By Natalie Vredevoogd
This year there are 2 NEW TRACKS in Environmental Sciences! the Natural Resources track and the Naturalist track.
Natural Resources Track:
The natural resources track is designed for students who want to work outside as environmental consultants or resource managers. It is designed to provide skills that will help students get entry-level outdoor jobs, including entry-level jobs in the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Army Corps of Engineers as a science field technician or in environmental consulting. It also prepares students for graduate study in interdisciplinary environmental science or management programs.
Naturalist Track:
The naturalist track is designed for students who want to work outside, interpreting the natural world for a lay audience, so courses in the track were selected with the work of environmental interpretation, education, and management in mind. The track is designed to provide skills that will help students get entry-level outdoor jobs, including entry-level jobs in the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service either as an interpretive ranger or a biological field technician. It also prepares students for graduate study in interdisciplinary environmental science or management programs.
Here are the requirements for these tracks:
Program Requirements – Env. Science Natural Resources Track
- IDIS 107 – Introduction to Ecological and Environmental Professions
- ENST 210 – Human Impacts on the Environment
- ENST 285 – Environmental Practicum
- ENST 302 – Environment and Society
- ENST 395 – History and Philosophy of Environmental Thought
- GEO 120 – Earth Systems
- OR
GEO 151 – Introduction to Geology
OR
GEO 153 – Big Sky Geology: Montana Field Experience
- GEO 215 – Mineralogy
- GEO 252 – Geomorphology
- GEO 261 – Geographic Information Systems and Cartography
- GEO 317 – Sedimentation and Stratigraphy
- GEO 325 – Hydrogeology
- GEO 361 – Advanced Geographic Information Systems
- BIOL 160 – Ecological and Evolutionary Systems
- CHEM 103 – General Chemistry I AND
CHEM 104 – General Chemistry II
- OR
CHEM 105 – Chemical Principles
Two from
Elective courses must include enough credits to meet the minimum of 58 credit hours in math and science to earn a BS. (Students interested in professional work in hydrology are strongly encouraged to take summer Hydrogeology Field Courses available elsewhere and transfer the credit to Calvin as an elective.
- BIOL 345 – Ecosystem Ecology and Management
- CHEM 201 – Analytical Chemistry
- CHEM 253 – Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry
- CHEM 271 – Environmental Chemistry
- ENST 385 – Internship in Environmental Studies
- GEO 181 – First-Year Research in Earth Sciences: Dunes
- GEO 251 – Oceanography
- GEO 304 – Geochemistry
- GEO 312 – Special Topics in Environmental Geology
- GEO 322 – Coastal Geomorphology
- GEO 351 – City and Regional Planning
- GEO 362 – Remote Sensing of Earth
- PHYS 221 – General Physics
- PHYS 222 – General Physics
- field courses at the Au Sable Institute
- an approved interim course
Cognate
Students must take one mathematics or statistics course as a cognate. Additional mathematics or statistics courses may be taken as electives in the major.
- MATH 132 – Calculus for Management, Life, and Social Sciences
- STAT 143 – Introduction to Probability and Statistics
- STAT 145 – Biostatistics
Total Semester Hours: 62-64
Program Requirements – Env. Science Naturalist Track
- IDIS 107 – Introduction to Ecological and Environmental Professions
- ENST 210 – Human Impacts on the Environment
- ENST 285 – Environmental Practicum
- ENST 302 – Environment and Society
- ENST 395 – History and Philosophy of Environmental Thought
- GEO 120 – Earth Systems
- OR
GEO 151 – Introduction to Geology
OR
GEO 153 – Big Sky Geology: Montana Field Experience
- GEO 152 – Historical Geology
- GEO 261 – Geographic Information Systems and Cartography
- GEO 252 – Geomorphology
- BIOL 160 – Ecological and Evolutionary Systems
- BIOL 161 – Cellular and Genetic Systems
- BIOL 344 – Vertebrate Biology
- BIOL 346 – Plant Taxonomy
- CHEM 103 – General Chemistry I AND
CHEM 104 – General Chemistry II
- OR
CHEM 105 – Chemical Principles
Two From
Elective courses must include enough credits to meet the minimum of 58 credit hours in math and science to earn a BS. (Students who want to incorporate professional naturalist training into their program are encouraged to work at the Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve and to do the Au Sable Institute’s Environmental Leadership Intensive.)
- BIOL 250 – Research Design and Methodology
- BIOL 323 – Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
- BIOL 338 – Animal Behavior
- BIOL 341 – Entomology
- BIOL 345 – Ecosystem Ecology and Management
- BIOL 354 – Specific Advanced Topics
- ENST 385 – Internship in Environmental Studies
- GEO 181 – First-Year Research in Earth Sciences: Dunes
- GEO 200 – People, Place, and Community
- GEO 250 – Meteorology
- GEO 251 – Oceanography
- GEO 312 – Special Topics in Environmental Geology
- GEO 313 – Paleontology
- GEO 322 – Coastal Geomorphology
- RECR 305 – Program Planning and Development
- SCES 214 – Communication and Learning in the Natural Sciences
- SCES 313 – Science Teaching in Elementary and Middle School
- SCES 314 – Integration Methods and Pedagogies for Secondary Science Teachers
- field courses at the Au Sable Institute
- an approved interim course
Cognate
Students must take one mathematics or statistics course as a cognate. Additional mathematics or statistics courses may be taken as electives in the major.
- MATH 132 – Calculus for Management, Life, and Social Sciences
- STAT 143 – Introduction to Probability and Statistics
- STAT 145 – Biostatistics
Total Semester Hours: 62-64
Join the awesomeness of Environmental Science at Calvin University. Advising is coming up soon, so chat with a GEO faculty today in North Hall. Just shoot one of the faculty an email to set up an appointment.
Photo by VisionPic .net from Pexels, CC license.
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