The Environmental Studies degree prepares students for a number of interesting and challenging careers. Its interdisciplinary nature provides students with tools that can be applied across a spectrum of science, social behavior, and humanities, using the strengths of the various areas. Students seeking journalistic or artistic careers will gain a scientific background by which to understand environmental science, while students going into the sciences will appreciate the social, political, and ethical dimensions of environmental actions and policy decisions.
Admission Requirements
Degree Requirements
- Students who change degree programs and select this major must adopt the most current catalog.
- Students must have declared an Environmental Studies major at least two semesters before graduation.
- Research, Internship, and Independent study credit cannot be used in this major without approval from Interdisciplinary Studies. Meet with a college advisor for additional information. in this major without prior to taking an independent study or internship for use in the program; non-approved independent studies will not be counted towards the major.
- Co-op credit cannot be used in the major.
- Students must earn at least a "C" (2.0) grade in each required course in the core and restricted electives.
- Students must consult with a college adviser when entering the program.
- Courses designated in 1 (General Education Program) and 2 (Common Program Prerequisites) are usually completed in the first 60 hours.
- Students wishing to earn an Environmental Studies degree as a double degree, double major, or second degree, must complete all advanced level core requirements and restricted electives exclusive of credits done for the other degree(s) and/or major(s), including any minors associated with that degree.
General Education Program (GEP)
Communication Foundations (9 Credit Hours)
Mathematical Foundations (6 Credit Hours)
1 may take a higher level math course
- MAC 1105C - College Algebra Credit Hours: 3 (Required) 1
- STA 2023 - Statistical Methods I Credit Hours: 3 (Required)
Social Foundations (6 Credit Hours)
- SYG 2000 - Introduction to Sociology Credit Hours: 3 (Required)
- ECO 2023 - Principles of Microeconomics Credit Hours: 3 (Required)
Science Foundations (8 Credit Hours)
- BSC 2010C - Biology I Credit Hours: 4 (Required)
- CHM 2045C - Chemistry Fundamentals I Credit Hours: 4 (Required)
Common Program Prerequisites (CPP)
Core Requirements: Basic Level (11 Credit Hours)
Core for Environmental Studies
Physical/Mathematical Sciences
- CHM 2045C - Chemistry Fundamentals I Credit Hours: 4 (GEP)
- MAC 1105C - College Algebra Credit Hours: 3 (GEP)
- STA 2023 - Statistical Methods I Credit Hours: 3 (GEP)
Life Sciences
- BSC 2010C - Biology I Credit Hours: 4 (GEP)
- BSC 2011C - Biology II Credit Hours: 4
- PCB 3044 - Principles of Ecology Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 3044L - Principles of Ecology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
Social Science & Humanities
- SYG 2000 - Introduction to Sociology Credit Hours: 3 (GEP)
- ECO 2023 - Principles of Microeconomics Credit Hours: 3 (GEP)
Core Requirements: Advanced Level (19 Credit Hours)
Environmental Studies Fundamentals
- EVR 3008 - Foundations of Environmental Studies Credit Hours: 3
- ECP 3302 - Economics and the Environment Credit Hours: 3
- GIS 3043C - GIS for Environmental Studies Credit Hours: 3
- GIS 4301C - Advanced GIS Applications in Environmental Studies Credit Hours: 4
- PUP 3203 - Environmental Politics Credit Hours: 3
- SYD 4510 - Environment and Society Credit Hours: 3
- EVR 3085 - Interdisciplinary Research Methods for Environmental Studies Credit Hours:
- Choose one of the following humanities courses:
- PHI 3640 - Environmental Ethics Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 3033 - Philosophy, Religion, and the Environment Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 4633 - Ethics and Biological Science Credit Hours: 3
- WST 4349 - Ecofeminism Credit Hours: 3
Restricted Electives (18 Credit Hours)
- Students will complete one of the tracks listed below. Each trackrequires a minimum of eighteen credit hours. A student completing the Environmental Studies core can reasonably expect to meet entry requirements for most electives listed.
- The program will maintain a list of approved courses; substitutions require recommendation by an advisor and approval by the program director.
- Select eighteen hours in one concentration.
Communication and Planning Track
These courses count toward the 18 credit hours of electives for the Communication and Planning Track.
