thesis, or for both ANTH:4995 Honors Research Seminar and ANTH:4996 Honors Research.