McGill University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The grand challenge of the 21st century is sustainable well-being; that is, to improve human well-being while maintaining the Earth's life-support systems. This B.A. & Sc. program provides the interdisciplinary and integrative knowledge and skills required to effectively understand and address this challenge in its multiple dimensions --scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional, ethical, and human behavioural -- and to chart a transition to sustainability. It is built upon three pillars: 1) Science and Technology, to provide an in-depth understanding of the underpinnings of the problems of concern along these dimensions; 2) Economics, Policy, and Governance, to understand how we can make the sustainability transition; and 3) Ethics, Equity, and Justice, to discuss why we need change, and the issues of equity and justice associated with taking action. This program is a partnership between Geography and the MSE and will be administered through Geography.

Students complete 9 credits on the Foundations of Sustainability (ENVR 201, GEOG 360, and GEOG 460) and 18 credits in biophysical, societal, cultural, institutional, and ethical dimensions of sustainability. They also complete courses in statistics, system modelling, and economics.

Note that there is also the Bachelor of Arts and Science (B.A. & Sc.) - Honours in Sustainability, Science and Society (60 credits), during which students complete a fourth-year honours project.

The B.Com. Major in Managing for Sustainability is designed for students who wish to combine managerial and business knowledge with a solid understanding of the interlinked economic, social and ecological challenges of achieving sustainability. It integrates management studies with fundamentals of environmental science and sustainability, and is offered in collaboration with the McGill School of Environment and the Department of Geography.

The Major includes: a core set of courses that integrate multiple management disciplines with sustainability; McGill School of Environment courses which cover fundamental concepts of environmental science and human impacts on natural systems; a geography course on analyzing sustainability; and an experiential learning component in the form of a consulting engagement, internship or research project offering “real world” experience.

Graduates will have developed the key competencies required of sustainability professionals, and be prepared for positions in the private sector, consultancies, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations.

The Bachelor of Science in Environment is available as a B.Sc. degree through the Faculty of Science (Downtown Campus), or as a B.Sc. (Ag. Env. Sc.) through the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (Madonald Campus). Students interested in working primarily on one or the other campus should apply to the appropriate Faculty.

The BSc Major Program has two components: Core and Domain. Students follow three steps in their degree program.

1. Introductory Core: Required Courses (15 credits)
The Core consists of four introductory courses and one intermediate course which expose students to the different approaches, perspectives and world views that will help them gain an understanding of the complexity and conflicts that underlie most environmental problems. Through the Core program students go beyond the confines of their individual views of environment.

ENVR 200 - The Global Environment
ENVR 201 - Society, Environ&Sustainability
ENVR 202 - The Evolving Earth
ENVR 203 - Knowledge, Ethics&Environment
ENVR 301 - Environmental Research Design

2. Domain: Complementary Courses (36-45 credits, depending on Domain selected)
In addition to the Core, each student chooses a Domain. Domains provide a transdisciplinary study of a particular theme or component of the environment.

Each domain has different requirements which can be viewed on the eCalendar website. Except where indicated, all Domains are available through the Faculty of Science as well as the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Domains currently approved for the BSc Environment:

Atmospheric Environment and Air Quality (Science only)
Biodiversity and Conservation
Earth Sciences and Economics (Science only)
Ecological Determinants of Health
Environmetrics
Food Production and Environment
Land Surface Processes and Environmental Change
Renewable Resource Management
Water Environments and Ecosystems

3. Final Core: Required Courses (6 credits)
Students in the two senior courses of the Core will apply the general and specialized knowledge that they have gained in the program to the analysis of some specific, contemporary environmental problems.

ENVR 400 - Environmental Thought
AND
One Senior Research Project course (3 credits*), such as:
AEBI 427 Barbados Interdisciplinary Project
AGRI 519 Sustainable Development Plans
ENVR 401 Environmental Research
ENVR 451 Research in Panama

*Only 3 credits will be applied to the program; extra credits will count as electives.

Honours Program in Environment (can be taken in any of the above degree programs)
Bachelor of Arts Faculty Program in Environment (54 credits)
BA&Sc Interfaculty Program in Environment (54 credits)
Diploma in Environment (30 credits)
Minor in Environment (18 credits)
http://www.mcgill.ca/mse/programs

The Minor in Environment (18 credits) is intended to complement the expertise gained through a major or faculty program outside the MSE.

Students taking a Minor in Environment are exposed to different approaches, perspectives, and world views that will help them gain an understanding of the complexity and the conflicts that underlie environmental problems.

Students can declare their intention to do a Minor in Environment after first consulting with their Major Program Advisor and the MSE Program Advisor. They then submit to the MSE Program Advisor a program of courses to be applied towards the Minor in Environment (both courses already taken and those to be taken), and register for the Minor on Minerva. (Arts students register for the Minor Concentration in Environment, all other students register in the Minor Program in Environment.)

Program requirements

Complementary Courses (18 credits)
12 credits selected from the MSE core courses:
ENVR 200 - The Global Environment
ENVR 201 - Society, Environment & Sustainability
ENVR 202 - The Evolving Earth
ENVR 203 - Knowledge, Ethics & Environment
ENVR 400 - Environmental Thought

6 credits of environmentally related subjects selected with the approval of the program advisor. At least 3 credits must be in an area outside of the student's Major. (ie. Arts students take at least 3 credits of natural sciences; Science and Agriculture students take at least 3 credits of social sciences).

This 18-credit Minor Concentration Environment is intended for Arts students in the multi-track system, Law and Management students. Students in Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, Engineering, and Science should complete the Minor Environment.

Students taking a Minor Concentration in Environment are exposed to different approaches, perspectives, and world views that will help them gain an understanding of the complexity and the conflicts that underlie environmental problems.

Program requirements:

Complementary Courses (18 credits)
12 credits selected from the MSE core courses:

ENVR 200 - The Global Environment
ENVR 201 - Society, Environment & Sustainability
ENVR 202 - The Evolving Earth
ENVR 203 - Knowledge, Ethics&Environment
ENVR 400 - Environmental Thought

6 credits of environmentally related subjects selected with the approval of the program advisor. At least 3 credits must be in an area outside of the student's Major. (ie. Arts students take at least 3 credits of natural sciences). Courses are selected from (but not limited to) the Suggested Course List, which divided into two thematic categories: Social Sciences and Policy; and Natural Sciences and Technology.

The Diploma in Environment is designed for students with an undergraduate degree who wish to enrich or reorient their training, supplementing their specialization with additional undergraduate level course work.

The Diploma requires 30 credits of full-time or part-time study. Taken full-time, the Diploma is a one year program. Students holding a BSc or BA degree or equivalent can register for the Diploma in Environment through the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, or the Faculty of Arts, provided they meet University admission criteria.

The Diploma requires 30 credits of full-time or part-time study. Taken full-time, the Diploma is a one year program.

Required Courses (18 credits)
ENVR 200 - The Global Environment
ENVR 201 - Society, Environment & Sustainability
ENVR 202 - The Evolving Earth
ENVR 203 - Knowledge, Ethics&Environment
ENVR 301 - Environmental Research Design
ENVR 400 - Environmental Thought

Complementary Courses
3 credits must be taken with the approval of the program adviser in an area outside the student's previous degree (e.g., those with those with a B.A. degree must take 3 credits in the natural sciences; those with a B.Sc. degree must take 3 credits in the social sciences). A list of suggested courses is available.

9 credits must be taken in an area of focus chosen by the student with the approval of the program adviser. At least 6 credits must be taken at the 400-level or higher.