Apr 24, 2024

2019-20 Undergraduate Catalog

2019-20 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Environmental Science, B.S.

Geosciences
615-904-8019
Clay Harris, program coordinator
Clay.Harris@mtsu.edu

The Environmental Science major is an interdisciplinary degree that integrates knowledge from various scientific fields. It features a strong foundation in the geosciences with support courses from chemistry, physics, biology, and math. Coursework includes such topics as environmental issues and impacts, energy resources and recovery, climate and climate change, and geographic information systems.

Students will find career opportunities within both the private and public sector. Typical employment opportunities exist in various local, regional, and national government agencies, and as environmental consultants in air and water quality oversight, pollution control and mitigation, environmental analysis and resource assessment, and hazardous and sanitary waste management.

The degree program includes a capstone experience with opportunities for academic research, study abroad, field courses to a variety of locations, or an internship in local government or industry. Students can choose the best fit for their career goals with the guidance of their faculty mentor.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Environmental Science, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

General Education (41 hours)

General Education requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences.

The following courses are required by the program and can satisfy the respective General Education requirement:

GEOL 1040/1041 (Nat Sci)
MATH 1730 or MATH 1910 (Math) required in cognate; MATH 1710 is a prerequisite for MATH 1730.
BIOL 1110/1111 (Nat Sci) or CHEM 1110/1111 (Nat Sci), or PHYS 2010/2011 (Nat Sci) may be applied to cognate

Major Requirements (29-30 hours)

EST 2810 - Introduction to Environmental Science 3 credit hours
GEOL 3030 - Geoscience of Energy Resources 3 credit hours
GEOL 3060 - Computer Methods in Geology 3 credit hours
PGEO 4000 - Climatology and Climate Change 3 credit hours
PGEO 4020 - Environmental Issues, Impacts, and Sustainability 3 credit hours
PGEO 4530 - Geographic Information Systems 3 credit hours
GEOL 1040 - Physical Geology 4 credit hours AND
GEOL 1041 - Physical Geology Lab 0 credit hours
GEOL 4120 - Environmental Geology 4 credit hours OR
GEOL 4130 - Hydrogeology 5 credit hours
GEOL 3010 - Oceanography 3 credit hours OR
PGEO 4010 - Biogeography 3 credit hours

Math/Science Cognate (20 hours)

NOTE: Students who take CHEM 1110 /CHEM 1111 or BIOL 1110 /BIOL 1111 or PHYS 2010 /PHYS 2011 for General Education credit must take second semester course(s) as part of cognate.

CSCI 1170 - Computer Science I 4 credit hours
BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 1120 - General Biology II 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1121 - General Biology II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours
OR
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
PHYS 2010 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2011 - Physics Problems Laboratory I 4 credit hours
OR
PHYS 2020 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2021 - Physics Problems Laboratory II 4 credit hours
MATH 1730 - Pre-Calculus 4 credit hours OR
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours

Capstone Experience Courses (6-8 hours)

After earning 90 credit hours toward the Environmental Science program, students must complete a capstone experience including at least 6-8 upper-division credit hours from the courses below. The capstone experience must be approved by the Environmental Science faculty mentor.

Environmental Science Mentor-Approved Electives (21-24 hours)

A minimum of 11-14 hours (depending on major courses and capstone experience) must be at 3000/4000 level. NOTE: Mentor-approved electives may not be PGEO or GEOL courses.

Electives

To make 120 hours

Total hours in program: 120

Curriculum: Environmental Science

Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.

Students should consult their advisors each semester to plan their schedules.

Freshman Fall

ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
Mathematics 3 credit hours (MATH 1710 recommended)
EST 2810 - Introduction to Environmental Science 3 credit hours
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci) AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (Nat Sci)

Subtotal: 13 Hours

Freshman Spring

ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
GEOL 1040 - Physical Geology 4 credit hours AND
GEOL 1041 - Physical Geology Lab 0 credit hours
MATH 1730 - Pre-Calculus 4 credit hours OR
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours
BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci) AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours (Nat Sci)

Subtotal: 15 Hours

Sophomore Fall

ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
HUM 2610 - Foreign Literature in Translation 3 credit hours (Hum/FA)
CSCI 1170 - Computer Science I 4 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
Major (PGEO) course 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 13 Hours

Sophomore Spring

PHYS 2010 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2011 - Physics Problems Laboratory I 4 credit hours
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
Major (GEOL) course 3 credit hours
Major (PGEO) course 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 13 Hours

Junior Fall

COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication 3 credit hours (Comm)
Major (GEOL) course 3 credit hours
Mentor-approved electives 7 credit hours
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours AND
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours

Subtotal: 17 Hours

Junior Spring

HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
Major (GEOL) or (PGEO) course 3 credit hours
Major (GEOL) course 4 to 5 credit hours
Major (PGEO) course 3 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 16-17 Hours

Senior Fall

BIOL 1120 - General Biology II 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1121 - General Biology II Lab 0 credit hours
Mentor-approved electives 6 credit hours
Capstone experience 3 to 4 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 16-17 Hours

Senior Spring

General or mentor-approved elective 3 credit hours
Mentor-approved electives 6 credit hours
Capstone experience 3 to 4 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours

Environmental Science, B.S.

Academic Map

Degree Requirements

General Education (41 hours)

Major Requirements (29-30 hours)

Math/Science Cognate (20 hours)

Capstone Experience Courses (6-8 hours)

Internship

Field Course

Undergraduate Research

Environmental Science Mentor-Approved Electives (21-24 hours)

Electives

Total hours in program: 120

Curriculum: Environmental Science

Freshman Fall

Subtotal: 13 Hours

Freshman Spring

Subtotal: 15 Hours

Sophomore Fall

Subtotal: 13 Hours

Sophomore Spring

Subtotal: 13 Hours

Junior Fall

Subtotal: 17 Hours

Junior Spring

Subtotal: 16-17 Hours

Senior Fall

Subtotal: 16-17 Hours

Senior Spring

Subtotal: 15-16 Hours