Environmental Studies
B.S.

Coordinator:

Professor Richard Smardon
211B Marshall Hall
tel. 315.470.6576
e-mail: rsmardon@esf.edu

To address environmental issues, we must first understand the problems that underlie them. And because those issues and problems exist at the interface of complex human and natural systems, understanding them requires the right synthesis of scientific, social, and cultural knowledge. Addressing those problems also requires scientific, social and cultural skills. The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Environmental Studies program at SUNY-ESF offers students just those sorts of learning and skill-development opportunities in the context of a well-rounded, yet substantial, education.

Our program has been carefully designed to provide students with as comprehensive an understanding of environmental affairs as is possible in an undergraduate education. That means learning about the scientific diagnosis of environmental issues and having enough scientific knowledge to work with scientists. It also means learning about the technological, social and cultural causes of those issues. And finally, it means understanding the diversity of approaches needed to treat the problems. In the pursuit of these objectives, we bring together philosophical, theoretical and practical perspectives on a wide range of environmental concerns. And in this way, our program prepares students with the knowledge, skills and experience to work for a more ecologically sustainable and socially just world.

Because the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies program is broadly multi-disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary, it provides students with a broad-based liberal education and asks them to be proficient across a breadth of scholarly and practical areas.

Graduates of ESF's Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies program have gone on to graduate school in many different disciplines as well as to law and medical school. They have also gone on to work in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), education, government, and the private sector, pursuing careers in such areas as policy, advocacy, conservation, consulting, administration, law, and education to name just a few.

Guiding Principles

There are six principles that guide the design and implementation of the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies program:

• holistic interdisciplinary education: we seek to offer our students an education that demonstrates the interconnectedness and integration of the many disciplines and fields that intersect with environmental concerns.
• critical skills: we encourage our students to be active learners and prepare them with invaluable life-long skills, including research, analysis, writing, and critical thinking.
• diversity and complexity: we encourage our students to recognize and value the diversity and complexity of ecological and social systems, and of the perspectives that inform society's understanding of environmental affairs.
• ecological literacy: we seek to develop students' awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of the intrinsic values of ecological processes and communities.
• justice and equity: we encourage students to value social and ecological justice and equity in all contexts.
• thoughtful professionalism: we seek to prepare our students to be reflective and sensitive, yet also effective and professional, in whatever endeavors they choose to pursue.

Program Description

In the first two years of the program, students develop a foundation in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences as they relate to environmental affairs. During that time, they also fulfill SUNY General Education Requirements and take open elective courses. In the final two years of the program, students select one of three specializations:

• Environmental Communication, Culture & Writing: This option focuses on the ways that communication influences environmental affairs, including rhetoric and discourse; news media; public participation; advocacy campaigns; collaboration; conflict resolution; risk communication; and representations of external nature in literature and popular culture. It is through written, oral, and visual communication that humans determine their relationship with the rest of the planet and with each other concerning it. This option provides a broad-based foundation in environmental communication theory and application. In addition to gaining a critical perspective, students obtain a range of skills within the option, including oral presentation, nature and science writing, environmental journalism, multimedia, and collaboration. Students may also choose to emphasize environmental education, environmental ethics and values, or other cultural perspectives.
• Environmental Policy, Planning & Law: This option is concerned with how environmental policies and plans are created, implemented and contested. It emphasizes legislative, regulatory, and collaborative approaches to solving or managing environmental problems. Policies are guidelines for action and plans are more specific guidance. They can be in the form of laws, regulations, treaties, agreements, prescribed practices, professional standards, corporate strategies, operating procedures and personal codes of conduct. The study of environmental policy includes how policies come to be, how they are implemented, enforced, evaluated, and affirmed, rejected or revised. Environmental planning examines complex processes from plan formulation to implementation. Policy and planning approaches increasingly involve public-private collaborations of diverse actors and stakeholders that address the unique environmental, legal, social and cultural components of the resource systems to be managed.
• Biological Science Applications: This option is designed for students interested in the interface between biology and socio-economic issues. It provides an emphasis on biology with an eye to the interaction with societal issues ranging from education to habitat management. The Biological Science Application option is supported by faculty from the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology as well as those in the Department of Environmental Studies.

In each of these options, students have the flexibility to pursue more specific interests. Several undergraduate minors, including a Minor in Urban Environmental Science, also are available.

In addition to traditional courses available through the core environmental studies curriculum and in the options, our program features the following:

• community engagement through service learning in a number of courses
• internships that provide valuable hands-on experience
• opportunities to study abroad for a semester

The scope and complexity of course work within the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies program demands both discipline and commitment from students seeking this degree. But the value of a broad education is widely acknowledged by educators and professionals. We hope that in offering this program we can prepare students to work not only in the diverse field of environmental protection, but also in any area that might interest them after graduation.

Study Abroad

ESF offers numerous study abroad opportunities of interest to Environmental Studies majors. Current ESF study abroad programs venture to China, Costa Rica, Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, New Zealand, Russia, and elsewhere. ESF students may enroll in study abroad programs through other SUNY campuses, and through Syracuse University. For further information, see ESF's Study Abroad webpage; contact ESF's International Education Coordinator, Carolyn Salter; and talk with your advisor.

Scholarships

Several dedicated scholarships are available to SUNY-ESF Environmental Studies undergraduate students, including:

• Denise M. Cerimeli Memorial Fund: This fund was established in memory of an Environmental Studies student. It is awarded to deserving Environmental Studies students, with preference given to financial need.
• Gary Hamilton '76 Memorial Scholarship: Grants and awards made from this fund are used to assist students who demonstrate financial need and are in either Environmental Studies or Landscape Architecture.
• Vivian Ryan Sutton Scholarship: Grants and awards are made from this fund to assist female students in their sophomore or junior year of study in either Environmental Studies or Landscape Architecture, on the basis of academic merit and/or financial need.

For further information about these or other scholarships, click here. For information about establishing a scholarship, please contact the ESF Development Office.

Student Participation

ESF undergraduates have many opportunities to participate in the life of the department, college, community, and world at large. Environmental Studies students recently formed the Environmental Studies Student Organization (ESSO) to support student participation in environmental and academic program activities. In addition, two students participate as members of the Dept. of Environmental Studies' Undergraduate Studies Committee; for the 2008/09 academic year, those representatives are Christopher DeFrancesco (upper division), and Shaylyn Decker (lower division). Environmental Studies students participate in many student clubs and organizations at both ESF and Syracuse University, including club sports teams.

Relationship to Syracuse University

SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University (SU) share a campus. ESF students have access to all SU libraries and other facilities and may take courses at SU at no additional cost. Students should consult with their advisor regarding the availability of courses at ESF and SU. Similarly, SU students have access to ESF facilities and courses. Environmental Studies students benefit from the broad range of courses ESF offers as well as from offerings at SU.