University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary program that teaches students to understand contemporary environmental problems and recognize potential solutions in a holistic way through broad training in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Students select a specialty area and take a majority of courses from one of three emphases - Natural Sciences, Geosciences, or Environmental Resource Management - but also take courses from each of the other areas to ensure an appropriate amount of breadth within the major. Students are also required to select a technical specialty that will provide them with at least one specialized skill area that is crucial for today's environmental scientists. The interdisciplinary nature of this major is also emphasized within a common core of required courses, including introductory and capstone courses that are team-taught by faculty from a wide range of disciplines represented in the major.

This interdisciplinary minor combines information from a wide range of courses, all of which focus on some aspect of environmental studies. Participating departments and programs include Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Economics, Geography and Geology, History, Languages and Literatures, Mathematics, Safety Studies and Sociology. Upon completion, the student will have gained knowledge about many aspects of present-day environmental issues including 1) the natural processes of environmental systems, 2) the social and economic influences on the environment and the regulatory controls enacted to protect both the environment and human health, and 3) the techniques currently being used to study environmental problems. The minor, in combination with their selected major, is suitable to prepare students for possible careers related to the study of the environment or future graduate study.