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Environmental Studies Department
Olin Rice 249
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-696-6274
Comments & questions to:
esson@macalester.edu


Major/Minor Requirements

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary program based on a holistic understanding of environmental issues occurring at the local, national, and global level.  The program offers students tools and perspectives from the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences to understand the causes and consequences of environmental problems and the knowledge to develop potential solutions.

Major Concentration

The Environmental Studies major consists of ten courses (40 credits) in environmental studies and related subjects plus a seven-course emphasis.  The ten course requirement is distributed as follows:

Other Environmental Studies Courses:

Minor Concentration

Five courses (20 credits) are required for a minor in Environmental Studies: two from the introductory sequence (Environmental Studies 133, 215, or 234) and three additional Environmental Studies courses selected in consultation with a department faculty member and approved by the department chair.

Honors Thesis

The Environmental Studies Department participates in the Honors Program. Eligibility requirements, application procedures, and specific project expectations for the Environmental Studies Department are available here, from the Environmental Studies Department office, or the Dean of Academic Programs.

Current Course Schedule can be found here.

Course Descriptions

ENVI 120 - Environmental Geology (same as GEOL 120)
The physical environment has begun to show signs of our earth's expanding population and increasing need for natural resources.  Geologic materials such as soil, water, and bedrock, and geologic processes involving earthquakes, volcanic activity, and running water often pose constraints on land use.  This course is designed to introduce students to the relationship between humans and their geologic environment:  the earth.  We will focus on understanding the processes that shape the surface of the earth, and how these processes affect human activity.  We will use current scientific methods to collect and analyze data, and compile coherent reports outlining results and conclusions, pollution and waste management, landslides, volcanic and earthquake hazards, and global climate change.  Format:  three hour block per week of local field excursions, lectures, and/or laboratory exercises; evaluation will be based on project reports and homework/classroom assignments, and one exam (final).  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Fall semester.   (4 credits)

ENVI 133 - Environmental Science
This course provides the basic scientific knowledge and understanding of how our world works from an environmental perspective.  This course provides a framework of knowledge into which additional information can be readily integrated over a lifetime of continued learning.  Topics covered include, but are not limited to, general issues on the environment, basic principles of ecosystem function, human population growth, production and distribution of food, soil and soil ecosystems, pest and pest control, water resources and management, water pollution, hazardous chemicals, air pollution and climate change, pollution and public policy, biodiversity and its conservation, solid waste, energy resources, and sustainability.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  There are no prerequisites.  It will be offered every Fall and Spring semester.  (4 credits)

ENVI 180 - Ecology (Same as BIOL 180)
This course is an introduction to the study of ecological and evolutionary theory and processes.  The subject of this course is the natural world and the current and past processes that have shaped it.  Major ecological and evolutionary patterns are described and proposed underlying mechanisms are investigated through field and laboratory studies.  The impact of humans on natural systems is also examined.  Three hours lecture and one three-hour lab each week.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Every semester.   (4 credits)

ENVI 194 - Global Climate Change
The Earth’s climate system is complex and dynamic, and a solid understanding of how the system operates is required in order to address concerns about the anthropogenic influence on climate.  In this course, we examine the basic physical and chemical processes that control the modern climate system, including the role of incoming solar radiation, the greenhouse effect, ocean and atmospheric circulation, and El Niño. We also look critically at the methods and archives used to reconstruct climate in the past, such as ice cores, marine and lake sediments, and cave deposits.  We explore the possible effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on modern and future climate by critically examining the models used in climate prediction, and discuss the challenges of modeling such a complex system.  Although this course is taught from a primarily scientific perspective, it includes frequent discussions regarding the role of policy and economics in the current dialogue on global climate change.  (4 credits)

