University of Cincinnati
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Environmental problems are complex, requiring expertise rooted in the traditional areas of natural and social sciences. Creative and sustainable approaches to real-world issues of climate change, environmental justice, essential resource depletion, population growth, public health, and hunger, depend on our ability to understand the interactive components of natural, built, and social environments. The goal of our environmental studies curriculum is to produce professionals who can do just that. EVST graduates will have a strong foundation in key areas, but will also "speak the language" of the multiple disciplines involved in environmental problem solving.

In the Environmental Studies BS degree program, students are broadly prepared across disciplines, but are also required to focus and specialize through the selection of a minor. The curriculum incorporates experiential and service learning, collaborative problem solving, and meaningful interactions with environmental professionals. Academic credit is given for research, internships, and international travel experiences.

One of the popular misconceptions about Environmental Studies is that it is, essentially, a “science” program. While there are certainly many opportunities for students interested in the natural sciences to focus in that area, the substantial breadth of the program also allows majors to align with the humanities and social sciences.

UC’s environmental engineering program is a bachelor’s degree program designed to be completed in five years. The environmental engineering program provides undergraduate students with the background necessary to bridge the gap between understanding challenging societal problems in the air, water, land, and subsurface environments, and preventing and solving them in a sustainable manner. The discipline of environmental engineering is in constant flux due to the manner in which human society and the economy have interacted with the natural environment since the industrial revolution. Students in our program are introduced to the tools of green engineering design as they are being developed on the cutting edge of sustainability research.

Upper-level coursework in environmental engineering includes analysis and design of water and waste water treatment systems, water resources, air pollution control technologies, solid waste and hazardous substance management and regulations, and sustainability.

Geography majors are encouraged to develop individualized programs within one of the three geography BA tracks in consultation with the geography undergraduate adviser. The Department of Geography offers the following tracks/specializations:

BA - Environmental and Physical Geography (15BA GEOG-E)
BA - Urban and Economic Geography (15BA GEOG-U)
BA - Human Geography (15BA GEOG-H)

Geography focuses on the spatial dimensions of human activities and their interactions with physical landscapes. The interrelationships between humans and their environments uniquely allow geographers to link the social and physical sciences. Geographers analyze information represented on maps-- maps representing data produced in the traditional form (computer generated or drawn by hand) or images generated by satellites (remote sensing).

Students in the environmental BS track will learn to critically analyze and communicate environmental information underlying reports and policy documents, as well as to design and implement scientific experiments addressing environmental questions.

School of Architecture and Interior Design: We seek to nurture a life-long world view that recognizes the designer’s responsibility to the environment, society, and the profession.
https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-architecture-interior-design/interior-design.html

Horticulture: The horticulture curriculum has been choreographed to support the traditional foundation in plant science, landscape design, and landscape management, with a commitment to advance contemporary and sustainable approaches to all facets of horticulture.
https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-planning/horticulture.html

Urban Planning: UC's Urban Planning major seeks to equip students to address the challenge that an increasingly urbanized world poses. It prepares planners that are dedicated to developing innovative approaches to managing cities and planning their development, and frames the constructive management of change as at the heart of the profession. It is premised in the recognition that planners often work in local governments and communities, but their concerns are issues that affect the world — land use, social policy, historic preservation, transportation, housing, economic development, policy planning, environmental protection, urban design and international development. It equips graduates to be visionaries working for a better future through improvements in the quality of life in one or more of these areas.
https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-planning/urban-planning.html

Students admitted to the University of Cincinnati can declare Environmental Studies as their minor. There are two separate options for minoring in the EVST program. The environmental studies minor (EVST) is similar to the major, while the environmental policy and planning minor (EVAP) has a more select set of requirements.

In the first year, all minors need to take EVST 1011 [Fall] and EVST 1012 [Spring]. Completion of this introductory sequence is a prerequisite for other required and elective courses. EVST minors are then required to take EVST 2084C. EVAP minors, instead, take EVST 5101. Both minors have to take five EVST elective courses and one of the Advanced Topic Courses, EVST 4011, 4012, 4013, 4014, 4015, 4016, 4017, or 4050.

