Overview

The ENVS degree draws courses from 16 departments and 4 colleges to create the interdisciplinary major.

Many of the courses taken by ENVS students are through other departments and disciplines because of the interdisciplinary nature of the ENVS undergraduate program.

ENVS Course Details

ENVS 1000-4 Introduction to Environmental Studies

Surveys ENVS, examining ecological, socioeconomic, political, aesthetic, and technological factors that influence the quality of life on earth.

Required

NEW COURSE!!!!

ENVS 2000-4 Introduction to Applied Ecology for Environmental Studies

Covers how ecological ideas and principles underlie both the problems and solutions of multiple environmental issues. The ecology of environmental concerns ranging from endangered species to global carbon cycling will be reviewed, including perspectives from physiological, behavioral, population, community, and ecosystem ecology. Prereqs., ENVS 1000 and EBIO 1030, 1040 and 1050, or EBIO 1210, 1220, 1230 and 1240. Recommended prereq., a course in introductory statistics. Similar to EBIO 2040. Credit not granted for this course and EBIO 2040.

ENVS 2100-3 Topics in Applied Environmental Studies

Covers a variety of topics not currently offered in the curriculum: offered depending on instructor availability and student demand. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours, provided the topics vary. Prereq: ENVS 1000.

ENVS 2840 (1-6) Independent Study

Students work with an approved faculty sponsor to explore a topic in greater depth and to pursue an interest that is not offered in the formal curriculum. May be repeated for a total of 8 hours. Prereq: ENVS 1000.

Elective

ENVS 3001-3 Sustainable Solutions Consulting

Introduces students to green design, industrial ecology, and life cycle analysis. Students use basic techniques of environmental auditing to analyze the CU-Boulder campus. Prereq: any two-semester science sequence. Restricted to junior and senior ENVS majors. Preqeq: Any2-semester science sequence. Restricted to Junior and Senior ENVS majors.

ENVS 3020-3 Advanced Writing in ENVS

Offers training in critical thinking and analytical writing skills appropriate to upper-division classes. Writing assignments integrate the subject matter of different topical areas. Restricted to junior and senior ENVS majors.

Counts as A&S core requirement for upper-division writing.

ENVS 3030 (3-4) Topics in Environmental Social Sciences

Covers a variety of topics that fulfill the social science requirement in the Environmental Studies major. Topics may include human ecology, environment and society, and quantitative environmental social science. Offered depending upon instructor availability and student demand. Prereq., ENVS 1000. Not repeatable for credit.

ENVS 3032-3 Environment, Media and Society

Examines how mass media influence our society, specifically with regard to environmental issues and outcomes. Focuses on media influence over environmental politics and policy, environmental public opinion, popular culture, and environmental/scientific knowledge.

ENVS 3040-3 Conservation Biology

Applies principles of population ecology, population genetics, biogeography, animal behavior, and paleobiology to the maintenance of biodiversity and natural systems. The resulting theory is then applied to conservation policy and management techniques. Prereq: EBIO 3020. Same as EBIO 3040.

ENVS 3070-3 Energy and the Environment

Examines contemporary issues in energy consumption and its environmental impact, including fossil fuel use and depletion, nuclear energy and waste disposal; solar, wind, hydroelectric, and other renewable sources; home eating; energy storage; fuel cells; and alternative transportation vehicles. Included are some basic physical concepts and principles that often constrain choices. No background in physics is required. Same as PHYS 3070.

Counts as A&S core requirement for natural science.

ENVS 3103-3 Applied Environmental Studies: Mining in Four Corners

Explores mining related issues that have pronounced impact on the environment, economy and politics of the Four Corners region. Students apply their basic knowledge of environmental science, policy and values toward the understanding of and productive discourse about the conflicts and opportunities brought about by the mining industry in the Four Corners region. Course includes a seven day field trip, visiting mining and reclamation sites in New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Fulfills application requirement for Environmental Studies majors. Prereq., ENVS 1000 and one year natural science.

ENVS 3140-3 Environmental Ethics

Examines major traditions in moral philosophy to see what light they shed on value issues in environmental policy and the value presuppositions of the economic, ecological, and juridical approaches to the environment. Prereq: sophomore standing or PHIL 1100, 1200, 2200, 3100, or 3200. Same as PHIL 3140. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: ideals and values.

ENVS 3434-3 Introduction to Applied Ecology

Emphasizes the integration of physical, chemical, and biological processes in controlling terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystem concepts are applied to current environmental and water quality problems. Includes field trips and a group project. Prereqs: CHEM 1111 or CHEN 1211 and 1221. Same as CVEN 3434.