ENVI 194 - Lakes, Streams and Rivers (Same as BIOL 194)
 Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, is also home to numerous streams and rivers. In this course we will examine the nature of these aquatic ecosystems; exploring their ecology, geology and chemistry. We will also investigate human impacts through such practices as agriculture, urbanization and industrialization, on these important ecosystems. Students will complete projects exploring various aspects of local waterbodies, especially the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 194 - Culture, Conservation and the Environment (Same as ANTH 194)
This course introduces students to the ways in which anthropology has engaged the idea of the environment through its most significant theoretical concept, that of culture, and goes on to examine the value of an anthropological perspective for contemporary conservation strategies. There are two kinds of anthropological approaches to environment that we will consider. The first is cultural ecology, the ways in which culture shapes how human beings adapt to their environment. The second examines how actors in different societies understand the concept of environment; does “environment” mean the same thing to all people everywhere? Finally, we will apply the ideas we have learned in the first half of the course to a number of conservation projects throughout the world to see how they illuminate their success or failure. No prerequisites.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 194 - The Science of Renewable Energy (Same as PHYS 194)
This is a course on the current status of the most promising alternative and renewable energy methods from a primarily scientific and technological perspective.  Photovoltaics, passive solar, wind, biomass and biofuels, and hydrogen will be considered in depth. Fusion and geothermal power generation will also be briefly discussed.  The course will begin with a consideration of the nature of energy and the physics and chemistry of energy generation.  Current methods of electricity generation and transportation energy sources (fossil fuels, nuclear, and hydroelectric) will be briefly reviewed, including discussion of their limitations and environmental consequences.  The focus of the course will be on understanding the scientific basis of alternative energy sources, and their promise and technological challenges for wide scale implementation.  A two hour weekly laboratory accompanies the course, which will include fabrication of a dye-sensitized solar cell; the design, construction, and testing of a scale model wind turbine; design, construction of a passive solar oven; and analysis of data from the Macalester wind turbine and the Olin-Rice solar cell lab. Some pre-calculus mathematics will be used, otherwise there are no prerequisites for the course.   (4 credits)

ENVI 215 - Environmental Politics and Policy (Same as POLI 215)
This course provides an introduction to the field of Environmental Politics and Policy. Using a comparative approach, the course engages the meaning and development of environmental governance. We will explore the tandem rise of the modern environmental movement and profound new environmental legislation in the U.S. and internationally.  Topics investigated will include: deforestation, hazardous wastes, climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Every spring.   (4 credits)

ENVI 231 - Environmental Economics and Policy (same as ECON 231)
This course presents the elementary theories of environmental pollution (e.g., air, water and land pollution) and the economics of such global issues as climate change and biodiversity.  The aim is to provide an understanding of the conditions determining whether markets do a good job in protecting the environment and biological resources, to explore potential areas for government intervention, and to employ economics in evaluating the relative effectiveness of alternative forms of government intervention in achieving particular objectives.  Both local, state, national and global environmental issues and policy, and the linkages between them, are addressed.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Prerequisite:  Economics 19.  Every year.   (4 credits)

ENVI 232 - People and the Environment (same as GEOG 232)
This course introduces you to the study of human-environment interactions from a geographic perspective, with a special emphasis on the role of humans in changing the face of the earth and how, in turn, this changing environment influences humans.  The course will examine environmental issues in a variety of geographic contexts (developed and developing countries) and the connections between environmental problems in different locations.  Students will explore the fundamentals of environmental science, economics, cultural and political ecology, as well as a number of sectoral issues related to human population growth, agriculture, water resources, biodiversity, forest resources, energy use, climate change, and environmental health.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  No prerequisites.  Spring semester.   (4 credits)

