Simon Fraser University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Students in the Faculty of Environment learn about the scientific, political, economic and societal conditions that often make environmental issues controversial; they look to the past to give context to current events and use their education in natural and/or social sciences to inform future decisions. This broad approach gives our students critical insight into how we have changed-and are changing-our world while developing strategies and informing policies to create a more sustainable future. Environmental Science (EVSC) is an interdisciplinary program that fosters critical thinking about our natural surroundings and educates students to understand and use science to provide solid policy decisions and resolve environmental issues. EVSC provides a broad education with a specialization in one of four concentrations: Applied Biology, Environmental Earth Systems, Enviromentrics and Water Science.

Geography is a core environmental discipline that focuses on human societies and the built environment; the earths biogeophysical environments; and the ever more complex interactions that exist between these two. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY is a social science that investigates the relationship between human societies and the environment, and the organization and distribution of human activities in space. Geographers are concerned both with what makes particular places and cultures unique, and with the properties of space and distance that affect how people and places interact with each other. Human-geographical knowledge is fundamental to world commerce, resource management, regional development and planning, urban design, and travel and exploration. At the upper levels, the undergraduate program offers a wide range of specialities from which students can chose. We have a suite of courses that focus on cities, urban settlement, urban politics and planning, consumption, community sustainability and population geography. Other courses focus on resource use and abuse, world forests, regional development, industrial location, transportation, tourism, and global evolution and third world development. We are also building strengths in health geography that connect with issues of development and inequities. Many of our fourth year courses are ‘project-based’ with a strong emphasis on student participation and the teaching of research skills. Courses in methods and GIS will further enhance these skills.

Undergraduate students are invited to add the Development and Sustainability Minor to their degree to explore various aspects of sustainability that arise from the complex relationship between development and the environment, including discussion of practice and policy issues in relation to problem-solving and examination of thematic areas at various scales (from local to global) that enhance the quality of life.

The Certificate in Environmental Literacy (CEL) addresses the need for undergraduate students from a broad range of disciplines to have a basic understanding of the complexity and interdisciplinarity of environmental issues. It seeks to introduce students to physical, ecological, and social perspectives on the environment, with emphasis on the functioning of physical and ecological systems and how many activities have affected and are affected by such systems over time. Typically, the CEL will also provide students with knowledge of environmental issues as they pertain to their own field of study.

In light of the growing demand and attention to environmental and social sustainability issues, the Beedie School of Business and the Faculty of Environment have cooperatively designed the Corporate Environment and Social Sustainability Certificate (CESS) to provide undergraduate Business Major, Business Joint Major and approved Faculty of Environment students with the opportunity to acquire training and understanding in the interconnected nature of the economy, environment and society.

Certificate in Urban Studies This certificate studies the nature and functions of the contemporary city from an interdisciplinary perspective of geography, political science, sociology and anthropology. It is suited to those contemplating careers in urban planning, governance or consulting. Details available at: https://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2013/fall/programs/urban-studies/certificate.html Certificate in Cultural Resource Management Cultural Resource Management (CRM): -involves the identification, evaluation, and conservation of cultural resources such as heritage sites, objects, landscapes, and traditions. strives to identify, document, evaluate, and represent community values -influences the policies and practices of law, business, planning, and community collaboration demands expertise in archaeology, ethnography, biological anthropology, and First Nations studies. The Certificate in Cultural Resource Management: -teaches the foundational method, theory, and practical skills required for professional participation in applied archaeology and CRM -promotes the roles that First Nations governments and communities have in caring for cultural and ecological heritage Details can be found at: http://www.sfu.ca/archaeology/undergraduate/crmcert.html