Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 49
- Grade Requirement: A grade of C– is the minimum acceptable performance for each unit of credit for all coursework for the major.
The Environmental Analysis Major is a flexible, 49-credit program that focuses on developing critical skills and competencies in interdisciplinary environmental problem-solving. It is ideal for students seeking interdisciplinary training focused on the environment and sustainability, and it is designed to stand alone or complement another major.
Required Courses
Students must complete a total of 28 units of required courses as described below:
- Choose three of the following (9 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| BEYOND 1001 | BEYOND 1001 - Beyond Boundaries Seminar * | 2 |
| BEYOND 1004 | Beyond Boundaries: Beyond Sustainability: Planet, People, Prosperity * | 3 |
| BIOL 2150 | Introduction to Environmental Biology | 3 |
| EEPS 2020 | Introduction to Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science | 3 |
| ENST 1210 & ENST 2230 | People, Planet, Health and Research and Practice in Environmental Health * | 4 |
| ENST 1540 | Beyond Boundaries: Environmental Racism and the Health of Everyone * | 3 |
| ENST 2032 & ENST 2033 | A Sense of Place: Discovering the Environment of St. Louis and A Sense of Place: Discovering Missouri's Natural Heritage * | 6 |
| ENST 2220 | One Health: Linking the Health of Humans, Animals, and the Environment | 3 |
| ENST 2310 | Introduction to Environmental Humanities | 3 |
| ENST 2520 | Sustainability in Business | 3 |
| ENST 2530 | Metropolitan Environment | 3 |
| ENST 2620 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| POLSCI 2000 | Introduction to Environmental Policy | 3 |
- *
These courses or course sequences for first-year students may apply to this section; students may apply up to two of these courses or course sequences for first-year students toward this section of the major.
- Required core courses in analysis and communication; choose four of the following (12 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| COMPLITTHT 3120 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 3 |
| DRAMA 2201 | Public Speaking: Embodied Communication | 3 |
| ENST 3310 | Beyond the Evidence | 3 |
| ENST 3320 | Fallout: Analyzing Texts and Narratives of the Nuclear Era | 3 |
| ENST 3330 | Multiparty Environmental Decision Making | 3 |
| ENST 3340 | Writing Skills for Environmental Professionals | 3 |
| ENST 3600 | Field Methods for Environmental Science | 3 |
| ENST 3710 | Introduction in GIS | 3 |
| ENST 4350 | Foundations of Research: Building a Literature Review | 3 |
| ENST 4410 | Writing Home: Creating Cultural Guides for Environmental Site Workers | 3 |
| ENST 4710 | Advanced GIS | 3 |
| SDS 2020 | Elementary Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| or SDS 3020 | Elementary to Intermediate Statistics and Data Analysis | |
| or SDS 3030 | Statistics for Data Science I | |
| SDS 3020 | Elementary to Intermediate Statistics and Data Analysis | 3 |
| SDS 3030 | Statistics for Data Science I | 3 |
| WRITING 3005 | Writing the Natural World | 3 |
Note: Students may count a fifth analysis and communication course toward the depth electives.
- Required course in social identity and environment; choose one of the following (3 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFAS 1130 | Introduction to Race | 3 |
| ECON 3840 | Economic Realities of the American Dream | 3 |
| ENST 1540 | Beyond Boundaries: Environmental Racism and the Health of Everyone | 3 |
| ENST 3540 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| JIMES 2910 | Racism and Antiracism | 3 |
| SOC 2010 | The Roots of Ferguson: Understanding Racial Inequality in the Contemporary U.S. | 3 |
| SOC 2040 | Social Inequality in America | 3 |
| SOC 2050 | Inequality By Design: Understanding Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities | 3 |
| SOC 3100 | The Social Construction of Race | 3 |
| SOC 4170 | Global Structures and Problems | 3 |
| SOC 4831 | Global Racial Systems | 3 |
- Required interdisciplinary environmental capstone course; choose one of the following (3 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ENST 4801 | Sustainability Exchange: Community and University Practicums | 3 |
| ENST 4810 | RESET- Renewable Energy Policy, Engineering and Business | 3 |
| ENST 4820 | International Climate Negotiation Seminar | 4 |
| ENST 4998 | Senior Honors Research | 3 |
| ENST 5830 | Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic | 6 |
Note: Due to the intensity of these project-based courses, students may only take one per semester. Students may count a second capstone course toward electives.