ENVI 234 American Environmental History (Same as HIST 234)
In this course, we will examine the variety of ways that people in North America have shaped the environment, as well as how they have used, labored in, abused, conserved, protected, rearranged, polluted, cleaned, and thought about it.  In addition, we will explore how various characteristics of the natural world have affected the broad patterns of human society, sometimes harming or hindering life and other times enabling rapid development and expansion.  By bringing nature into the study of human history, and the human past into the study of nature, we will begin to see the connections and interdependencies between the two that are often overlooked.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 235 - Citizen Science:  Environment, Technology, and Democracy  (same as POLI 235)
This course explores the dynamic relationship between science, technology and society. The course will examine how, and which members of, the public make controversial environmental decisions over topics such as endangered species, genetically modified foods, bioprospecting, climate change, and toxic waste disposal. Through these case studies, the course will critically examine concepts of risk and uncertainty, trust, credibility, expertise and citizenship. For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 236 - Consumer Nation:  Twentieth-Century American Consumer Culture (Same as HIST 236)
Of all the strange beasts that have come slouching into the 20th century," writes James Twitchell, "none has been more misunderstood, more criticized, and more important than materialism." In this course, we will trace the various twists and turns of America's vigorous consumer culture across the twentieth century, examining its growing influence on American life, its implications for the environmental health of the world, and the many debates it has inspired. For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 237 - Environmental Justice (Same as HIST 237)
Poor and minority populations have historically born the brunt of environmental inequalities in the United States, suffering disproportionately from the effects of pollution, resource depletion, dangerous jobs, limited access to common resources, and exposure to environmental hazards. Paying particular attention to the ways that race, ethnicity, class, and gender have shaped the political and economic dimensions of environmental injustices, this course draws on the work of scholars and activists to examine the long history of environmental inequities in the United States, along with more recent political movements--national and local--that seek to rectify environmental injustices. Every other fall; next offered Fall 2007.   (4 credits)

ENVI 252 - Water and Power (Same as GEOG 252  and POLI 252)
This course develops an interdisciplinary approach to studying water resources development, drawing from political science, geography, anthropology, history, hydrology and civil engineering. With a focus on large river basins, the course examines historical and emerging challenges to the equitable and sustainable use of transboundary waters. After first exploring the American water development model, the course will examine the promulgation of this model in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Dam development for irrigation, electricity, navigation and flood protection will be discussed.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 265 - Justice (same as ENGL 265)
In this course we will examine texts by, about, and for workers for social justice. Our method will be interdisciplinary.  With an eye toward aesthetics, we will examine novels and plays that have at their center protagonists who have been called to realize a vision of the just society or, more desperately, to stand alone against seemingly inevitable assaults upon human dignity.  We will at the same time examine philosophical and sociological accounts of political action, including works that evaluate the effectiveness of different individual and organizational strategies for social change.  Central issues may include obedience and disobedience, economic justice, eco-activism, globalization, human rights, gender, race, and the question of personal vocation - that is, how do we bring together our ethical commitments and our working lives?  Central figures will range from Sophocles to Naomi Klein, Zola to James Baldwin.  Students will be provided extensive opportunities for service and experiential learning in local organizations committed to social justice.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 280 - Environmental Classics
What has the environment mean to past generations?  How have writers shaped the ways we understand our relationships with the natural world?  This course explores these questions, drawing in roughly equal measure on “classic” texts from the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.  Required for Environmental Studies majors.  It is recommended that students complete this course during the spring of their sophomore year.  Prerequisites:  Permission of the instructor or two of the following:  ENVI 133, ENVI 215, ENVI 234.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Every spring.   (4 credits)

ENVI 294 - Environment and the Media
This course examines how media and popular culture influence our understanding of the environment.  We will use an interdisciplinary framework to explore the ways in which nature and the environment are portrayed in a variety of cultural texts.  Topics will include:  feature films and nature television, news accounts of environmental issues, corporate advertising, nature theme parks, and media representations of green activism.

ENVI 294 - Literature and Environment (Same as ENGL 294)
What counts as sustainable living, and what do literary writers explore about it? This course studies writers of essays, journals, fiction, poetry, and song on questions of sustainable human and natural communities. We’ll look at current issues of food supply, agriculture, agrarian communities, sufficiency, dearth and abundance, attending to the ways that literary craftsmanship can inspire and inform action. Works drawn from nonfiction prose by Emerson, Thoreau, Jefferson, Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan, Gary Snyder, Charles Olson; fiction by Ursula Le Guin and Willa Cather; and some poets, going back as far as ancient mythological poets Hesiod and Virgil.  (4 credits)

ENVI 294 - The Black Death (Same as HIST 294)
 From 1347-1350, a great plague swept across Europe, killing an estimated 1/3 of the entire human population.  As if that wasn't bad enough, the fourteenth century also witnessed animal diseases, famines, large-scale climate change, and the human crisis of war.  This had both immediate and long-term effects on medieval Europe, changing daily life, social networks, and economic decision making. Understanding the degree to which the medieval world was altered by (and survived) this natural disaster also offers glimpses of medieval psychology, scientific knowledge, spirituality, and aesthetics.  This class will use the medieval epidemic as a way to understand how diseases affect human and animal survival, and how environment can be an agent for changing human history.  We will also set the medieval epidemic in its broader context, by discussing problems in studying historical plagues and by looking at the outbreaks of plague in Europe at the end of the Roman Empire.