Requirements for the EVST Minor
Introductory Sequence [all required]
EVST 1011: Introduction to Environmental Studies I (NS/SE)

EVST 1012: Introduction to Environmental Studies II (NS)

EVST/BIOL 2084C: Ecology and Evolution

Five EVST electives [at least 3 from 3000-level & above]
Interdisciplinary Topics [pick 1, junior-senior year]
EVST 4011: Advanced Topic: Water

EVST 4012: Advanced Topic: Biodiversity

EVST 4013: Advanced Topic: Atmosphere and Climate

In the first year, all minors need to take EVST 1011 [Fall] and EVST 1012 [Spring]. Completion of this introductory sequence is a prerequisite for other required and elective courses. EVST minors are then required to take EVST 2084C. EVAP minors, instead, take EVST 5101. Both minors have to take five EVST elective courses and one of the Advanced Topic Courses, EVST 4011, 4012, 4013, 4014, 4015, 4016, 4017, or 4050.

Requirements for the EVST Minor
Introductory Sequence [all required]
EVST 1011: Introduction to Environmental Studies I (NS/SE)

EVST 1012: Introduction to Environmental Studies II (NS)

EVST/BIOL 2084C: Ecology and Evolution

Five EVST electives [at least 3 from 3000-level & above]
Interdisciplinary Topics [pick 1, junior-senior year]
EVST 4011: Advanced Topic: Water

EVST 4012: Advanced Topic: Biodiversity

EVST 4013: Advanced Topic: Atmosphere and Climate

EVST 4014: Advanced Topic: Urbanization

EVST 4015: Advanced Topic: Energy

During an era when the world is facing a wide range of environmental problems that are in the news virtually every day, environmental studies has become a particularly timely and important discipline.  The environmental studies program provides an opportunity for the systematic investigation of the natural world and the interaction of humans with their own environment. Environmental issues and conflicts of this century are highly complex and transcend traditional academic disciplines. The goal of the environmental studies program at UC is to provide the interdisciplinary training and conceptual framework required to analyze and respond to the complex and dynamic environmental problems of the modern world.

The solutions to environmental issues and conflicts will continue to require expertise from the natural and social sciences such as biology, economics, engineering, and political sciences, but the real-world solutions will also require a more interdisciplinary perspective. They require professionals who take a systems approach: an approach that addresses the complex interrelationships within and among components of natural, built, and social environments.

The goal of our environmental studies curriculum is to produce professionals with a strong foundation in the key sciences who also "speak the languages" of the multiple disciplines involved in environmental problem solving and who have learned to interact in interdisciplinary teams. The curriculum includes courses that examine the biological environment (e.g., biology and ecology), the physical environment (e.g., chemistry, geology, and geography) and the social-human environment (e.g., policy, ethics, and economics). The curriculum also emphasizes the acquisition of "tools of the trade," such as field and lab skills, data analysis, the identification of plants and animals, and computer-based approaches such as satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems.

Green Roof Certificate: This certificate imparts knowledge and skill in the planning, design, installation, and maintenance of green roofs. Green roofs, known as vegetated roofs, require expertise that combines several fields of study; landscape architecture, architecture, horticulture, and landscape design. The roof is the final frontier of urban spatial design, and the vegetated urban roof supports environmental, economic, and social components of sustainable urban design. This certificate addresses contemporary issues in living architecture, particularly in this emerging area of expertise.

Sustainable Landscape Design Certificate: According to the American Society of Landscape Architects, "Sustainable landscapes are responsive to the environment, re-generative, and can actively contribute to the development of healthy communities. Sustainable landscapes sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency, restore habitats, and create value through significant economic, social and, environmental benefits."

The metropolitan area of the University of Cincinnati provides a diverse selection of interesting urban issues for study, including the preservation and revitalization of its historic neighborhoods and sustainable development in the suburban areas, the challenges facing one of the oldest park systems in North America, the assets and challenges of a major city in the climate and economy of the Ohio River Valley, and the role of plant life in the ecology, economy, and culture of the city.
https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-planning/sustainable-landscape-design-certificate.html

Historic preservation: https://www.artsci.uc.edu/undergradprograms/minors/historic-preservation.html

Planning: https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-planning/planning-certificate.html

Urban Agriculture: https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-planning/urban-agriculture-certificate.html

Urban Design: https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-planning/urban-design-undergraduate-certificate.html

Urban Landscapes: https://daap.uc.edu/academic-programs/school-of-planning/urban-landscapes-certificate.html