Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences

School of Earth and Sustainability

Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Bachelor of Arts


Academic Information

Students who are interested in the environment and the issues at its crux will enjoy the pursuit of this degree. Crucial issues of sustainability, diversity, and change are interwoven through the program. A language proficiency requirement bolsters understanding beyond English-speaking perspectives.

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences

School of Earth and Sustainability

Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Bachelor of Arts


Careers

What Can I Do with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental and Sustainability Studies?

Issues of sustainability, climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental justice, biodiversity, and increasing demand for finite food, water, and energy resources become more critical every day. To better understand-and improve-our relationship with the natural world, consider the environmental studies program at Northern Arizona University.

Here, you will study ecosystems and the ways humans interact with them using the perspectives of the natural and social sciences and the humanities. You will work extensively with full-time professors who have practical experience in the environmental sciences and sustainability. You'll have many opportunities for field study and research; our faculty members include undergraduate students in all research projects, and you will be required to complete an undergraduate research project or internship. You will learn how to develop solutions for these issues and prepare for a career in research, industry, education, government, or public service.

Career opportunities that might be pursued:
  • Sustainability coordinator
  • Conservation biology
  • Community-supported agriculture
  • Environmental education and communication
  • Resource management, assessment, and protection
  • Air, water, and soil quality monitoring
  • Renewable energy design and construction

With further education, one of these paths is possible:
  • Communicator/journalist/educator
  • Community organizer
  • Researcher
  • Resource, park or forest manager
  • Environmental administrator
  • University professor

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences

School of Earth and Sustainability

Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Bachelor of Arts


University Requirements

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences

School of Earth and Sustainability

Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Bachelor of Arts


Overview

In addition to University Requirements:

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 120
Major GPA 2.0
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114
Foreign Language Required
Fieldwork Experience/Internship Optional
Research Optional
University Honors Program Optional
Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Plan Optional
Bachelor/Juris Doctor 3+3 Optional
AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-A Recommended
Progression Plan Link View Progression Plan

Purpose Statement

The Environmental and Sustainability Studies program at NAU constructs an interdisciplinary base of knowledge and skills that integrates humanistic disciplines and perspectives with natural and social scientific approaches to develop real-world solutions to our environmental and sustainability challenges, from the local to the global.

Our BS/BA degree program begins with a firm grounding in natural systems, to ensure all students understand how physical and biological processes maintain life, and how humans are affecting, and are affected by, the natural world. In addition to the natural sciences, students will also obtain a solid understanding of the environment through focusing on the social sciences and humanities in order to develop a critical appreciation of the historical, political,economic and ethical forces that have shaped our current environmental issues. This will prepare students for work in non-profit, government and community-action organizations.

Students will work together in field and lab environments to apply rigorous qualitative and quantitative methods to environmental and sustainability issues, exploring interdisciplinary impacts and solutions that range across space and time. Interdisciplinary experience is centered around focus areas or specific environmental problems, rather than disciplines. This structure produces students well-trained in both the fundamentals of multiple disciplines as well as specific knowledge needed to understand, analyze and become engaged in particular issues and professions. Additionally for the BA degree, students will attain foreign language competency and experience with cross-cultural communication to better understand the impact of environmental issues on global communities.

This issue-based approach allows students to attain a wide knowledge base in order to approach the solution of specific problems by working individually and together with other students. To culminate learning in the program, students develop an individually designed research project or internship addressing an environmental issue of importance to them, which helps to further prepare students for a range of professional or graduate opportunities.

Student Learning Outcomes

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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences

School of Earth and Sustainability

Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Bachelor of Arts


Details

Major Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement
Accelerated Bachelor's to Master's Program
General Electives
Additional Information
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Academic Catalog - 2024-2025

College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences

School of Earth and Sustainability

Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Bachelor of Arts


Campus Availability

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