2024-2025 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 at least 35 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 (3 credits):
- ART 391 - Civic Studio: Art in Public (3 credits)
- DS 202 - Digital Data and Design (3 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 - Natural Resource Measurements and Mapping (3 credits)
- PHO 170 - Introduction to Photography (3 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 to 10 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 295 - Space Studio: Art, Installation, Environment, Site (3 credits)
- ART 391 - Civic Studio: Art in Public (3 credits)
- ART 423 - Animals in Art (3 credits)
- BIO 338 - Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
- ENG 382 - Literature and the Environment (3 credits)
- ENS 238 - Polluted, Poisoned, and Pillaged: Exploring Michigan's Waterways Through Time (3 credits)
- ENS 242 - Climate Change in Popular Culture (3 credits)
- ENS 311 - To Bee or Not to Bee; Honeybees and Social Impact (3 credits)
- ENS 381 - Study Abroad in Environmental and Sustainability Studies (3 to 9 credits)
- HST 323 - Michigan History (3 credits)
- INT 330 - The Idea of Nature (3 credits)
- INT 370 - Anishinaabeg Lifeways: Past, Present, and Future (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 the Living Earth Works (3 credits)
- GPY 100 - Physical and Environmental Geography (3 credits)
- NRM 330 - Environmental Pollution (3 credits)
- PHY 215 - Energy in Modern Life (4 credits)
Political and Economic Perspectives
- ECO 345 - Environmental and Resource Economics (3 credits)
- ENS 302/PHI 302 - Environmental Justice (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)
- GSI 365 - Global Climate Justice (3 credits)
- INT 322 - Wicked Problems of Sustainability (3 credits)
- NRM 150 - Introduction to Natural Resource Conservation (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 14 credits depending on the focus and courses chosen):
- 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.
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
Complete one course from each perspectives list; no course may count as both a focus area course and as a triple bottom line course.
Food Safety Perspectives
- CMB 140 - Living Foods: Ferment Them Yourself! (4 credits)
- HTM 201 - Good Food Gone Bad: Food Safety for Everyone (3 credits)
- 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)
- SOC 288 - Sociology of Food (3 credits)
Physical and Life Science Perspectives
- BIO 319 - Global Agricultural Sustainability (3 credits)
- ENS 310 - How the Living Earth Works (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)
- INT 342 - Food Matters (3 credits)
2. Energy and Climate Change
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 - Building Bridges Through Conversation (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 310 - How the Living Earth Works (3 credits)
- ENS/GPY 412 - Global Climate and Environmental Change (3 credits)
- PHY 215 - Energy in Modern Life (4 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)
- GSI 365 - Global Climate Justice (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)
- ENS 222/NRM 222/SOC 222 - Social Inquiry and West Michigan Water (3 credits)
- ENS 238 - Polluted, Poisoned, and Pillaged: Exploring Michigan's Waterways Through Time (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)
- ENS 310 - How the Living Earth Works (3 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)
- ART 295 - Space Studio: Art, Installation, Environment, Site (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)
- INT 370 - Anishinaabeg Lifeways: Past, Present, and Future (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)
- ENS 310 - How the Living Earth Works (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)
- ENS 302/PHI 302 - Environmental Justice (3 credits)
- ENS 305 - Sustainability Assessment and Reporting (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:
Interdisciplinary Methods:
Quantitative Analysis - Select one course from the following:
- GPY 200 - Computer Cartography (3 credits)
- PHY 215 - Energy in Modern Life (4 credits)
- STA 215 - Introductory Applied Statistics (3 credits)
Additional Quantitative or Qualitative Skills - Select one course from the following:
- AHS 301 - Introduction to Health Care Research (3 credits)
- DS 202 - Digital Data and Design (3 credits)
- GPY 307 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
- GPY 370 - Introduction to Remote Sensing (3 credits)
- GPY 407 - Advanced GIS (4 credits)
- GPY 470 - Digital Image Processing (3 credits)
- HST 290 - The Historian's Craft: What Historians Know and How They Know It (3 credits)
- PLS 300 - Political Analysis (3 credits)
- PSY 300 - Research Methods in Psychology (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)