MAJOR IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, INSTITUTIONS and BEHAVIOR

Fall 2004 Schedule of courses (.pdf)

The major in Environmental Policy, Institutions and Behavior (EPIB) examines the human dimensions of environmental problems. It addresses such issues as how human actions affect the environment; how societies adapt to changes in natural resource availability; and how individuals, nations, and international agencies respond to environmental hazards. Courses in the pogrom deal with local, regional, and national differences in the use of resources; with social and environmental aspects of health and illness; with alternative strategies for environmental management; with the ethical, moral, and legal dimensions of environmental and resource issues; and with the roles of governmental and non-governmental agencies in environmental affairs.

To understand these topics, students are exposed to a multidisciplinary view of the environment and draw upon concepts from a variety of fields, including anthropology, ecology, economics, geography, sociology, political science, and psychology.

The objectives of the curriculum are to teach basic concepts and methods from the social, biological, and physical sciences as they relate to the interactions among people and the environment; to train students in the techniques of empirical research; to provide opportunities for experiences in "real world" situations; to guide students in acquiring practical skills such as environmental assessment, professional writing, data analysis, and demographic analysis; and to broaden students' knowledge regarding environmental problems and how people cope with them.

The curriculum offers four options:

United States Environmental and Resource Policy This option encompasses the political, scientific, institutional, and economic dimensions of environmental and resource policy development in the United States. Students are prepared for careers in government, industry, or nonprofit organizations as well as for graduate or professional studies in political science, law, and public administration.

International Environmental and Resource Policy This option focuses on the political, scientific, and economic dimensions of global environmental and resource issues. Particular attention is given to the role of international institutions. Students are prepared for careers in government, industry, or nonprofit organizations as well as for graduate or professional studies on political science, law, and international development.

Health and Environmental Policy This option focuses on the links between the environment and health. Students learn to understand health and nutrition as both biological phenomena and products of social, behavioral, and cultural influences. Students re prepared for further training in the health professions as well as for graduate studies in the social sciences or public health.

Individual Option This option os for students who wish to develop their own specialized program. Their programs must focus on particular topic, area of application, or body of knowledge concerned with environmental policy, environmental health, institutions, or behavior. Students must identify, in writing and with the aid of a faculty adviser, the specific intellectual and vocational goals of the individualized program.

Graduates of the EPIB major pursue a variety of career paths depending on the option that they select. US option students frequently go to law school or pursue a master's degree in natural resources. They also find employment with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with the environment, or work for environmental protection agencies and their contractors. International option students go into the Peace Corps, work for international environmental NGOs, or attend graduate school. Health option students often find employment in the health care industry, work for health care agencies, or pursue a graduate degree in public health.

Course Requirements

I. Interdisciplinary/Ethical Analysis (5 credits)
     11:015:101 Perspectives on Agriculture and the Environment(2)
     11:015:400 Junior/Senior Colloquium(3)

II. Introductory Life and Physical Sciences (11-16 credits):
Life Sciences
     01:119:103 Principles of Biology (4) or 01:119:101-102 General Biology(4,4)
     11:704:351 Principles of Applied Ecology (4)

Physical Sciences
The following courses are recommended
     01:460:101 Introductory Geology (3)
     01:460:102 Continents and Oceans (3)
     01:628:200 Marine Sciences (4)
     11:670:202 Elements of Climatology (3)

III. The Arts (6 credits)

IV. Human Diversity (6 credits)

     11:374:101 Introduction to Human Ecology (3)
     11:374:102 Global Environmental Processes and Institutions (3)

V. Economic and Political Systems (6-9 credits)
Economic Systems
     11:373:121 Principles and Applications of Microeconomics (3) or equivalent
     11:373:122 Principles and Applications of Macroeconomics (3) or equivalent
     11:373:101 Economics, People, and the Environment (3) - may be substituted in the health and environmental policy and individualized options.

Political Systems
11:374:279 Politics of Environmental Issues (3)

VI. Oral and Written Communication (6 credits)

VII. Experience-based Education (3 credits)
One of the following:
     11:374:337 Systems Approaches and Interventions in Human Ecology (3)
     11:374:491 Readings and Practicum in Human Ecology (3)
     11:374:492 Readings and Practicum in Human Ecology (3)
     11:554:424 Practicum in Environmental Protection (3)

