Emory University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health at Rollins and the Department of Environmental Science at Emory College jointly offer a five-year Bachelor of Science (BS) in Environmental Sciences (ENVS) and Master of Public Health (MPH) in Environmental Health (EH) degree program. With similar objectives and program goals as the Environmental Health MPH program, students will earn a BS and MPH over five years which will prepare them to tackle the most challenging environmental threats of the future. This accelerated track to earning an MPH adopts a uniquely interdisciplinary approach and allows students to tailor their degree to their specific interest areas, such as climate change, air pollution, or policy. This program is available to Emory ENVS students who apply during their sophomore OR junior year.

The field of environmental sciences challenges students to examine both the ecological and social underpinnings of environmental issues and the complex interplay among these systems at local to global scales. The Department of Environmental Sciences at Emory University offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that combines coursework in both natural and social sciences and the humanities. Because environmental issues transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, the structure and content of the Environmental Sciences (ENVS) curriculum emphasizes systems thinking and integrative learning. Classroom activities and field and individual study courses allow students to engage in real-world issues. The curriculum is designed to sharpen critical thinking and problem-solving skills by challenging students to translate theory and classroom learning into practice. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in internships and/or research and to study abroad when possible.

The prevailing theoretical model defines sustainability as the intersection of social, environmental, and economic concerns. The Sustainability Minor at Emory acknowledges that these challenges are profoundly crosscutting in nature and that none of them can be adequately addressed without consideration of the others. Curricula focused on sustainability foster creativity and an expanded imagination of a thriving social, economic, and environmental world for ourselves and future generations. Students in the Sustainability Minor apply analytical systems thinking to contemporary global and local problems, practice participatory strategies to resolve those problems, and demonstrate an ethical compass that guides their assessments of alternative solutions.

This concentration provides knowledge, competencies, and experiences for ENVS BA or BS and BBA students interested in pursuing careers in environmental management. BBA students will build a foundation in the fundamentals of environmental science and environmental policy. BBA students will develop a framework for understanding environmental systems and a foundation for understanding the impacts and intersections of business decisions and environmental systems. Environmental Sciences (ENVS) students who complete the concentration will acquire a grounding in business principles and practices in the fields of management, marketing, finance, and strategy. ENVS students will acquire methodologies and approaches that are transferable to business, non-profit, and government work environments.

The Global Health, Culture, and Society Minor leverages a critical multidisciplinary perspective to meet challenges and opportunities arising from a complex interplay of political, economic, environmental, social, historical, and cultural systems. Students will develop competencies in the following areas:

• Importance of the humanities in both expressing and experiencing human health
• Social determinants of health and health disparities
• Biological mechanisms underlying health
• Diverse methodologies in health research and implementation
• Ethical issues in health
• Environmental influences on human health
• Historical context of illness and health

(Anthropology) Global Development Studies Minor: https://anthropology.emory.edu/undergraduate/majors-minors/index.html

The Minor in Global Development Studies culminates in a capstone experience, which completes the student's work that started with the introductory course and the specialized electives related to development studies. A faculty Capstone Committee comprised of the Capstone instructor (Dr. Peter Little) and 1-2 additional committee members will oversee the capstone experience. An evaluative set of guidelines for assessing the student's knowledge of the field of development studies will orient the capstone experience. The idea is that the student will demonstrate knowledge of:

• The historical and theoretical bases of development studio
• A rights-based approach to development and how to apply it in particular situations.
• Specific knowledge of at least one domain of practice in development studies: for example, gender, environmental issues, the role of markets, governance, social and cultural analyses, institutions, poverty alleviation, and other development domains.
• General knowledge of at least a region or country of the developing world.
• The ability to integrate an interdisciplinary perspective in analyzing a development issue or problem.

Minor in Sustainability Sciences: https://envs.emory.edu/undergraduate/minors/sustscimin.html

The curriculum is designed for students to understand and explore the challenges of sustainability, bridging theory and practice in understanding what determines sustainability in a strongly coupled world of humans and their environment. The courses will link the theoretical and practical by understanding how human institutions, organizations, cultures, and technologies link and interact with their biophysical environments.

Environmental Sciences (Minor): https://envs.emory.edu/undergraduate/minors/envsmin.html 

A 6-sequence course for those wishing to pursue a minor in Environmental Studies

All data reported in this section are from September 2022-August 2023