ENVI 294 - Poetry of Environment (Same as ENGL 294)
"Language does not impose order on a chaotic universe but reflects its own wildness back." – Gary Snyder.  In this course we will read a wide array of poetry, along with selected creation myths, cosmologies, and essays, to consider poets’ sense of what Gary Snyder famously called “Earth Household.”  What environs us?  How do we find a dynamic and just principle of dwelling?  How do poets evoke the vitality of sensory experience within elemental environments?  How do places arouse strong emotions and attachments? How do people in today’s environmental movements use poetry?  Can poetry about environments teach specific guidelines for living?  What are ecopoetry and ecocriticism, and how are they different from nature poetry?  What do poets mean when they say that language itself is wild? How can studying poetry fuel or refine thinking about environmental justice?  We’ll read from a wide range of poets, including Li Po, T'ao Ch'ien, Virgil, Thomas Traherne, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, Dylan Thomas, Lorine Niedecker, Elizabeth Bishop, A. R. Ammons, Susan Stewart, Kenneth Rexroth, Ted Hughes, Alice Oswald, Mary Oliver, Jorie Graham, Les Murray, and that familiar poet Anonymous.  To focus our thinking we’ll draw on prose by thinkers on dwelling like Dogen, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Dorothy Wordsworth, Gaston Bachelard, Wendell Berry, Martin Heidegger, Joanna Macy.  We’ll think about certain kinds of natural habitats in poetry: the woods, the river and river banks, the shore and the deep ocean.  This is not a course in Creative Writing, but we’ll try our hand informally at observing and evoking environments in language, a practice that can awaken and refine our own imaginations toward natural environments.  This course is open to all students, with or without previous experience of poetry, with or without expertise in environmental issues.  We’ll learn how to read poetry, and discover what questions to ask of poetry of the natural world.  We'll investigate the current state of journals and magazines that use the arts to develop a vision of environment, and we'll investigate initiatives in environmentalism and the arts in our own region.  There will be a mid-term and a final; students will write essays and journal entries.  This course fulfills the College's new writing requirement (the "W" requirement).  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 294 - Conservation Psychology (Same as PSYC 194)
This course is an introduction to the emerging field of Conservation Psychology:  the scientific study of the reciprocal relationships between human behavior and the natural environment.  Effective solutions to environmental problems require that we understand and address the human behaviors that cause the problems.  In this course we will use psychological principles, theories, and methods to examine a specific environmental issue on campus which will be determined by the class.  We will begin with an overview discussion of the complex nature of several environmental problems, followed by a discussion of the psychological and social factors that underlie a range of sustainable and non-sustainable behaviors.  We will cover current approaches that encourage sustainable actions and devise and test our own strategy.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 294 - Environmental Issues and Media (Same as HMCS 294)
How are public perceptions concerning environmental conditions, policy, actors and interests shaped by the language and images used to represent environmental issues? Who sets the agenda for environmental issues and debates and how is that agenda presented for public consumption? What role does news, entertainment and advertising play in establishing or maintaining particular images, perspectives and discourses regarding the environment?  This course focuses attention on patterns of environmental news reporting, media portrayals of environmental activism, images of industrial polluters, the visions and metaphors of “green advertising,” and the shifting parameters of environmental rhetoric nationally and globally to gain a sense of the influence of media representation on our views of nature and our understanding of environmental debate. Class members will plan individual term projects that address such issues as: visualizing biodiversity, the limitations of science journalism, the role of elites in shaping media agendas, green visions of environmental sustainability, the images and metaphors of nature documentaries, and preoccupations with risk, drama, geography or culture in television and movie treatments of environmental problems.   (4 credits)

