Lewis & ClarkCollege of Arts & Sciences

Environmental Studies

Major & Minor Info

The Major Program and Requirements

The major includes core courses in environmental studies, breadth courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and a concentration or second major. Core courses are designed to weave together concepts and skills drawn from breadth course fields in order to build an intellectually coherent understanding of environmental problems and solutions. The core sequence starts with a broad introductory course, followed by development of quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, and advanced treatment of environmental problems and solutions, culminating with a senior project representing original scholarly research on a topic of practical relevance. Breadth courses in fields including biology, geology, economics, sociology, international affairs, history, and philosophy provide important discipline-specific tools for environmental analysis. Students choose courses defining a concentration in order to gain greater depth in one particular subfield of environmental studies as preparation for research culminating in the student’s senior project (click here to view ENVS photo gallery).

Major requirements are spelled out in the Catalog. Updated course syllabi for each course are available by following the course link. Requirements total a minimum of 60 semester credits. Many courses utilize a variety of new web technologies, which our students master as a part of the curriculum.

Core Courses

Core courses in ENVS include the following, for 18 semester credits:

  1. ENVS 160 (4 credits, spring): Introduction to Environmental Studies
  2. ENVS 220 (5 credits with lab, fall): Environmental Analysis
  3. ENVS 330 (4 credits, spring): Situating Environmental Problems and Solutions
  4. ENVS 400 (4 credits, spring): Senior Seminar
  5. ENVS 499T (1 credit, typically fall semester senior year): Independent Study: Thesis Preparation
Breadth Courses

Breadth courses are other required courses in the ENVS major taken outside of the ENVS Program. These include the following, for 26 semester credits:

  1. Any two of BIO 141 (5 credits), CHEM 110 (5 credits), and GEOL 150 (5 credits) in the natural sciences, both generally offered fall semester annually
  2. ECON 260 (4 credits) and either IA 257 (4 credits) or SOAN 305 (4 credits) in the social sciences, all three generally offered spring semester annually
  3. PHIL 215 (4 credits), generally offered spring semester annually, and one four-credit elective in the arts and humanities.
Sample Four-Year Plan
The above core, breadth, and concentration courses may be completed in a number of ways, but here is a sample four-year plan, assuming four concentration courses. Other courses counting toward graduation are included in italics, including prerequisites for social science ENVS breadth courses.  Note: students transferring to LC or starting the ENVS major after their freshman year should consult with the ENVS Director for an appropriate plan.
Year
 Fall Semester  Spring Semester
 
1 		Biology 141
Economics 100
Exploration & Discovery requirement
Foreign Language requirement
 		ENVS 160
Philosophy 215
Exploration & Discovery requirement
Foreign Language requirement
 
2 		ENVS 220 
Geology 150
IA 100 (or SOAN 100 or 110) 		Economics 260
Concentration Course 1
Concentration Course 2
Physical Education requirement
 
3 		[Possible overseas program conveying International Studies credit] ENVS 330
IA 257 (or SOAN 305)
Concentration Course 3
 
4 		ENVS 499T Thesis Prep
Concentration Course 4
A & H ENVS Breadth Elective 		ENVS 400
Creative Arts requirement
Concentration

All ENVS students must design an area of concentration. We want to give you the opportunity to identify a scholarly area for which you have a keen interest, or desire advanced professional or academic preparation. You will then design your 16-credit concentration to build an excellent grasp of the concepts (theories, major issues of scholarly debate, etc.) and skills (research and analytical methods) necessary to do a sensational senior research project in this area. Your concentration may take a natural science, social science, humanities, or transdisciplinary focus, but must be proposed no later than spring semester of your sophomore year. See the concentration page for more information.

The ENVS Minor

Interested in the ENVS Minor program? A minor in ENVS consists of a minimum of 25 semester credits (six courses), distributed as follows:

  1. Three ENVS core courses, including 160, 220, and 330.
  2. Any three ENVS breadth courses, drawn from Biology 141, Chemistry 110, Geology 150, Economics 260, International Affairs 257, Sociology/Anthropology 305, or Philosophy 215.
Note: Enrollment preference in the above courses is given to departmental majors fulfilling degree requirements.
Honors

Students who distinguish themselves academically (GPA of 3.5 in the major and overall) are invited to apply for the opportunity to participate in the honors program. Honors candidates work with faculty advisers to develop proposals for research projects, which must be approved by a committe of three environmental studies faculty members. Generally, the project will be completed as a part of Environmental Studies 400 (Senior Seminar). Each student prepares a written thesis in draft form, which must be circulated to the committee no later than the ninth week of the student’s final semester. After the student completes the final version of the thesis and makes a formal oral presentation to the faculty, the faculty determine whether to grant honors on graduation.

 

If you have any questions whatsoever about the above, please do not hesitate to contact envs@lclark.edu for additional guidance. We’re very happy to work with you!

 

Contact Us

The Environmental Studies Program is located in John R. Howard Hall on the Undergraduate Campus.

Emailenvs@lclark.edu

Voice503-768-7790
Fax503-768-7379

DirectorLiz Safran

Environmental Studies Program
Lewis & Clark
0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road, MSC 62
Portland, OR 97219