| ENV 116 |
Global Environmental Challenges |
3 Credits |
|
This course explores the global implications of environmental issues. It is designed for all students interested in our global environment, one of the most critical issues of our time. The basic premise is that global ecological systems are in decline. This course will not only introduce students to the major issues causing or relating to this ecological decline, but also provide a template for thinking about and acting on solutions. Therefore, the focus is on active, participation-based learning, and students should leave the course ready to create environmental change. |
| ENV 129 |
Our Fragile Earth: A Scientific Perspective |
3 Credits |
|
This course introduces students to a wide range of environmental issues from a scientific perspective. Specific topics vary from year to year, but this course utilizes lectures, discussions, laboratories, guest speakers and field trips to increase knowledge about environmental problems as well as increase scientific knowledge and literacy. |
| ENV 129L |
Our Fragile Earth Lab |
1 Credits |
|
No description available.
|
| ENV 262 |
Environmental Economics |
3 Credits |
|
This course focuses on the study of the relationship between economic activity and the environment. It teaches students the economic perspectives and tools for analyzing environmental problems and evaluating policy solutions. The course covers both conceptual topics and real-world applications. Cross-listed as ECN 262.
Prerequisite(s): Economics 102. |
| ENV 391 |
Internship |
1 Credits |
|
No description available.
|
| ENV 392 |
Internship |
2 Credits |
|
No description available.
|
| ENV 393 |
Internship |
3 Credits |
|
No description available.
|
| ENV 225 |
Environmental Ethics |
3 Credits |
|
An investigation of some of the important moral issues generated by human interaction with the environment (natural entities, ecosystems, and other species), such as obligation to future generations, the theoretical foundations for an adequate environmental ethic, biodiversity preservation, environmentally sound development and cultural practices, responsibility to animals, and personal choices and lifestyles. Cross-listed as PHI 225. |
| ENV 301 |
Special Topics |
3 Credits |
|
The Special Topics courses will vary by year to provide in-depth analysis of a particular environmental issue. Prerequisite(s), if any, will be determined by the instructor. |
| ENV 352 |
Environmental Organizations & Governance |
3 Credits |
|
This course explores national and international environmental advocacy and organizations through a historical, political and economic context. The evolution, status, and future of the environmental movement are examined. Topics covered include ozone depletion, global climate change, sustainable development, and corporate environmentalism. Students conduct an environmental public opinion or advocacy project. |
| ENV 425 |
Environmental Policy |
3 Credits |
|
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the theory and practice of environmental policies. The course focuses on the political and economic factors contributing to the success and failure of present environmental policies. Topics include the roles of government and the market in causing environmental problems, analysis of proposed means for resolving those problems, and the application of economic and political analyses to selected environmental issues. Cross-listed as POL 425.
Prerequisite(s): One of the following courses: POL 101, ECN 101, ECN 102, or ENV 116, or permission of instructor. |
| BIO 216 |
Aquatic Biology |
3 Credits |
|
Basic ecology of a variety of freshwater ecosystems is examined, including energy flow, nutrient cycling, physical and chemical parameters, flora, and fauna. The management, maintenance, preservation, and pollution of aquatic systems are considered. Laboratory sessions include laboratory work and field trips. Three hours of class and three hours of laboratory per week.
Prerequisite(s): BIO 143 and 144; CHM 109 and 110; or permission of the instructor. |
| BIO 216L |
Aquatic Biology Laboratory |
2 Credits |
|
Experiments to complement the material presented in BIO216. Laboratory sessions include laboratory work and field trips. Three hours of laboratory per week.
Corequisite or prerequisite: BIO216.
Additional Fee(s): Laboratory fees. |
| BIO 248 |
Ecology |
3 Credits |
|
A study of the interrelation between organisms and their environment. Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisite(s): BIO 143 and 144 |
| BIO 248L |
Ecology Laboratory |
2 Credits |
|
Experiments to complement the material presented in BIO248. Four hours of laboratory or field experience per week.
Corequisite or prerequisite: BIO248.
Additional Fee(s): Laboratory fees. |
| ECN 101 |
Principles of Macroeconomics: The U.S. Economy in the World |
3 Credits |
|
The concepts of national income and output are analyzed, and emphasis is placed on factors that influence the levels of economic activity, unemployment, and inflation, including fiscal and monetary policy and the role of international economics. |
| ECN 102 |
Principles of Microeconomics: Decision-Making by the Firm and Consumers |
3 Credits |
|
The roles of the consumer and producer are studied in the context of the functioning of the price system in different market structures. Emphasis is placed on the factors that influence the distribution of income (rent, interest, profit, wages) in the economy and the economic influence of women and their purchase decisions in varying economies. |
| MTH 110 |
Statistics |
3 Credits |
|
Topics include statistical measures and distributions, decision making under uncertainty, application of probability to statistical inference, linear correlation, introduction to nonparametric statistical methods, and application to problems drawn from the natural and social sciences. Three hours of class per week.
