Environmental Studies Major Requirements (B.A.)
(Also see Requirements for a Bachelor's Degree.)
The Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary major that introduces students to the ways in which human activities impact Earth systems and vice versa. It equips students to use a variety of tools, such as policy, science, communication, and individual and societal behavior change, to solve environmental and sustainability problems, with an emphasis on the perspectives and tools of the social sciences. Environmental Studies majors must complete a set of core courses common to both ENVS majors, including a senior capstone and an applied experience, plus additional social science core courses and a suite of electives in the student's area of interest.
All ENVS majors are encouraged to consider studying abroad at some point during their undergraduate years to develop a more global, culturally sensitive perspective on environmental and sustainability issues. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities at JHU and elsewhere to engage in research and scholarship, either through a work or internship experience, an independent research course, or a senior thesis project.
The Environmental Studies major requires a total of 58 credits to complete. With the exception of the Applied Experience, all courses must be taken for a letter grade, and students must earn a grade of C- or better to apply the course to the major. Students are not permitted to double-major in both Environmental Studies and Environmental Science.
Electives
Each student should work with their advisor to choose a coherent and meaningful suite of elective courses that are relevant to the student's individual interests and career plans and that total at least 12 credits, 9 of which are at the 300-level or above. Some students may choose to center their electives around one or more environmental/sustainability issues or disciplines, such as anthropology or economics; others may choose to explore more broadly. Approved elective courses are those that concentrate directly on environmental or sustainability issues. ENVS independent study, independent research, and senior thesis courses can also count as electives. The ENVS Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) distributes a list of approved elective courses each semester, and these courses are denoted with the POS tag ENVS-MAJOR in the Schedule of Classes. Approval for other courses can be sought by emailing the DUS.
Applied Experience
The applied experience can be completed during any semester including summers and involves at least 80 hours of supervised, hands-on work while enrolled in AS.271.509 Applied Experience. The experience can involve doing research or working with an organization on environmental or sustainability issues through an internship or similar work or volunteer experience. Journal entries and synthesizing assignments reflecting on the experience are required for the course. The goal of this requirement is to ensure that students have practical experience in a workplace or community setting that will help prepare them for the next step in their education and career.
Senior Capstone & Seminar
The ENVS AS.271.496 Senior Capstone course focuses on developing critical thinking and communication skills through engagement with complex, real world, environmental and sustainability problems. Concurrently, seniors take the 1-credit AS.271.499 Senior Seminar course that focuses on life design and career planning in order to support seniors as they transition to post-graduate life and work. All ENVS majors must enroll in the capstone and senior seminar courses in the fall semester of their senior year.
Writing and Communication in the Major
Students must complete at least 6 credits of Writing and Communication foundational ability coursework in one major. For this major, students would be able to fulfill this requirement by completing AS.271.107 Introduction to Sustainability, a required 3 credit course of the ENVS major, and by selecting one elective (at least 3 credits) for the major that is designated as a Writing and Communications course.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Common ENVS Core | ||
| AS.270.103 | Introduction to Global Environmental Change | 3 |
| AS.271.107 | Introduction to Sustainability | 3 |
| AS.270.202 | Introduction to Ecology | 3 |
| AS.270.205 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and Geospatial Analysis | 3 |
| AS.271.360 | Climate Change: Science & Policy | 3 |
| or EN.570.367 | Sustainability Science and Policy: The Threat of Climate Change | |
| AS.271.402 | Water, Energy, and Food Nexus | 3 |
| AS.271.496 | Senior Capstone (Students taking the Honors path may replace the Capstone with the Senior Thesis.) | 2 |
