The Environmental Studies Major is designed so that a student specializes in one of the following areas of emphasis or Options: Analytic, Earth Sciences, Geography and Planning, or Life Science. Each Option is designed for the student to develop enough depth in that discipline to continue on to graduate school in that discipline. The courses required in each Option, however, are also chosen with the intent that a student with a Bachelor's degree is competitive in the environmental job market. Only a B.S. degree is offered.

Geography and Planning Option. The Geography and Planning Option is primarily designed to produce local and regional planning specialists who have a good understanding of environmental problems. Anytime humans change the nature of the landscape by constructing new housing developments, highways, shopping centers, etc. a potentially negative environmental impact to the natural landscape exists. Today planners who are environmentally sensitive are in great demand to help avoid common confrontations that arise between developers and those groups affected by the project. Advisers: Dr. Charles Gildersleeve and Dr. Jeff Peake.

Environmental Studies - The Core Curriculum
  All Environmental Studies majors, no matter which Option they choose, are required to take the same core of courses which provide breadth, environmental values, and a fundamental understanding of our social/legal processes. Some of the courses in the Core Curriculum may be used to fulfill divisional requirements.
  Courses needed to fulfill the Core Curriculum:

• BIOL 1330 - Environmental Biology - 3 credits,
• CHEM 1010 - Chemistry in the Environment and Society - 3 credits, and
• CHEM 1014 - Chemistry in the Environment and Society Laboratory - 1 credit, or
• CHEM 3030 - Environmental Chemistry - 3 credits,
• GEOL 1010 - Environmental Geology - 3 credits,
• ECON 2200 - Principles of Economics (Macro) - 3 credits,
• BIOL / CHEM / GEOG / GEOL 4610 - Environmental Field Methods - 3 credits,
• BIOL/CHEM/GEOG/GEOL 4800 - Internship in Environmental Science - 3 credits,
• or an approved course in statistics
• one of the following:
  • GEOG 1030 - Introduction to Earth and Environmental Science - 5 credits, or
    • GEOG 1060 - Physical Geography: Climate and Waters - 4 credits, or
    • GEOG 1070 - Physical Geography: Soils and Landforms - 4 credits,
• one of the following:
  • LAWS 3910 - Business Law I - 3 credits, or
    • PA 2170 - Introduction to Public Administration - 3 credits, or
    • ECON 3320 - Introduction to Environmental and Natural Resources Economics - 3 credits, or
    • GEOL 4820 - Introduction to Environmental Law and Regulations - 3 credits,
• one of the following:
  • PHIL 2030 - Introduction to Ethics - 3 credits or
    • PHIL 3180 - Environmental Ethics - 3 credits,
• one of the following:
  • SOC 3840 - World Populations & Social Issues or
    • SOC 3850 - Society, Environment, and Resource Conservation or an approved course in Sociology - 3 credits,
  • an approved course in statistics.

Environmental Studies - Geography and Planning Option Curricula:
  The Geography and Planning Option requires:

• GEOG 1000 - Fundamentals of World Regional Geography - 3 credits or
• GEOG 1020 - Introduction to Human Geography - 3 credits
• UBNS 1010 - Introduction to Urban Studies - 3 credits, and
• UBNS 4060 - Introduction to Urban Planning - 3 credits or Urban Geography - GEOG 4120 - 3 credits,
• GEOG 3530 - Cartography & GIS - 2 credits and Cartography & GIS lab - GEOG 3540 - 2 credits.

Three courses are to be selected from the following:

• GEOG 3510 - Meteorology - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4100 - Biogeography - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4260 - Process Geomorphology - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4320 - Climatology - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4330 - Soil Genesis, Morphology, and Classification - 3 credits, or
  • GEOG 4340 - Water Resources - 3 credits.

Two courses are to be selected from:

• GEOG 3130 - Economic Geography - 3 credits,
• GEOG 3440 - Nebraska Natural Resource Management - 3 credits,
• GEOG 3930 - Political Geography - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4010 - Conservation of Natural Resources - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4120 - Urban Geography - 3 credits or
  • GEOG 4820 - Introduction to Environmental Law and Regulation - 3 credits.

At least two courses must be taken from the following:

• GEOG 4020 - Quantitative Analysis in Geography - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4030 - Computer Mapping and Visualization - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4050 - Geographic Information Systems I - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4610 - Field Methods in Geography and Geology - 3 credits,
• GEOG 4630 - Environmental Remote Sensing - 4 credits,
• GEOG 4660 - Geographic Information Systems II - 3 credits.

Two courses must be taken from the following:

• BIOL 1450 - Biology I - 5 credits,
• BIOL 3340 - Ecology - 4 credits,
• BIOL 3530 - Flora of the Great Plains - 3 credits,
• BIOL 4120 - Conservation Biology - 3 credits,
• BIOL 4180 - Linmology - 3 credits,
• BIOL 4210 - Fire Ecology - 3 credits.

Two computer science courses must be taken from the group of:

• CIST 1400 - Introduction to Computer Programming - 3 credits, and Introduction to Computer Programming Lab - CIST 1404 - 1 credit,
• CSCI 1500 - Beginning Programming - 3 credits,
• CSCI 1610 - Introduction to Computer Science I - 3 credits,
• CSCI 1620 - Introduction to Computer Science II - 3 credits,
• CSCI 1840 - C Programming - 3 credits,
• CSCI 2830 - Java Programming - 3 credits,
• CSCI 2850 - Programming on the Internet - 3 credits, or other computer course by arrangement with an advisor.

Must take both :

• CHEM 1140/1144 -College Chemistry and Laboratory - 5 credits

PHYS 1050/1054 - Introduction to Physics - 5 credits.