- Fourth-year reflection seminar (1 unit):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ENST 4920 | Environmental Studies Fourth-Year Reflection Seminar | 1 |
Note: The purpose of this seminar is to create a written narrative portfolio that synthesizes, integrates, and reflects on the student's learning across the courses and experiences of the major. Reflection will occur through personal writing and discussion with peers in the course.
Elective Courses
Students will choose seven total courses (21 credits) that span three disciplinary areas of study and provide depth and breadth of study by choosing courses in the following way:
- Breadth Electives (three courses): Students choose one course in each of three areas: Environmental Humanities & Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences & Mathematics.
- Depth Electives (three courses): Students choose three additional courses in one of the following areas: Environmental Humanities & Arts or Social Sciences or Natural Sciences & Mathematics.
- Additional Elective (one course): Students choose one additional course from any of the elective lists.
The following guidelines apply:
- Students must earn a C– or higher in all courses counting toward the major.
- Students may take up to two total capstone courses toward the major.
- There is no double counting of courses among categories of the major; each course may only count in one category.
- There is no double counting of advanced (3000-and 4000-level) courses between two majors or a major and a minor. The rule of "no double counting of upper-level courses" also applies to students who are double majoring across schools.
Environmental Humanities and Arts Electives
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFAS 4010 | Who's Afraid of Black Marxism? The Crises of Capitalism and Futures of Solidarity | 3 |
| ART 3315 | Photography: Environment, Culture & Image | 3 |
| ARTARCH 3961 | Art & Ecology | 3 |
| COMPLITTHT 3120 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 3 |
| COMPLITTHT 4111 | Pastoral Literature: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, Antiquity | 3 |
| COMPLITTHT 4310 | Statistics for Humanities Scholars: Data Science for the Humanities | 3 |
| DRAMA 4202 | Theater for Social Change | 3 |
| ENST 3034 | Pathfinder: Environmental Modernism | 3 |
| ENST 3320 | Fallout: Analyzing Texts and Narratives of the Nuclear Era | 3 |
| ENST 3410 | Native American Storytelling - Healthy Land Practice | 3 |
| ENST 4410 | Writing Home: Creating Cultural Guides for Environmental Site Workers | 3 |
| HISTORY 2360 | Urban America | 3 |
| HISTORY 3296 | Environment and Empire | 3 |
| HISTORY 3813 | Between Sand and Sea: History, Environment, and Politics in the Arabian Peninsula | 3 |
| PHIL 2080 | Introduction to Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| POLSCI 3008 | AI, You, and Now: The Stories That Win | 3 |
| WRITING 3005 | Writing the Natural World | 3 |
| WRITING 3400 | Introduction to Playwriting ** | 3 |
- **
Students who take this course should work with the professor to choose an environmental or sustainability topic for their project work.
