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BS in Environmental Science |
A program leading to the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Environmental Science was established at the University of Delaware in 1991. This relatively demanding B.S. program was designed around a combination of courses in Geology, Biology, and Geography. In 2005, a fourth area of specialization, Marine Studies, was added. Our students learn about the underlying materials of the earth; how energy and moisture are transferred among the atmosphere, land surface, and oceans; and how life responds to and modifies its environment. Introductory science and mathematics courses provide scientific background and research techniques that can be used in later employment or graduate education. Some of the advanced courses in these areas are taught on an every-other-year basis, so early and regular contact with an academic advisor is essential for the timely completion of the B.S. in Environmental Science.
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| Purpose of the Program |
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Awareness of environmental problems has been heightened by regular media attention to such issues as pollution of the atmosphere and oceans, habitat degradation and species extinction, scarcity of essential resources, and implications of human-caused global climate change. Popular understanding of environmental problems is usually oversimplified because interactions among environmental systems are complicated and subtle. Global warming, for example, is often presented as a simple problem (we burn fossil fuels, putting carbon dioxide into the air, which causes the warming) with a simple solution (burn less fossil fuel). A more complete appraisal would note that CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere vary on both seasonal and geological time scales, that the effects of increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere on actual weather remain difficult to predict with accuracy and confidence, that many plants will also respond physiologically to atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and that some easily prescribed solutions seriously affect human economic activities. A comprehensive understanding of global warming then requires a scientific education beyond the emphases of any single academic department. Similar complexity may be found in other environmental issues. The current Environmental Science program builds on cooperation among the Departments of Geography and Biological Sciences and the College of Marine and Earth Studies to provide a more complete view of Earth’s environment than a single unit could create.
The interdisciplinary B.S. program in Environmental Science was designed to prepare students to evaluate complex environmental systems and problems. The program emphasizes scientific understanding of the character and function of environmental systems, with the hope that Environmental Science students will make contributions to our understanding of the environment and help build solutions to problems that arise from human activity. Many of our graduates have gone on to seek additional training in graduate and professional schools, including programs in marine biology, geology, geochemistry, environmental chemistry, climatology, and meteorology, as well as environmental policy and law programs. Graduates have found private-sector jobs in areas such as environmental consulting and environmental engineering, health-care research (using statistical and research tools taught in this program), and workplace environmental monitoring. Public-sector employment included working with state and county agencies that regulate land use, water resources, and pollution regulation. Additionally, some students pursued their interests in environmental education, public awareness, and environmental advocacy both with government-sponsored agencies and with nongovernmental organizations. The postgraduation possibilities are as diverse as the range of topics we seek to cover. |
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| Overview of the Program |
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The B.S. degree in Environmental Science is a strongly science-based program, leading to an understanding of environmental systems, processes, and problems. Coursework required for the program can be categorized as follows:
Scientific background , including introductory courses in chemistry, physics, biology, geology, and meteorology, and advanced courses in ecology, geology, climatology, and oceanography. These courses represent the topical core of the program.
Necessary skills , including mathematics, statistics, and computer methods. Scientific understanding of any topic often requires data analysis and numerical modeling.
Specialization leading to an advanced understanding of one of the three component areas that are central to this program: the atmospheric environment, the biological environment, or geology. Minors in Biology, Geography, or Geology also may be completed by students specializing in those areas through careful course selection.
General education, including further courses from a list of electives that are closely related to the study of the environment. This program encourages travel and field experience, so winter-session study-abroad courses with an environmental component, as well as summer research and field study courses transferred from other universities, are regularly accepted as substitutions within the Environmental Science Electives section. Remaining courses necessary to complete the degree will satisfy group requirements in social sciences, history, and humanities, and university requirements in English and in a chosen foreign language. Students may use group requirements to educate themselves about the economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of environmental problems and their potential solutions. |
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| Advice About the Program |
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| Students who are interested in becoming Environmental Science majors should talk to an Environmental Science advisor. Since the Geography Department administers the program, students with a general interest in the program or the atmospheric environment track should consult the Director of the program (Delphis Levia in the Geography Department). Students with interests in the biological, geological, or marine studies tracks may be referred to advisers in those fields for further discussion of the advanced courses and possibilities that they lead to . Email: dlevia@udel.edu |
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| Requirements |
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