West Chester University of Pennsylvania
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The BS Urban and Environmental Planning program (offered starting in the Fall semester of 2016) is designed to prepare graduates to work as professional planners, geographic information systems (GIS) analysts, and environmental specialists and in related fields. The program will ensure students are trained with cutting-edge geospatial technologies and with a deep knowledge of local and regional sustainability concerns.

The program is unique due to the full integration of geospatial technologies and sustainability throughout the curriculum. Geospatial technologies have been rapidly expanding and evolving in recent years. An abundance of spatially-oriented information is emerging from aerial photography, satellite remote sensing, image processing, global positioning systems (GPS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Geospatial technologies permeate all layers of society with GPS-enabled smartphones, to real-time traffic maps, to increasingly more sophisticated data availability from satellites and other remote sensing sources.

The focus on sustainability will result in a curriculum that incorporates more solutions to some of our greatest contemporary challenges, such as uncovering solutions and adaptations to global climate change. Considering the multiple components of sustainability, the program offers the integration of economic development, environmental protection, social priorities and place-based problem solving.

Graduates of the program will be prepared to work in the public, not-for-profit, and public sectors. Whether planners, environmental specialists or GIS analysts, the program provides future practitioners with the knowledge, technical skills, and values to enable them to become effective professionals.

The Environmental Health Program at West Chester University prepares talented students for the technical and professional demands of careers dedicated to the protection of human health and the environment. At all levels, the program embraces the broad environmental ethic of sustainability through human cooperation with nature, including basic rights to a safe home and workplace; clean water supplies for human consumption, recreation and wildlife; safe and available food supply; waste and energy management; and careful resource management for the future. Graduates of the program who earn the B.S. degree become entry level Environmental Health Scientists who work to improve the quality of air, water, soil and food using technology to measure and control pollutants, indoors and outdoors. B.S. graduates are widely employed by private industry, environmental consulting firms, regulatory agencies, hospitals and public utilities.

The 12-credit undergraduate certificate program in Education For Sustainability (EFS) is designed for undergraduates and post-baccalaureate students who want to develop their understanding of sustainability and apply their learning on campus, at home, and in their future careers. The program consists of four courses that provide the perspective, experiences, and practical methods needed to immediately put your learning into practice.

The Sustainable Food Systems Management concentration emphasizes ecological approaches and systems-based thinking for students to develop understanding of local, regional, and international food systems. Students are prepared for positions in food management and careers focused on sustainable food systems in businesses, healthcare, and community-based organizations.