ENVS 3520-3 Environmental Issues in Geosciences

Addresses current environmental problems in which an understanding of geology is needed.Topics include energy resources, climate modification, hydrology, waste disposal, and mining resources. Uses specific examples to illustrate restrictions imposed by nature and man on solutions to these problems. Prereq: a 2-course sequence in any natural science. Same as GEOL 3520.

Counts as A&S core requirement for natural science.

ENVS 3521-3 Climate Politics and Policy

Engages students in exploring the realm of contemporary and historical climate policy at three major levels of government: international, national and local/regional. Through course lectures, discussions, readings and activities, students will become conversant with the actors, mechanisms and concerns involved in climate policy and politics, and develop their own sense of how to judge the success of climate policies.. Prereq., ENVS 1000.

ENVS 3600-3 Principles of Climate

Describes the basic components of the climate system: the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and lithosphere. Investigates the basic physical processes that determine climate and link the components of the climate system, including the hydrological cycle and its role in climate, climate stability, and global change. Covers forecasting climate, its applications, and human dimensions. Prereq: one semester of calculus and physics. Same as ATOC 3600 and GEOG 3601.

Counts as A&S core requirement for natural science.

ENVS 3621-3 Energy Policy and Society

Examines how society makes decisions about energy, and how these decisions affect the environment and the economy. Uses tools from policy analysis, economics, and other disciplines to build an in-depth understanding of energy's role in U.S. contemporary society. Recommended prereqs: ENVS/PHYS 3070.

ENVS 3800-3 The Art of Research: The Essential Elements of Research in Environmental Studies

Introduces students to the practice of doing research in environmental studies. Examines how to define a research problem, select methods, design research, construct arguments and evaluate others' research. Aims to familiarize students with the process of doing research and enable them to proceed with confidence in pursuing their own research topics. Recommended for juniors planning to write ENVS honors theses. Prereq:ENVS 1000. Recommended prereq: ENVS 3020. Restricted to juniors/seniors.

ENVS 3930-3 Internship

Relates classroom theory to practice. Provides academically-supervised opportunities for environmental studies majors to work in public and private organizations on projects related to students' career goals. May be repeated for a total of 6 credit hours.

ENVS 4027-3 Inequality Democracy and the Environment

Focuses on the structural forces affecting environmental degradation and environmental behavior examining the relationships between (a) inequality and democratic decision making and (b) undemocratic decision making; U.S. and corporate food and energy policy; and global environmental degradation. The course also focuses on the role that global inequality plays in fostering environmental degradation. Restricted to juniors/seniors. Same as SOCY 4027.

ENVS 4050-3 Field Studies in Environmental Sciences

Includes field-oriented courses offered at irregular intervals during academic year or during summer sessions.

ENVS 4100-3 Topics in Environmental Policy

Covers a variety of topics not currently offered in the curriculum; offered depding on instructor availability and student demand. May be repeated for a total of 9 credit hours, provided the topics vary. Restricted to junior and senior ENVS majors.

ENVS 4120 (1-3) Topics in Environmental Sciences

Covers a variety of topics not currently offered in the curriculum; offered depending on instructor availability and student demand. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours, provided the topics vary. Restricted to junior and senior ENVS majors.

ENVS 4160-3 Intro to Biogeochemistry

Covers fundamentals of biogeochemical cycling, emphasizing water, carbon, and nutrient dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems; chemical interactions of atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, and natural and human-managed environments. Prereqs: GEOL 3320 or EBIO 3270, and CHEM 1011 or higher. Same as GEOL and EBIO 4160.

ENVS 4201-3 Biometeorology

Introduces this interdisciplinary science, studying the interactions between atmospheric processes and living organisms (plants, animals, and humans). Discusses how organisms adapt to a changing environment. Uses a practical, problem-solving approach to explore these interactions. Prereq: GEOG 1001. Same as GEOG 4201.

ENVS 4795-3 Museum Field Methods/Zoology and Botany

Class covers research and field methods for biological disciplines associated with natural history museums: vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Emphasis is on field research techniques: observations, sampling, collection and preservation methods, and comparisons among elevation zones. Includes 5 field labs, 2 weekend trips, 5 lab practica, experience with several taxonomic experts, and individual research projects. Same as MUSM 4795 and EBIO 4795.

ENVS 4800-3 Critical Thinking in Environmental Studies

Examines a specific environmental topic in depth, synthesizing information from complex and controversial issues. Different course sections present different topics. May be repeated for a total of 6 credit hours. Restricted to students with junior or senior status in Environmental Studies.

ENVS 4840 (1-6) Independent Study

May be repeated for a total of 8 credit hours. Prereq: ENVS 1000.

Elective

ENVS 4990-3 Senior Thesis

Supervised project involving original research. Open only to Environmental Studies majors with at least a 3.30 GPA. Thesis proposal must be accepted by Honors chairman.

Undergrad Program: