Departments & Programs

Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Biodiversity and Sustainability Concentration Courses

The Biodiversity and Sustainability concentration area integrates the humanities, arts, and sciences to explore the variety of life and the role of biodiversity in sustaining the symbiosis between humans and nature. Students pursuing this concentration area can expect to gain knowledge and skills in ecology, conservation, and social-ecological systems and learn to analyze the scientific and humanistic dimensions of biodiversity. Students will develop an integrated "sense of place" by studying natural and cultural history. Communication, nature writing, and other expressive arts can be incorporated as ways to deepen connections to biodiversity and foster appreciation for conservation. Potential career areas include natural resource management, science and nature writing, environmental journalism, environmental education, museum studies, outdoor education and interpretation, sustainable economic development, urban and land-use planning, environmental advocacy, international development, or further academic pursuits with graduate study.  

Students must complete two of the following courses:

  • BIOL-L 307 Biodiversity
  • GEOG-G 307 Biogeography
  • GEOG-G 315 Environmental Conservation
  • HPSC-X 220 Issues in Science: Humanistic (Approved topic: Arborescence: Keeping Trees in Mind)
  • SPEA-E 457 Introduction to Conservation Biology
  • SPH-O 310 Ecosystem Management

Elective courses—Students must complete two courses from the following list:

  • ANTH-E 328 Ecological Anthropology
  • ANTH-E 444 People and Protected Areas: Theories of Conservation
  • BIOL-B 300 Vascular Plants
  • BIOL-B 351 Fungi
  • BIOL-B 364 Summer Flowering Plants
  • BIOL-L 307 Biodiversity
  • BIOL-L 369 Heredity, Evolution, and Society
  • BIOL-L 376 Biology of Birds
  • BIOL-L 433 Tropical Biology
  • BIOL-Z 373 Entomology
  • BIOL-Z 374 Invertebrate Zoology
  • BIOL-Z 406 Vertebrate Zoology
  • BIOL-Z 460 Animal Behavior
  • BIOL-Z 476 Biology of Fishes
  • GEOG-G 307 Biogeography: The Distribution of Life
  • GEOG-G 315 Environmental Conservation
  • GEOG-G 341 Ecological Restoration: Science and Politics
  • GEOG-G 451 Water Resources
  • GEOG-G 461 Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
  • GEOL-G 308 Paleontology and Geology of Indiana
  • GEOL-G 341 Natural History of Coral Reefs
  • HPSC-X 220 Issues in Science: Humanistic (Approved topic: Arborescence: Keeping Trees in Mind)
  • REL-D 250 Religion, Ecology, and the Self
  • REL-D 350 Religion, Ethics, and the Environment
  • REL-D 430 Problems in Social Ethics (Approved topic: The God Species: Ethics in the Anthropocene)
  • SPEA-E 332 Introduction to Applied Ecology
  • SPEA-E 363 Environmental Management
  • SPEA-E 422 Urban Forest Management
  • SPEA-E 456 Lake and Watershed Management
  • SPEA-E 457 Introduction to Conservation Biology
  • SPEA-E 460 Fisheries and Wildlife Management
  • SPEA-E 476 Environmental Law and Regulation
  • SPH-O 310 Ecosystem Management
  • SPH-O 313 Wilderness and Protected Lands
  • SPH-O 360 Human Health and Natural Environments        
  • SPH-T 301 Sustainable Tourism
  • Independent study, readings, research, or practicum in sustainable food systems from any department (3 cr.) with pre-approval of the academic advisor (Note: This option can be used only once.) 

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