Environmental Science Major

STEM at EMU

Explore the world with STEM majors at EMU.

Students use campus space for capstone course

For their spring environmental sustainability capstone course, six Eastern Mennonite University students and professors Jim Yoder and Jenni Holsinger focused on the 13-acre Park Woods nestled on campus.

New environmental justice minor addresses the intersections of environmentalism and social justice movements

EMU senior’s Soil Cycles business by cycle collects compost

Soil Cycles HVA – “Compost Collection on Two Wheels” – offers food scrap pick-up services to residential and business subscribers.

Earthkeepers

Earthkeepers is an EMU student group to encourage environmentally-friendly practices and exploring ideas around simplicity and sustainable lifestyles.

Learn from – and do research with – professors who are experts in their fields and who invest their time in you, so that you can understand the complex, real-world issues related to environmental science. Studying the environment inevitably means studying the ways we interact with it. At EMU we focus on how to improve our interactions toward conservation and sustainability.

At EMU, environmental science majors learn by doing. They build resumes that include environmental research and that boast coursework in a variety of disciplines. Biology, sociology and peacebuilding professors work together on environmental science courses that weave forward-thinking sustainability practices with issues of international and community development and conservation.

Alumni are employed in a variety of related fields and have advanced degrees.

Distinctives
- Study at a university that practices sustainability as a core value
- We study modern concerns like global warming from both scientific and social perspectives, and take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding contemporary issues such as local hydrofracking and wilderness preservation.
- Job-related, practical experiences in a wide variety of organizations through practicums or internships in private businesses, farms and government agencies are an important step in developing a career in environmental sustainability.
- Research opportunities and student-faculty collaborations have included projects such as a grant-funded steam restoration in a local mountain community.
- EMU intercultural study abroad trips focus on sustainability issues, as did recent trips to New Zealand, Bolivia and the Galapagos, and Kenya.
- The Oregon Extension offers a unique opportunity to spend a semester in the mountains of southern Oregon exploring sustainability.

Student Internships and Opportunities

Internships in environmental science and social sustainability

Washington D.C. internships through WCSC:

Local internships in Harrisonburg, Virginia:

Student clubs and opportunities focused on sustainability

Research and Capstone projects

The capstone course centers around activities that help students reflect on their knowledge about sustainability and bring together threads from diverse disciplines to create an integrated understanding of contemporary sustainability issues.

In addition to their capstone experience, students often collaborate with faculty on long-standing research projects, sometimes presenting research at the Virginia Academy of Sciences.

Affordability
- Nearly 100% of undergrads receive financial aid
- The average assistance package is over $36,000
- Over $16 million in aid was awarded by EMU in 2019-20
Financial aid packages often include:
Learn more by contacting EMU's Financial Assistance Office or checking out our net price calculator.

Our graduate program in peacebuilding is also an asset to any undergrad in the fields of development and sustainability. Dozens of grad-level international scholars flock to EMU each year to study at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and many professors around campus have decades of experience working and living overseas advocating for those in the margins.

Curriculum

A major consists of 50 semester hours.

Core Courses: Introduction to Sustainability (12 SH)

BIOL 173 Concepts in Biology: Unity and Diversityof Life - 4
BIOL 174 Concepts in Biology Seminar - 1
BIOL 235 Ecology: Adaptation and Environment - 4
SOC 245 Environmentand Society - 3

Core Courses: Integration (18 SH)

*ENVS 205 Environmental Applications ofGIS - 3
*ENVS 385Conservation Biology - 4
*ENVS 325Environmental Ethics - 2
*ENVS 365 Environmental Risk and Policy - 2
ENVS 429 Environmental Sustainability Internship - 3
ENVS 430 Environmental Sustainability Capstone - 2
STAT 120 Descriptive Statistics OR STAT 220 Inferential Statistics - 2

Required Supporting Courses (9 SH)

BIOL 255 Biology Research Seminar - 1
CHEM 223 General Chemistry I - 4
*CHEM 285 Environmental Chemistry - 4

Environmental Science electives (5 SH)

Choose 5 SH of the following courses:

BIOL 215 Organismal Biology - 4
BIOL 240 Molecular and Cellular Biology - 4
*BIOL 327 Advanced Microbiology - 3
*BIOL 358 Natural History of the ShenandoahValley - 4
*BIOL 368 Blue Ridge Botany - 2
*BIOL388 Entomology - 3
*BIOL 465 Topics in Advanced Ecology - 2
CHEM 224 General Chemistry II - 4
*CHEM 305 Alternative Energy - 2
CHEM 315 Organic Chemistry I - 4
CHEM 316 Organic Chemistry II - 4
*CHEM 325 AnalyticalChemistry I - 2
*CHEM 345 Analytical Chemistry II- 2
ENVS 135 Earth Science - 2
*ENVS 235 Sustainable Food Systems - 2
*ENVS 379 Techniques in Environmental Monitoring - 1

Social Sustainability electives (6 SH)

Choose 6 SH of the following courses:

SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology - 3
SOC 225 Theories of Social Change - 3
SOC 336 Methods of Social Research - 3
*PXD 261 Community and Conflict AnalysisTechniques - 3
PXD 375 Globalizationand Justice - 3
SOC 210 Social Stratification - 3
SOC 255 Social Movements - 3
*SOC 350 Urban Sociology - 3
*SOC 430 Environmental Justice - 3
SOWK 360 Raceand Gender - 3
BUAD 221 Principles of Management - 3
BUAD 465 Project Management and Grantwriting - 3
ECON 201 Surveyof Economics - 3
ECON 211 Principles of Microeconomics - 3
ECON 212 Principles of Macroeconomics - 3
*ECON 300 Environmental and Ecological Economics - 3
*ECON 311 Contemporary Economic Issues - 3
*ECON 401 Development Economics - 3
*ECON 411 International Economics - 3
PXD 365 Social and Political Economy - 3
PXD 485 Global Development - 3
VACA 354 Conservation Photography - 4

Enrollment in upper-level biology, biochemistry, chemistry and environmental science courses (BIOL, BIOCH, CHEM, ENVS 300s and 400s) requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in all science and math courses (BIOL, BIOCH, CHEM, ENVS, MATH, PHYS). Students who fail to earn a C- in any coursework required for their major should promptly schedule a meeting with their advisor.

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Environmental Science