Environmental Sciences
Office: Clark Hall
Phone: (434) 924-7761
| Environmental Sciences courses labeled EVSC (except EVSC 230 and EVSC 263) apply toward fulfillment of the College area requirement in Natural Science/Mathematics (EVSC 230 counts toward fulfillment of the College area requirement in Social Sciences) |
Environmental Sciences is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with the interacting processes that shape our natural environment. The program is broader than most other science programs, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the field. The Department conducts research and offers instruction in the areas of ecology, geosciences, hydrology, and atmospheric sciences. This unique combination of several sciences fosters the exchange of information and ideas on the scientific problems and issues of the environment. The research efforts of both faculty and students, whether disciplinary or interdisciplinary, deal largely with problems of fundamental scientific interest and, to a lesser extent, with applied science, management, and policy making.
Study within the Department prepares students for further graduate study within the sciences, helps develop a rigorous science background applicable to one of the professional programs such as law, planning, medicine, business, or environmental engineering, and provides a thorough grounding in a basic discipline as the principle component of a liberal arts education.
The Department offers a variety of introductory science courses that integrate the natural sciences and stress scientific methods and techniques. These introductory courses are part of our Environmental Literacy Initiative; they are for both science and non-science majors. Courses with the EVSC prefix generally satisfy the College’s area requirements in Natural Science and Mathematics, except for EVSC 230 (Politics, Science and Values: An Introduction to Environmental Policy), which satisfies the area requirement in the Social Sciences.
For further advising information, visit our web site or contact the members of the Environmental Sciences Organization (ESO). Each semester, ESO sponsors a lecture series, EVSC 493, for first-year students and the University community which provides insight into environmental issues and activities often not covered in the classroom.
The following are the courses for first- and second-year students to be offered this coming academic year:
- EVSC 101 Intro. to Environmental Sciences (fall and spring)
- EVSC 102 Practical Concepts in Environ. Sciences (fall and spring)
- EVSC 120 Elements of Ecology (spring)
- EVSC 145 Virginia’s Environment (spring)
- EVSC 201 Materials That Shaped Civilization (fall and spring)
- EVSC 210 Beaches, Coasts and Rivers (spring)
- EVSC 215 Introduction to Oceanography (spring)
- EVSC 230 Introduction to Environmental Policy (spring)
- EVSC 250 Man’s Atmospheric Environment (spring)
- EVSC 280 Fundamentals of Geology (fall and spring)
Students interested in majoring in environmental sciences should also, in their first year, study subjects related to the environmental sciences. Advanced work in ecology and geology depends on a basic understanding of chemistry (CHEM 141, 142) and biology (BIOL 201, 202). Hydrology and atmospheric science depend more on physics (PHYS 231, 232) and chemistry. All areas depend on calculus (MATH 131, 132), the techniques of statistics (STAT 112 or SOC 311), and computer programming (CS 101).
Students considering the environmental sciences major should begin the major core courses as early as possible (EVSC 280: Physical Geology; EVSC 320: Fundamentals of Ecology; EVSC 340: Physical Hydrology; and EVSC 350: Atmosphere and Weather). If you have a strong science and calculus background, or after you have taken chemistry and calculus, you should take EVSC 280 and its lab EVSC 280L. In the following year, you may take EVSC 320 and its lab EVSC 320L.
The Department now offers a Bachelor of Science degree in the major that has a substantially higher requirement in coursework both within and outside the Department. Students interested in such a major should contact the Department as soon as possible after arrival to obtain advice on appropriate scheduling of courses for entry into the program. Interested students should begin immediately to take basic science courses that support the B.S. program in environmental sciences. Each of the following is required for the major (BIOL 201 and 203, CHEM 141 and 141L, PHYS 151 and 201L, MATH 131&132), so registering for some of these courses in the first year will ensure a firm base for beginning the B.S. program.
Students who score a 4 or 5 on the Environmental Sciences Advanced Placement exam will receive 3 credits for EVSC 101. Any three hours of non-core, lower division courses, or advanced placement credit on either the Environmental Science or Environmental Systems exam, may be counted toward the major or minor if taken prior to your third year. (Note that only 3 hours of non-core courses below the 300 level may count toward the major so EVSC 101 and EVSC 120 may not both be used.)