Departments & Programs

Environmental Science Program
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science

(Granted by Indiana University)

Degree Requirements

First-Year Experience Course  Beginning freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 18 credit hours are required to take SCI-I120 Windows in Science (1 cr.) or an equivalent first-year experience course.

Area I English Composition and Communication Skills (9 cr.) See the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin. The second semester of English composition may be satisfied by ENG-W132 or ENG-W231. GEOL-G205 may be used to fulfill the second writing course requirement, but the 3 credit hours cannot then also be counted as part of the core and concentration credit hours required in Area IV.

Area II Foreign Language  No foreign language proficiency is required for a Bachelor of Science degree.

Area IIIA Humanities, Social Sciences, and Comparative World Cultures (12 cr.)  See the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.

Area IIIB Junior/Senior Integrator (3 cr.) The Junior/Senior Integrator requirement is suspended indefinitely as a School and program-level requirement.

Area IIIC Physical and Biological Sciences (33 cr.)  BIOL-K101 / BIOL-K103, CHEM-C105 / CHEM-C106, GEOL-G107, GEOL-G110 / GEOL-G120, PHYS-P201 / PHYS-P202. No grade below C- will be accepted in any of these courses.

Area IIID Mathematical Sciences (12 cr.)  MATH 22100 / MATH 22200; CSCI-N207 or another course approved by the program advisor; and STAT 30100, SPEA-K300, or a course in statistics approved by the program advisor. No grade below C- will be accepted in any of these courses.

Note: Computer Science CSCI-N100 level courses and CIT 10600 do not count for credit toward any degree in the School of Science. Also, CSCI-N241 and CSCI-N299 do not count in Area IIID, but may count as an elective.

Area IV Major Core and Concentration Requirements (43-44 Credits)

Core Requirements Twenty-five (25) credit hours of environmental science core courses including:

  • GEOL-G221 Introductory Mineralogy or GEOL-G306 Earth Materials
  • PBHL-A326 Mathematical Methods in Environmental Science or GEOL-G490 Introduction to Fluid Mechanics for Earth and Environmental Sciences
  • PBHL-A316 Environmental Health Science
  • PHIL-P237 Environmental Ethics
  • PBHL-A459 Environmental Science and Health Data Analysis or an approved field methods course
  • GEOG-G303 Weather and Climate or GEOL-G430 Principles of Hydrology (GEOL-G430 is required for the Earth and Water Resources Concentration)
  • BIOL-K341 Principles of Ecology and Evolution or GEOG-G307 Biogeography: Distribution of Life
  • GEOG-G338 Geographic Information Science or GEOG-G336 Environmental Remote Sensing

No grade below C- will be accepted in any of these courses.

Concentration Requirements  Eighteen to nineteen (18 to 19) credit hours of courses within one of three Environmental Science concentrations. Students select one of the Environmental Science Concentrations – Earth and Water Resources, Environmental Management, or Environmental Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis.

A. Earth and Water Resources  Eighteen to nineteen (18 -19) credit hours, including:

Required Courses:

  • CHEM-C341 Organic Chemistry I
  • GEOL-G431 Wetland Ecosystems
  • GEOL-G486 Soil Biogeochemistry

Capstone Requirement (one of the following):

  • GEOL-G445 Applied Analytical Techniques in Geology
  • GEOL-G490 Stream Ecosystems and their Restoration
  • PBHL-A460 Environmental Health Science Data Analysis
  • One capstone course as approved by the Program Director and concentration advisor

Water Resources option, take the following:

  • GEOL-G451 Principles of Hydrogeology
  • PBHL-A410 Introduction to Environmental Toxicology
Earth Resources option, take the following:
  • GEOL-G406 Introduction to Geochemistry
  • BIOL-K356 Microbiology or PBHL-A410 Introduction to Environmental Toxicology

No grade below C- will be accepted in any courses in the Earth and Water Resources concentration.