| AS.271.497 | Senior Capstone Project (Taken concurrently with AS.271.496) | 1 |
| AS.271.499 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| AS.271.509 | Applied Experience | 1 |
| AS.030.101 | Introductory Chemistry I | 3 |
| or AS.020.151 | General Biology I | |
| AS.110.106 | Calculus I (Biology and Social Sciences) | 4 |
| or AS.110.108 | Calculus I (Physical Sciences & Engineering) | |
| AS.180.102 | Elements of Microeconomics | 3 |
| AS.190.101 | Introduction to American Politics | 3 |
| or AS.190.102 | Introduction To Comparative Politics | |
| or AS.190.111 | Introduction to Global Studies | |
| or AS.190.108 | Contemporary International Politics | |
| AS.230.205 | Introduction to Social Statistics | 4 |
| or AS.280.345 | Public Health Biostatistics | |
| or EN.553.111 | Statistical Analysis I | |
| or EN.553.211 | Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences | |
| or EN.553.310 | Probability & Statistics for the Physical Sciences & Engineering | |
| or EN.553.311 | Intermediate Probability and Statistics | |
| Social Sciences Core | ||
| AS.180.101 | Elements of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| AS.230.202 | Research Methods for the Social Sciences | 3 |
| or AS.070.317 | Methods | |
| or AS.190.365 | Research and Inquiry in the Social Sciences | |
| or AS.200.200 | Research Methods in Psychology | |
| or AS.230.323 | Qualitative Research Practicum | |
| or AS.280.240 | Research Methods in Public Health | |
| Electives | ||
| Choose 12 credits of approved courses, at least 9 credits of which are at the 300-level or above. ENVS independent study, independent research, and senior thesis courses can count as electives.Courses with the POS-Tag ENVS-Major automatically apply towards this requirement | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 58 | |
Sample Program of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.270.103 | 3 | AS.271.107 | 3 |
| AS.110.106 | 4 | AS.180.102 | 3 |
| AS.180.101 | 3 | AS.230.205 | 4 |
| AS.190.108 | 3 | ||
| 13 | 10 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.270.205 | 3 | AS.270.202 | 3 |
| AS.030.101 | 3 | AS.230.202 | 3 |
| 6 | 6 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.271.402 | 3 | AS.271.509 | 1 |
| Elective course | 3 | Elective course | 3 |
| Elective course | 3 | ||
| 6 | 7 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.271.496 | 2 | AS.271.360 | 3 |
| AS.271.497 | 1 | ||
| AS.271.499 | 1 | ||
| Elective course | 3 | ||
| 7 | 3 | ||
| Total Credits 58 | |||
Honors in the Major
To earn honors in the major, a student must meet the following criteria:
- Earn a cumulative GPA of 3.50 in the courses taken to fulfill the major requirements.
- Complete AS.271.399 Research Design during the junior year to develop a senior thesis project proposal. If a student is prevented from taking the course for some reason, such as studying abroad, they must petition the DUS for a waiver.
- Submit a senior thesis project proposal on an environmental or sustainability-related research project or other comparable scholarly endeavor before the start of the senior year. It will be evaluated by the ENVS Director, Associate Director, and the proposed faculty research advisor and must meet their approval.
- Complete 6 credits of AS.271.511 Senior Honors Thesis under the guidance of a JHU faculty member or research affiliate.
- Earn a rating of good or excellent on the final product of the thesis, as determined by the ENVS thesis committee including the student’s research advisor.
- Present the results of the thesis orally in an appropriate JHU department.
Additional details on the procedures and criteria for earning honors are available on the ENVS website. A thesis project completed to earn honors in an ENVS major cannot be double-counted with an honors thesis done in another department or program for a second major.
B.A./M.S. Option
Undergraduates majoring in Environmental Studies may apply for accelerated status toward an M.S. in Environmental Sciences and Policy (ESP) or an M.S. in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) through the JHU Krieger School of Arts & Sciences' Advanced Academic Programs. Interested students should speak with their advisor and the Director of the ESP or GIS Program in their senior year. Students may apply up to three courses taken as undergraduates toward the M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy and up to two courses toward the M.S. in GIS, thereby leaving only seven to eight more courses to complete the M.S. following receipt of their bachelor's degree. Students will receive two separate degrees, so the requirements of both degrees must be fulfilled. Students cannot earn the M.S. degree without completion of the B.A. or B.S., however, students who do not complete the M.S. retain their B.A. or B.S.