2022-2023 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Website: gvsu.edu/ens
Requirements
The environmental and sustainability studies (ENS) major requires 35 to 37 credits, plus nine to 12 credits in B.A. or B.S. program requirements.
Required Courses
The following courses are required (nine credits):
- ENS 201 - Introduction to Environmental and Sustainability Studies (3 credits)
- ENS 300 - Principles of Sustainability (3 credits)
- ENS 301 - Methods for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Sustainability Studies (3 credits)
Technical Skills Courses
Choose one course from the following (three to four credits):
- ENS 305 - Sustainability Assessment and Reporting (3 credits)
- GPY 200 - Computer Cartography (3 credits)
- GPY 307 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
- GPY 370 - Introduction to Remote Sensing (3 credits)
- NRM 250 - Resource Measurement and Maps (3 credits)
- PHO 171 - Darkroom Photography (4 credits)
- STA 301 - Questionnaire Design and Execution (3 credits)
- STA 311 - Introduction to Survey Sampling (3 credits)
- STA 341 - Demographic Methods (3 credits)
- WRT 200 - Introduction to Professional Writing (3 credits)
- WRT 253 - Document Production and Design (3 credits)
- WRT 350 - Business Communication (3 credits)
Triple Bottom Line Overview Courses
Students must choose one course from each of the following three groups (nine credits).
No course may count toward both a focus area and the triple bottom line overview.
Social and Cultural Perspectives
- ANT 340 - Culture and Environment (3 credits)
- ART 423 - Animals in Art (3 credits)
- BIO 338 - Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
- ENG 382 - Literature and the Environment (3 credits)
- ENS 311 - To Bee or Not to Bee; Honeybees and Social Impact (3 credits)
- HST 323 - Michigan History (3 credits)
- INT 330 - The Idea of Nature (3 credits)
- PNH 360 - Voluntarism and the Nonprofit Sector (3 credits)
- PSY 362 - Environmental Psychology (3 credits)
Physical and Life Science Perspectives
- BIO 105 - Environmental Science (3 credits)
- ENS 310 - How Biosphere Works (3 credits)
- GPY 100 - Physical and Environmental Geography (3 credits)
- NRM 330 - Environmental Pollution (3 credits)
Political and Economic Perspectives
- ECO 345 - Environmental and Resource Economics (3 credits)
- ENS 303/PLS 303 - Introduction to U.S. Environmental Policy (3 credits)
- GPY 361 - People, Environment, and Development in the Amazon (3 credits)
- INT 322 - Wicked Problems of Sustainability (3 credits)
- NRM 150 - Introduction to Natural Resources (3 credits)
- NRM 451 - Natural Resource Policy (3 credits)
- OSH 414 - Environmental Safety and Health Regulations (3 credits)
- PLS 314 - International Law (3 credits)
- PNH 307 - Local Politics and Administration (3 credits)
Synthesis and Application
A minimum of five credits are required from the following:
- ENS 401 - Environmental Problem Solving (3 credits) Capstone
- ENS 490 - Internship (1 to 6 credits) OR ENS 491 - Practicum (1 to 6 credits)
Focus Areas
Students must complete the required coursework in at least one of the following four focus areas (a minimum of nine to 10 credits):
- Sustainable food systems
- Energy
- Water resources
- Culture and the built environment
A focus area includes one course relevant to the focus area topic from each of the three triple bottom line perspectives:
- Social and cultural perspectives
- Physical and life science perspectives
- Political and economic perspectives
The focus area in sustainable food systems also requires completion of a course on food safety (either HTM 201 or HTM 250).
Students are encouraged to complete additional coursework within a focus area, or to complete more than one focus area, as their interests and resources permit.
1. Sustainable Food Systems
Students must complete a food safety course and one course from each perspectives list. No course may count as both a focus area course and as a triple bottom line overview course.
Food Safety
- HTM 201 - Good Food Gone Bad: Food Safety for Everyone (1 credit) OR HTM 250 - Food Production and Kitchen Management (4 credits)
Social and Cultural Perspectives
- ART 423 - Animals in Art (3 credits)
- ENS 311 - To Bee or Not to Bee; Honeybees and Social Impact (3 credits)
- GPY 362 - Farmers, Crops, and Our Challenging Agricultural World (3 credits)
- GPY 363 - World Forests and Their Use (3 credits)
- INT 342 - Food Matters (3 credits)
- SOC 288 - Sociology of Food (3 credits)
Physical and Life Science Perspectives
- BIO 319 - Global Agricultural Sustainability (3 credits)
- ENS 392 - Sustainable Agriculture: Ideas and Techniques (3 credits)
- NRM 281 - Principles of Soil Science (4 credits)
Political and Economic Perspectives
- GPY 345 - The Geography and Land Use Management of Michigan and the Great Lakes Area (3 credits)
- GPY 361 - People, Environment, and Development in the Amazon (3 credits)
2. Energy
Students must complete one course from each perspectives list. No course may count both as a focus area course and as a triple bottom line overview course.