Prerequisite(s): Two years of college-preparatory mathematics. |
| POL 101 |
American Government and Public Policy |
3 Credits |
|
An examination of the major processes and institutions of American government with comparisons to Canadian government and the economic, social welfare, and environmental policies that these processes and institutions produce. |
| HIS 275 |
History and Policy Analysis |
3 Credits |
|
This course illustrates how historical perspectives and methods of investigation are effective tools for assessing contemporary policy debates. The focus of the course moves from foreign-policy issues to public-policy issues in education, criminal justice, economics, and social planning. |
| POL 202 |
Understanding Public Policy |
3 Credits |
|
This course introduces students to the concepts and tools used in the analysis of public policies, and uses these concepts and tools to examine public policies in the United States and other industrial democracies.
Prerequisite(s): POL 100 or 101 |
| One of the following seminars: |
| ECN 301 |
Econometrics |
3 Credits |
|
This course provides an introduction to the theory and application of the estimation of economic relationships. Topics include simple and multiple regression, hypothesis testing, multicollinearity, serial correlation, hetero-skedasticity, and simultaneous equation models. Students use computer software statistical packages to analyze data and test hypotheses.
Prerequisite(s): ECN 101 and 102; MTH 110 or PSY 213. |
| ENV 327 |
Writing about Environmental Science |
3 Credits |
|
This course is designed for students with some basic scientific skills, who might become scientists professionally, but all of whom will be communicating about science, often to non-scientists. In this course, we will read, discuss, and practice a variety of methods of communicating about environmental science, from popular culture to news to government reports. Students will competently translate scientific results into written journalistic English and will be able to evaluate scientific results from the news in terms of its scientific accuracy and clarity. |
| POL 311 |
The Research Process |
3 Credits |
|
This seminar is essential for students who both use and produce scholarly research. It examines both the process and products of scholarship in the social sciences, including the following: choice of topic, development of research questions or hypotheses, retrieval of sources, preparation of a literature review, choice of appropriate methodology, and consideration of research results.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of the instructor. |
| ENV 498 |
Tutorial |
4 Credits |
|
|
| ENV 499 |
Tutorial |
4 Credits |
|
|
| Three environmental electives from the following list: |
| BIO 224 |
Botany |
3 Credits |
|
An introduction to the structure and function of plants. Topics include the evolutionary rise of green plants, plant life cycles and development, plant physiology, plant ecology, and the morphology and taxonomy of vascular plants. The importance of plants for humans is discussed, including their use for food and medicine. Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisite(s): BIO 143 and 144 |
| BIO 224L |
Botany Laboratory |
2 Credits |
|
Experiments to complement the material presented in BIO224. Four hours of laboratory or field experience per week.
Corequisite or prerequisite: BIO224.
Additional Fee(s): Laboratory fees. |
| BIO 226 |
Toxicology |
3 Credits |
|
An introduction to toxic substances, their classification, entry into living systems, modes of action, and fate. Various living systems are considered, from the subcellular to the ecosystem level. Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisite(s): BIO 143 and 144; CHM 109 and 110 |
| BIO 384 |
Plant Physiology |
3 Credits |
|
This course is an introduction to the physiology and biochemistry of plants. Lectures cover plant cells, enzymes, transport of water and nutrients, metabolism, defenses against pathogens, gene expression, hormones, and responses to environmental stimuli. Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisite(s): BIO 143 and 144, and CHM 109 and 110. |
| BIO 384L |
Plant Physiology Laboratory |
2 Credits |
|
Experiments to complement the material presented in BIO384. Four hours of laboratory per week.
Co-requisite or prerequisite: BIO384.
Additional Fee(s): Laboratory fees. |
| ENV 147 |
Environmental Geology |
4 Credits |
|
Fundamental earth science concepts are used to assess the impact of increasing global population and development on the Earth’s natural resources as well as to examine how natural processes interact with human activities. Aspects of environmental geology that are particularly applicable to western Pennsylvania are emphasized. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. |
| ENV 230 |
Wilderness and Food Sustainability |
3 Credits |
|
No description available.
|
| ENV 242 |
Women and the Global Environment |
3 Credits |
|
This course will examine contemporary global environmental issues from a gendered perspective. It will address the following question: How does environmental change impact women’s lives, women’s health, women’s community roles, and how are women offering leadership to address these problems and offer alternative solutions at the global, national, and local levels? The course will examine these issues from a North/South perspective, examining how northern countries consumption and policies are impacting women in poor and transitional countries. It will also focus on key environmental concerns, from climate change, resource extraction, population, consumption, and toxic contamination. |
| ENV 250 |
Plants, People, and the Environment |
3 Credits |
|
An introduction to the uses of plants by humans. Topics include the form, structure and genetics of plants related to their use as sources of food, shelter, fiber, flavors, beverages, drugs, and medicines. Plant structure and reproduction are studied in lecture and in-class activities with a particular focus on relationships between the plant's structural, chemical, or physiological attributes and the agricultural plant. Agricultural policies will also be discussed. |
Any 300 or 400 level ENV courses (Note that several English and Landscape Architecture courses are
cross listed with ENV)
Other courses may be approved by the Environmental Studies program director.
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