An appropriate, advisor approved placement in cooperative education

An appropriate, advisor approved independent research project

VIII. Competence in Environmental Institutions, Policy, and Behavior (45-54 credits)
A. Required Courses (15)
     Quantitative Methods (3)
          01:960:211 Statistics I (3)
     Computer Competence (3)
          01:198:110 Introduction to Computers and Their Application (3) or an advisor approved equivalent      Professional Ethics (3)
          11:374:201 Research Methods in Human Ecology (3)
     Other Required Courses (6)
     One of the following courses on population issues (3):
          11:374:169 population, resources, and Environment (3)
          10:975:417 Population and Demography (3)
     One of the following courses on human responses to the environment (3):
          11:374:212 Environmental Behavior (3)
          11:374:331 Culture and the Environment (3)
          11:374:335 Social Responses to Environmental Problems (3)

B. Options (30-49)

     1. United States Environmental and Resource Policy (36)
          11:372:323 Environmental Law I (3) or 11:372:325 Legal Aspects of Conservation(3)
          11:373:363 Environmental Economics (3) or 01:220:332 Environmental Economics (3)
          11:374:312 Environmental Problems in Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective(3)
          11:374:312 Environmental Policy and Institutions (3)
          11:374:314 Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management (3)
          01:790:201 American Government (3)
     or an advisor approved equivalent two of the following (6):
          11:372:324 Environmental Law II (3) 01:512:323 History of the North American Environment (3)
          1:790:305 Public Policy Formation (3) 01:790:341 Public Administration: American Bureaucracy(3)
          01:790:342 Public Administration: Policy Making (3)
          01:920:434 Social Science and Public Policy (3)
          10:975:231 Social Public Policy (3)
          10:975:305 American Urban Policy (3)
          10:975:330 Urban Fiscal Policy (3)
     or advisor approved equivalents (6)

     One of the following seminars,selected in consultation with the advisor (3):
          11:374:420-429 Topics in Environmental and resource Policy (3)
          11:374:430-439 Topics in Health, Food, and Environment (3)

A planned sequence of three courses on a specific environmental problem (9): Suggested areas include sustainable agriculture, air pollution, forest conservation and management, land use, marine pollution, fisheries management, and solid waste management. Written approval of the advisor is required.

2. International Environmental and Resource Policy (33-49)
     11:373:363 Environmental Economics (3) or 01:220:332 Environmental Economics (3)
     11:374:301 Environment and Development (3)
     11:374:312 Environmental Problems in Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective (3)
     11:374:312 Environmental Policy and Institutions (3)
     11:374:314 Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management (3)
     01:790:327 International Political Economy (3) or
     01:790:319 Issues in American Foreign Policy

     A course that focuses on a particular geographical area (3):
          This course may be selected from anthropology, geography, history, or political science

     A foreign language (0-16):
          Students in this option should demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language by completing either
          a year of intermediate-level courses or by performance on a foreign language proficiency or
          placement examination.

     One of the following seminars, selected in consultation with the advisor (3):
          11:374:420-429 Topics in Environmental and resource Policy (3)
          11:374:430-439 Topics in Health, Food, and Environment (3)

     A planned sequence of three courses on a specific environmental problem (9):
          Suggested areas include sustainable agriculture, air pollution, forest conservation and
          management, land use, marine pollution, fisheries management, and solid waste management.
          Written approval of the advisor is required.

3. Health and Environmental Policy (30)
     11:374:341 Social and Ecological Aspects of Health and Disease (3)
     11:709:255 Nutrition and Health (3)

A course introducing the biological or physiological dimensions of health (3):
     01:119:150 Biology, Society, and Biomedical Issues (3)(or)
     01:119:356 Systems Physiology (3)

A course presenting the public health perspective (3):
     01:375:301 Environment and Health (3) or 10:832:483 Protecting Public Health(3)

A course on epidemiology (3):
     01:375:403 Environment and Public Health: Epidemiological Aspects (3) or 10:832:335
     Epidemiology (3)

A course addressing the social dimensions of health issues (3):
     01:070:309 Medical Anthropology (3) or
     01:920:210 Sociology of Medicine and Health Care (3) or
     01:830:377 Health Psychology (3)

One of the following seminars,selected in consultation with the advisor (3):
     11:374:420-429 Topics in Environmental and resource Policy (3)
     11:374:430-439 Topics in Health, Food, and Environment (3)

A planned sequence of three courses on a specific environmental problem (9):
     Suggested areas include public health, environmental/occupational health, the social sciences of
     health (anthropology, sociology, psychology), food and nutrition, aging. Written approval of the
     advisor is required.

4. Individual option

A planned sequence of courses, selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. The student is required to develop a formal proposal for the individual option that includes the learning goals and lists the specific courses to be taken.This proposal must be approved in writing by the advisor by the beginning of the junior year. The sequence may represent a selection from the courses required for the other three options, or courses from one of the options combined with a Cook College minor (e.g., Science and Agriculture teacher Education Program), or some other well-defined program of study.

IX. Unspecified Electives (18-40 credits)