Social and Cultural Perspectives
- GPY 363 - World Forests and Their Use (3 credits)
- HST 323 - Michigan History (3 credits)
- IDS 350 - Civil Discourse (3 credits)
- INT 330 - The Idea of Nature (3 credits)
Physical and Life Science Perspectives
- BIO 105 - Environmental Science (3 credits)
- BIO 215 - Ecology (4 credits)
- EGR 360 - Thermodynamics (4 credits)
- ENS/GPY 412 - Global Climate and Environmental Change (3 credits)
Political and Economic Perspectives
- ECO 345 - Environmental and Resource Economics (3 credits)
- EGR 406/NRM 406 - Renewable Energy Systems: Structure, Policy, and Analysis (3 credits)
- NRM 451 - Natural Resource Policy (3 credits)
3. Water Resources
Students must complete one course from each perspectives list. No course may count both as a focus area course and as a triple bottom line overview course.
Social and Cultural Perspectives
- BIO 338 - Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
- HST 323 - Michigan History (3 credits)
- INT 330 - The Idea of Nature (3 credits)
Physical and Life Science Perspectives
- BIO 107 - Great Lakes and Other Water Resources (4 credits)
- BIO 215 - Ecology (4 credits)
- GEO 105 - Living with the Great Lakes (3 credits)
Political and Economic Perspectives
- GPY 345 - The Geography and Land Use Management of Michigan and the Great Lakes Area (3 credits)
- NRM 451 - Natural Resource Policy (3 credits)
- OSH 414 - Environmental Safety and Health Regulations (3 credits)
4. Culture and the Built Environment
Students must complete one course from each perspectives list. No course may count both as a focus area course and as a triple bottom line overview course.
Social and Cultural Perspectives
- ANT 340 - Culture and Environment (3 credits)
- ENG 382 - Literature and the Environment (3 credits)
- GPY 410 - Landscape Analysis and Green Infrastructure (3 credits)
- HST 320 - American Indians (3 credits)
- HST 327 - History of United States Urban Society (3 credits)
- SW 150 - Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare (3 credits)
- WGS 335 - Women, Health and Environment (3 credits)
Physical and Life Science Perspectives
- EGR 306 - Urban Sustainability (3 credits)
- GPY 312 - Urban and Regional Environmental Planning (3 credits)
- NRM 330 - Environmental Pollution (3 credits)
Political and Economic Perspectives
- CJ 370 - Environmental Crime and Justice (3 credits)
- GPY 324/PNH 324 - Urbanization (3 credits)
- GPY 335 - Globalization and Development (3 credits)
- GPY 361 - People, Environment, and Development in the Amazon (3 credits)
- HTM 368 - Geotourism (3 credits)
- SOC 351 - Urban Sociology (3 credits)
B.A. and B.S. Degree Requirements
Nine to 12 credits are required for the B.A. or B.S. degree.
The Bachelor of Arts degree is distinguished by its concentration in liberal arts and typically focuses on culture, arts, philosophy, and language.
The Bachelor of Science degree is grounded in the liberal arts and distinguished by its focus on mathematics, statistics, quantitative reasoning, and scientific analysis.
B.A. Degree Requirements
Twelve credits are required. Third-semester proficiency in a foreign language of the student's choice, either classical or modern, equivalent to a 201 course in a GVSU language program.
B.S. Degree Requirements
Students must complete nine to 10 credits:
AND one of the following:
- AHS 301 - Introduction to Health Care Research (3 credits)
- GPY 307 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
- GPY 370 - Introduction to Remote Sensing (3 credits)
- HST 290 - Research Methods in History (3 credits)
- PLS 300 - Political Analysis (3 credits)
- PSY 300 - Research Methods in Psychology (3 credits)
AND one of the following:
- GPY 407 - Advanced GIS (4 credits)
- GPY 470 - Digital Image Processing (3 credits)
- STA 216 - Intermediate Applied Statistics (3 credits)
- STA 301 - Questionnaire Design and Execution (3 credits)
- STA 314 - Statistical Quality Methods (3 credits)
- STA 318 - Statistical Computing (3 credits)
- STA 340 - Statistics in the Media (3 credits)