B. Environmental Management  Eighteen to nineteen (18-19) credit hours, including

Required Courses (4 courses):

  • CHEM-C341 Organic Chemistry I
  • PBHL-A423 Environmental Health Science and Technology: Managing Water and Waste
  • PBHL-A451 Air Pollution and Control
  • PBHL-A400 Public Health Risk Analysis, Communication and Management

Public Assessment option take the following:

  • PBHL-A433 Industrial Hygiene
  • PBHL-A460 Techniques in Environmental Science and Health (capstone requirement)

Policy and Planning option take the following:

  • GEOG-G438 Advanced Geographic Information Science
  • PBHL-A416 Environmental Health Policy (capstone requirement)

Occupational Safety and Health option take the following:

  • PBHL-A410 Introduction to Environmental Toxicology
  • PBHL-A433 Industrial Hygiene (capstone requirement) 

No grade below C- will be accepted in any courses in the Environmental Management concentration.

C. Environmental Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Eighteen (18) credit hours, including:

  • GEOG-G336 Environmental Remote Sensing or GEOG-G338 Geographic Information Science
  • GEOG-G337 Computer Cartography and Graphics or INFO-I400 Programming for Geographic Information Systems or GEOL-G490 Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
  • Three courses chosen from:
    • GEOG-G436 Advanced Remote Sensing
    • GEOG-G438 Advanced Geographic Information Science
    • *GEOG-G442 Seminar in Remote Sensing
    • GEOG-G488 Applied Spatial Statistics
    • GEOL-G490 Planetary Remote Sensing
  • GEOG-G439 Seminar in Geographic Information Science (capstone requirement)  

No grade below C- will be accepted in any courses in the Environmental Management concentration.

D. Other Requirements  See the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs, Baccalaureate Degree, General Requirements” in this bulletin.

  • Environmental Science Plans of Study

    There is no single semester-by-semester plan of study for the B.S.E.S. degree because of the flexibility encouraged within the program and the three concentration options. However, a possible plan for courses is given below. Variations from this sample plan of study should be made in consultation with the academic and concentration advisors.

    Bachelor of Science Environmental Science Sample Program - Environmental Management Concentration (122 hours required)

    Freshman Year
    First Semester
    GEOL-G110 Physical Geology 3
    GEOL-G120 Physical Geology Laboratory 1
    CHEM-C105 Principles of Chemistry I 3
    MATH 22100 Calculus for Technology I 3
    ENG-W131 Elementary Composition I 3
    PHIL-P237 Environmental Ethics 3
    SCI-I120 Windows on Science 1
    Total 17
    Second Semester 
    CHEM-C106 Principles of Chemistry II   3
    GEOL-G107 Environmental Geology    3
    MATH 22200 Calculus for Technology II   3
    COMM-R110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication   3
    Second Composition Course 3
    Total 15
    Sophomore Year
    Third Semester
    GEOL-G306 Earth Materials    4
    BIOL-K101 Concepts of Biology I    5
    CSCI-N207 Data Analysis Using Spreadsheets 3
    CHEM-C341 Organic Chemistry I  3
    HIST-H114 History of Western Civilization II   3
    Total 18
    Fourth Semester 
    BIOL-K103 Concepts of Biology II   5
    GEOG-G338 Geographic Information Science 3
    GEOL-G430 Principles of Hydrology  3
    STAT 30100 Elementary Statistical Methods 3
    PBHL-A316 Environmental Health Science 3
    Total 17
    Junior Year
    Fifth Semester
    PHYS-P201 General Physics I    5
    GEOL-G431 Wetland Ecosystems  3
    PBHL-A326 Mathematical Methods in Environmental Science 3
    PBHL-A459 Environmental Science and Health Data Analysis 3
    Comparative World Cultures-List C   3
    Total 17
    Sixth Semester  
    PHYS-P202 General Physics II   5
    GEOL-G451 Principles of Hydrogeology 3
    GEOL-G486 Soil Biogeochemistry    3
    Humanities-List H  3
    Social Sciences-List S 3
    Total 17
    Senior Year
    Seventh Semester
    SPEA-E455 Limnology  3
    PBHL-A410 Introduction to Environmental Toxicology  3
    GEOL-G445 Applied Analytical Techniques in Geology 3
    Electives   3
    Total 12
    Eighth Semester
    Electives   8
    CAND 99100 Candidate for Graduation  0
    Total 8