ENVI 306:  Where the Rivers Gather and Waters Meet: Projects of Writing onMinnesota's Three Rivers (Same as ENGL 406)
This interdisciplinary course will use the Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers in the Twin Cities as the sites for field trips, research and interviews with the local communities for writing projects, which will include one research paper, one transcribed interview, one poem, one short story, and one personal essay, all related to the river theme, with special attention to the environmental issues.  We will examine the interactions between culture and nature, how humans have been affecting and affected by the rivers, and how agriculture, transportation, dams, industries, and recreation development have changed the rivers and their environment in many ways.  Research topics can include wetland drainage, land, water and forest resources, human population growth, agriculture, urban/suburb expansion, tour industry, biodiversity and eco-justice in the three-river region, with the notion of the ecosystem that has been sustained by the coexistence and interaction between plants, animals, humans, and other life forms, the system which is facing big challenges due to human activities and global warming.  (4 credits)

ENVI 340 - U.S. Urban Environmental History (Same as HIST 340)
In the minds of many Americans, cities are places where nature is absent--places where nature exists only in the crevices and on the margins of spaces dominated by technology, concrete, and human artifice. This course confronts this assumption directly, drawing on the scholarship from the relatively young field of urban environmental history to uncover the deep interconnections between urban America and the natural world. Among the other things, we will examine how society has drawn upon nature to build and sustain urban growth, the implications that urban growth has for transforming ecosystems both local and distant, and how social values have guided urbanites as they have built and rearranged the world around them. Using the Twin Cities has a backdrop and constant reference point, we will attempt to understand the constantly changing ways that people, cities, and nature have shaped and reshaped one another throughout American history.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   Every other fall; next offered Fall 2006.  (4 credits)

ENVI 343 - Imperial Nature:  The United States and the Global Environment (Same as HIST 343)
Although the United States accounts for just five percent of the world’s population, it consumes roughly twenty-five percent of the world’s total energy, has the world’s largest economy, and is the world’s largest consumer and generator of waste. Relative to its size, its policies and actions have had a significantly disproportionate impact on global economic development and environmental health. Mixing broad themes and detailed case studies, this course will focus on the complex historical relationship between American actions and changes to the global environment.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Every other fall; next offered Fall 2006.   (4 credits)

ENVI 345 - Car Country:  The Automobile and the American Environment (Same as HIST 345)
At the dawn of the twentieth century, automobiles were newfangled playthings of the very wealthy; by century’s end, they had become necessities of the modern world. This momentous change brought with it a cascading series of consequences that completely remade the American landscape and touched nearly every aspect of American life. This course will explore the role that cars and roads have played in shaping Americans’ interactions with the natural world, and will seek an historical understanding of how the country had developed such an extreme dependency on its cars. In the process, we will engage with current debates among environmentalists, policymakers, and local communities trying to shape the future of the American transportation system and to come to grips with the environmental effects of a car-dependent lifestyle.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 365 - Environmental Anthropology (same as ANTH 365)
It is a truism that human beings have always transformed their natural environment, but the scale and long-term consequences of the contemporary environmental crisis far exceed the localized ecological degradation that has taken place in the past.  One important reason for this transformation–and the point of departure for this seminar–is the globalization of economic life and the subjection of local economies and their resource bases to the relentless logic of world capitalist production and the consumer-oriented culture of capitalism.  This seminar is an inquiry into the nature of the political, cultural, and social structures that have combined to generate contemporary environmental problems.  The aim is to understand the way the "environmental crisis" of resource scarcity and ecological degradation is the outcome of particular configurations of power and economic inequity, both at the global level and within states.  For more information, look at the course description/syllabus.  (4 credits)

ENVI 368 - Sustainable Development and the Global Future (same as INTL 368)
This advanced course thoroughly examines the concept of sustainable development.  We will define the term, examine its history, and evaluate its political, philosophical, scientific, and economic significance.  Implementation of sustainable development in both the world's North and South are considered.  Close attention is given to non-governmental organizations and nation states, the loss of global biodiversity, and existing and proposed remedial actions.  Prior coursework in international, development, political, scientific, and/or environmental issues is strongly recommended.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Every year. (4 credits)