Social Science Electives
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFAS 3610 | Environmental Justice and Black Lives: Decolonizing the Land | 3 |
| AMCS 2270 | Topics in Native American Culture | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3102 | Topics in Anthropology: Sustainability in Extractive Communities | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3215 | Food, Culture, and Power | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3472 | Global Energy and the American Dream | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3602 | Environmental Inequality: Toxicity, Health, and Justice | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3610 | Culture and Environment | 3 |
| ANTHRO 4281 | Ecological Anthropology | 3 |
| ECON 3350 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
| ENST 2510 | Systems Thinking | 3 |
| ENST 3060 | Community Based Conservation: Madagascar Sustainability Initiative | 3 |
| ENST 3310 | Beyond the Evidence | 3 |
| ENST 3330 | Multiparty Environmental Decision Making | 3 |
| ENST 3520 | Ecological Economics | 3 |
| ENST 3530 | Sustainable Cities | 3 |
| ENST 3535 | The Sustainable Transportation | 3 |
| ENST 3540 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| ENST 4050 | The Social and Public Policy of St. Louis | 3 |
| ENST 4350 | Foundations of Research: Building a Literature Review | 3 |
| ENST 4510 | Intro to Environmental Law | 3 |
| ENST 4527 | Ipcc: Governance, Policy and Science | 3 |
| ENST 4530 | Political Economy of Climate Change | 3 |
| ENST 4710 | Advanced GIS | 3 |
| ENST 4801 | Sustainability Exchange: Community and University Practicums | 3 |
| ENST 4820 | International Climate Negotiation Seminar | 4 |
| MGT 4510 | Business & Government: Understanding and Influencing the Regulatory Environment | 3 |
| MGT 4603 | Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| POLSCI 3008 | AI, You, and Now: The Stories That Win | 3 |
| POLSCI 3328 | Energy Politics | 3 |
| POLSCI 3630 | Quantitative Political Methodology | 3 |
| POLSCI 3760 | Globalization, Urbanization, and the Environment | 3 |
| POLSCI 3890 | Power, Justice, and the City | 3 |
| POLSCI 4043 | Public Policy Analysis, Assessment and Practical Wisdom | 3 |
| POLSCI 4905 | Research Design and Methods | 3 |
| PUBHLTHSOC 3280 | Infectious Disease and Society | 3 |
| PUBHLTHSOC 3700 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
| PUBHLTHSOC 4011 | Water and Health in the Colonial and Postcolonial World | 3 |
| SOC 3170 | Poverty and the New American City | 3 |
| SOC 4170 | Global Structures and Problems | 3 |
Natural Science Electives
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ANTHRO 3660 | Primate Ecology, Biology, and Behavior | 3 |
| ANTHRO 3662 | Writing for Primate Conservation Biology | 3 |
| ANTHRO 4285 | Environmental Archaeology | 3 |
| BIOL 2970 | Principles of Biology II | 4 |
| BIOL 3172 | Biology for Climate Change Solutions | 3 |
| BIOL 3430 | Plants, People and the Environment | 3 |
| BIOL 3501 | Evolution | 4 |
| BIOL 3700 | Animal Behavior | 3 |
| BIOL 3810 | Introduction to Ecology | 3 |
| BIOL 4193 | Experimental Ecology Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOL 4195 | Disease Ecology | 4 |
| BIOL 4197 | Community Ecology | 3 |
| EEPS 3150 | Environmental Impacts of Human Energy Use | 3 |
| EEPS 3173 | Soil Science | 3 |
| EEPS 3230 | Biogeochemistry | 3 |
| EEPS 3420 | Environmental Systems | 3 |
| EEPS 3853 | Earth History | 3 |
| EEPS 3873 | Geospatial Science | 4 |
| EEPS 4074 | Remote Sensing | 3 |
| EEPS 4863 | The Earth's Climate System | 3 |
| ENST 3340 | Writing Skills for Environmental Professionals | 3 |
| ENST 3600 | Field Methods for Environmental Science | 3 |
| ENST 3610 | Urban Ecology | 3 |
| ENST 3620 | Applied Conservation Biology | 3 |
| ENST 3630 | Arctic Climate System | 3 |
| ENST 4600 | Signals of Change: Tracking Environmental Indicators | 3 |
| ENST 4710 | Advanced GIS | 3 |
| ENST 4730 | Introduction to Spatial Epidemiology | 3 |
| ENST 4810 | RESET- Renewable Energy Policy, Engineering and Business | 3 |
| LANDARCH 5330 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
Additional Information
Grades and Credits
The program has set the following policy concerning the minimum acceptable grade performance. A grade of C- is the minimum acceptable performance for each unit of credit for all coursework for the major. Courses with grades of D may fulfill the College’s requirement for 120 total credit units, but they do not meet the program requirements. A grade of C- is also the minimum acceptable performance for each unit of credit for any course required as a prerequisite to enrolling in advanced or sequential courses. Please visit the Academic Regulations page of the College of Arts & Sciences Bulletin for more information. Note: Students must ensure that, while completing the major, they complete a minimum of 18 units of upper-level coursework (3000 level or above). At least half of the units (i.e., 25 units) for the major must be completed in residence.
