University of Kansas
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Environmental Studies Bachelor of Arts is structured to ensure both breadth and depth of knowledge by extensive general education degree requirements and approximately ¼ of total course work in the major. The B.A. requires exposure to world languages and cultures, ever more important as the world’s global community becomes central in our lives. Curriculum requirements focus more on environmental law and policy compared to the B.S. that focuses more on the sciences.

If students are interested in pursuing a more scientific approach to the environment may work toward an Environmental Studies Bachelor of Science degree. The B.S. degree is offered by all natural science areas except human biology, as well as economics and cognitive psychology. General education degree and major requirements are determined by each program offering the degree and may be different for each B.S. degree in the College. With fewer required non-science general education degree requirements, the B.S. permits more depth in the major. It requires additional work in supporting science areas. The B.S. requirements include courses in Biology and Chemistry that B.A. students are not required to complete such as Principles of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Principles of Organismal Biology. Principles of Ecology and Foundations of Chemistry I & II.

Students interested in a more humanities-oriented approach to the environment may pursue a B.A. or B.G.S. Degree, which has an Environment & Culture emphasis. The primary distinction between the B.A. and the B.G.S. degree is the study of a foreign language, which is required for the B.A. but not for the B.G.S. Other general education requirements are limited as well, allowing maximum flexibility in course selection.

BA in Global & International Studies - https://global.ku.edu/why-study-gis

A minor in Environmental Studies is available to students. The minor provides a sampling of environmental courses, including an Environmental History and Culture course, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, and a Research Methods course.

The Civil Engineering Program gives undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue the "Environmental Emphasis," which focuses more deeply on topics of sustainability. Courses with a sustainable focus include hydrology, water resource design, municipal waste and waste water treatment, transportation engineering, among many others.

A major or minor in Global and international studies will give you the tools to understand the rapid and profound changes that are occurring internationally and trans-nationally throughout the world and across various regions. Global and international studies at KU offers an interdisciplinary program in which faculty and students think critically about some of the most fundamental transnational and trans-regional issues facing societies today: population growth, politics and governance, migration, the global economy, poverty and inequality, religion, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, peace and conflict, and climate change. Through an investigation of these topics, majors in global and international studies acquire an enriched understanding of the world today, which is not only a desirable end in itself but also a useful background for professionals whose careers may involve them in different geographical and cultural areas. A major in global and international studies is helpful for careers in journalism, foreign service, business and industry, education, law, politics and government, and social service agencies.