ENVI 477 - Comparative Environment and Development Studies (same as GEOG 488)
A concern for the relationship between nature and society has been one of the pillars of geographic inquiry, and has also been an important bridge between other disciplines.  By the 1960s, this area of inquiry was referred to variously as 'human ecology' or 'cultural ecology.'  Over the last two decades certain forms of inquiry within this tradition have increasingly referred to themselves as 'political ecology.'  The purpose of this seminar is to review major works within the traditions of cultural and political ecology; examine several areas of interest within these fields (e.g., agricultural modernization, environmental narratives, conservation, ecotourism); and explore nature-society dynamics across a range of geographical contexts.  Towards the end of the course, we will explore how one might begin to think in practical terms about facilitating development in marginal environments.  Prerequisite:  Geography 232 or permission of instructor.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.   (4 credits)

ENVI 488 - Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies
In this seminar, students will explore the difficult and often controversial issues surrounding environmental problems.  Through readings, discussions, guest speakers, field trips, independent research, writing, and oral presentations, students will develop a clearer understanding of the underlying causes and long term implications of some of the environmental problems facing the world today.  Both local and global environmental problems will be examined in the seminar.  Taking advantage of the diverse academic backgrounds of the student participants, the seminar will bring together the knowledge, perspectives, and insights of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Prerequisites:  Senior standing in the Environmental Studies major, permission of the instructor and satisfactory progress in the environmental studies major.  Spring semester.   (4 credits)

ENVI 489 - Environmental Leadership Practicum
This course is an intensive internship experience (8-10 hours/week) with an environmental organization or business in the Twin Cities metro region.  An internship is an excellent way for students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and laboratory, to learn more in an environmental area, and to explore career options.  Required for Environmental Studies majors.  It is recommended that students complete this course during the fall of their Junior year.  This course must be taken concurrently with ENVI 490.  For more information, look at the syllabus.  Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor or two of the following:  ENVI 133, ENVI 215, ENVI 234.  Every Fall.   (4 credits)

ENVI 490 - Environmental Studies Leadership Seminar
This course complements the internship experience through reflective writing, mentor profiles, and individual and group projects.  Required for Environmental Studies majors.  It is recommended that students complete this course during the fall of their Junior year.  This course must be taken concurrently with ENVI 489.  For more information, look at the course syllabus.  Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor or two of the following:  ENVI 133, ENVI 215, ENVI 234.  Every Fall.   (2 credits)

ENVI 614 - Independent Project
This is an opportunity for students to do independent study or research on an environmental topic.  This may be undertaken in the Environmental Studies Program laboratory and/or field facilities under the direct supervision of a faculty member.  It may also be undertaken at another college, university, or similar institution under direct supervision, or in certain circumstances, it may be undertaken off campus with minimal direct supervision.  Given the nature of independent projects, students need to demonstrate that they have the necessary background, including appropriate coursework, in the area they are interested in pursuing before an independent project is approved.  Prerequisite:  Sponsorship by and Environmental Studies faculty member.  (2-4 credits)

ENVI 624 - Internship
This is an opportunity for students to work with professionals in the environmental field outside of academia.  Students will work with a faculty sponsor and their site supervisor to develop a set of learning goals, strategies to meet these goals, and methods of evaluation for the internship, including the nature of the final product.  An internship is an excellent way for students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and laboratory, to learn more in an environmental area, and to explore career options.  The internship may be undertaken during a semester or during the summer and must encompass 140 hours of work by the student. It is expected that the student will make a poster presentation of his/her experience.  Prerequisite:  Sponsorship by a faculty member on the Environmental Studies Coordinating Committee.   (4 credits)

ENVI 634 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course.  Prerequisite, invitation by a faculty member. Every semester.   (4 credits)

ENVI 644 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the Seniors Honors Project. Prerequisite: Sponsorship by an Environmental Studies faculty member. Every semester. (1-4 credits) Eligibility requirements, application procedures, and specific project expectations for the Environmental Studies Department are available here, from the Environmental Studies Department office, or the Dean of Academic Programs.

If you would like to see a list of all possible majors and their requirements, look at Macalester's online college catalog.

 


Macalester College · 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105  USA · 651-696-6000
Comments and questions to esson@macalester.edu