Substitutions and Transfer Credit
Requests for substitutions for courses from other institutions (transfer credit) need approval by the College Office. Please consult the Policies & Procedures page of the Arts & Sciences website for more information.
Majors requesting a course substitution should complete the Course Petition Form.
Study Abroad
To study abroad, students must be in their junior or senior year and have a 3.0 grade point average. Students must understand the language of the country they plan to study in. Grades do not transfer back to Washington University. Credits can be applied toward the 120 credits needed to graduate, and courses taken abroad can substitute for classes for the Environmental Major and Minors. These substitutions should be worked out before leaving for Study Abroad. Final decisions for course credit will be made once the student has returned and the courses and grades are reported to Washington University. The minimum grade for study abroad coursework to apply to major/minor credit is C–.
Environmental Studies will accept up to 4 courses (12-16 units) from a study abroad program toward the Environmental Analysis Major. This can include courses in the social identity and environment and breadth and depth elective sections of the major, as well as a research methods courses taken on a field-based program, but not other sections of the major. Requests for substitutions should be submitted to the director and study abroad coordinator for Environmental Studies, Dr. Jeff Catalano.
Considerations
- Participating in a Washington University program allows financial assistance, and students may earn full academic credit for study abroad if they participate in Washington University programs.
- Students wishing to participate in non-Washington University programs must petition for credit before participating in the program.
- Students must communicate regularly with their advisors while abroad and report to them upon return.
- Each student must contact the Overseas Office to arrange for credit transfer.
- For details, contact the Overseas Office.
Distinctions
In Environmental Studies, we recognize student accomplishment by awarding departmental distinction to graduating students who have excelled in various ways within the Environmental Analysis Major, such as high performance in coursework, exceptional analytical and critical thinking skills, or leadership in promoting environmental awareness, initiating sustainability projects, and inspiring others. Visit the Academic Honors & Awards page of this Bulletin for more information.
Latin Honors
Any Environmental Analysis Major may conduct senior thesis research regardless of GPA. To complete senior thesis/Latin honors research, students must register for ENST 4998 Senior Honors Research (senior thesis course) and ENST 4999 Senior Honors (senior thesis independent study) in their final two semesters to receive credit for their time spent on research.
To be eligible for Latin Honors, students must complete senior thesis research (complete ENST 4998 Senior Honors Research, complete ENST 4999 Senior Honors, and submit a satisfactory thesis) and have maintained a 3.65 grade point average through the sixth semester and must be accepted for candidacy by Environmental Studies. To earn honors, students must maintain a minimum 3.65 GPA through the final semester. In accordance with university guidelines, for Latin Honors, students may be awarded the BA cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude according to the following proportions: the top 15% in overall GPA of the full cohort of Latin Honors candidates who complete the requirements of their major departments will graduate summa cum laude; the next 35% magna cum laude; and the next 50% cum laude. For more information, please visit the Student Research page of the Environmental Studies website.
Department Awards
In Environmental Studies, we offer the following awards (recognition and a modest monetary prize) to graduating Environmental Analysis Majors with outstanding accomplishments. Program faculty members nominate and choose students.
- Environmental Studies Award for Academic Achievement
- Environmental Studies Award for Scholarship and Research
- Environmental Studies Award for Environmental Leadership
Contact Info
| Phone: | 314-935-7047 |
| Email: | bowinston@wustl.edu |
| Website: | http://enst.wustl.edu |