Emory University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Department of Environmental Studies’ interdisciplinary and integrative curriculum is designed to equip students with key skills and knowledge to understand, confront, and ultimately contribute solutions to complex environmental challenges. The curriculum is rooted in the basic disciplines of ecology and conservation, earth science, and social science and policy. Field and integrative courses compel students to synthesize concepts, methods and practice from these essential disciplines.  In required foundation courses, students will be introduced to relevant theories from physical sciences, ecology, economics, political science, and other fields related to environmental studies.  Students may earn either a BA or a BS in Environmental Studies, with additional science coursework required for the BS.  The same general major requirements apply for students in either degree track.

The minor in Sustainability offers students a focused curriculum that incorporates the social, environmental and economic issues facing sustainability efforts. The Minor in Sustainability requires six courses: two core courses and four elective courses. The core courses include IDS 206—an introductory team-taught course—and a two-hour Capstone Seminar. Students minoring in Sustainability will be required to demonstrate their developing body of knowledge and the integration of that knowledge across fields with an electronic portfolio that will be reviewed by a faculty steering committee.

The minor in Community Building and Social Change is designed to offer students from a variety of majors an introduction to the challenges and opportunities for revitalizing and strengthening communities in contemporary urban America. The minor comprises twenty semester hours. Students must complete a three course sequence in community building and social change that includes Community Building and Social Change I, Planning and Evaluating Community-Based Initiatives, and Practicum in Community Building. In addition, two elective courses must be taken.

The Concentration in Environment and Sustainability Management is a collaboration between the Department of Environmental Sciences in Emory College and the Goizueta Business School Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Program. Participation is limited to BBA students and students who are Environmental Studies majors. This concentration provides knowledge, competencies and experiences for Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS) and BBA students interested in pursuing careers in environmental management. BBA students who complete this concentration will focus on the history, politics and practice of the environmental fields. Environmental Studies students who complete the concentration will acquire grounding in business principles and practices, including management, marketing, finance and strategy. All students will be required to pursue business-related and environmentally focused industry-related electives and to participate in a capstone course that will give them the opportunity to synthesize and validate their evolving perspectives in both an academic and an applied environment.