- ANT 3541 - Biobehavioral Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 4051 - Environmental Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
- ECP 4303 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Credit Hours: 3
- ENC 3241 - Writing for the Technical Professional Credit Hours: 3
- ENC 4360 - Nature Writing Credit Hours: 3
- INR 4351 - International Environmental Law Credit Hours: 3
- PAD 3330 - Urban and Regional Planning Credit Hours: 3
- PAD 4351 - Issues in Environmental Program Management Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 3033 - Philosophy, Religion, and the Environment Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 3640 - Environmental Ethics Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 4400 - Philosophy of Science Credit Hours: 3
- PHM 4031 - Environmental Philosophy Credit Hours: 3
- PLA 4554 - Environmental Law Credit Hours: 3
- PUP 3204 - Sustainability Credit Hours: 3
- PUP 4209 - Urban Environmental Policy Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 3290 - Anthropology of Plants and People Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 3550C - Primatology Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 3701 - Engagement & Social Change: Public Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 4123 - Archaeology of Coastal Societies Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 4187 - Paleoethnobotany Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 4467 - Nutritional Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
- ANT 4480 - Global Health in Anthropological Perspective Credit Hours: 3
- BSC 4861L - Urban Ecological Field Studies Credit Hours: 3
- CPO 4794 - Indigenous Politics and the Environment Credit Hours: 3
- ENV 3001 - Environmental Engineering Credit Hours: 3
- ENV 4341 - Sustainable Resource Management Credit Hours: 3
- HSC 4500 - Epidemiology Credit Hours: 3
- INR 3016 - Global Political Issues Credit Hours: 3
- INR 4054 - Global Politics of Energy Credit Hours: 3
- INR 4350 - Global Environmental Politics Credit Hours: 3
- LIT 3437 - International Environmental Justice Literature Credit Hours: 3
- PAD 4331 - Land Use and Planning Credit Hours: 3
- PHH 3701 - Native American Philosophy Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 3638 - Ethical Issues in the 21st Century Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 3672 - Animal Ethics Credit Hours: 3
- PHI 4633 - Ethics and Biological Science Credit Hours: 3
- PSY 3630 - Psychology of Human-Animal Interaction Credit Hours: 3
- PUR 3210 - Communication Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility Credit Hours: 3
- REE 3614 - Environmental Issues for Real Estate Credit Hours: 3
- SYD 4514 - Environmental Movement Credit Hours: 3
- SYO 3408 - Animals and Health Credit Hours: 3
- WST 4349 - Ecofeminism Credit Hours: 3
Skills-based courses
The following courses can count a maximum of 6 hours toward the 18 hours of required electives for the Communcation and Planning Track.
- COM 4462 - Conflict Management Credit Hours: 3
- COM 4550 - Public Communication Campaigns Credit Hours: 3
- COM 4563 - Principles of Social Innovation and Activism Credit Hours: 3
- ENC 3455 - Writing about Science and Technology Credit Hours: 3
- EXP 3304 - Motivation and Emotion Credit Hours: 3
- EXP 3404 - Basic Learning Processes Credit Hours: 3
- MAN 4240 - Organizations: Theory and Behavior Credit Hours: 3
- MMC 3630 - Social Media as Mass Communication Credit Hours: 3
- POS 4206 - Political Psychology Credit Hours: 3
- SPC 4540 - Persuasion and Communication Credit Hours: 3
- SYA 4650C - Community Action and Involvement Credit Hours: 3
- SYP 3400 - Social Change Credit Hours: 3
Science Track
These courses count toward the 18 credit hours of electives for the Science Track.
- BCH 4053 - Biochemistry I Credit Hours: 3
- BCH 4054 - Biochemistry II Credit Hours: 3
- BOT 3802 - Ethnobotany Credit Hours: 3
- BOT 4303C - Plant Kingdom Credit Hours: 4
- BOT 4713C - Plant Taxonomy Credit Hours: 5
- BSC 4312C - Advanced Marine Biology Credit Hours: 4
- CHM 3120 - Analytical Chemistry Credit Hours: 3
- OCE 3008 - Oceanography Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 3063 - Genetics Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 3442 - Aquatic Ecology Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 4683 - Evolutionary Biology Credit Hours: 4
- PCB 4723 - Animal Physiology Credit Hours: 4
- ZOO 4910L - Research Experience in Animal Behavior in a Zoo Environment Credit Hours: 3
- BOT 3015 - Principles of Plant Science Credit Hours: 3
- BOT 3018C - Culinary Botany Across the Cultures Credit Hours: 4
- BOT 4223C - Plant Anatomy Credit Hours: 4
- BOT 4282C - Plant Microtechniques Credit Hours: 4
- BOT 4434C - General Mycology Credit Hours: 4
- BOT 4503C - Plant Physiology Credit Hours: 4
- BOT 4850 - Medical Botany Credit Hours: 3
- BSC 3052 - Conservation Biology Credit Hours: 3
- BSC 3312 - Principles of Marine Biology Credit Hours: 3
- BSC 4330 - Invasion Biology Credit Hours: 3
- BSC 4821 - Biogeography Credit Hours: 4
- BSC 4861L - Urban Ecological Field Studies Credit Hours: 3
- CHS 4615 - Environmental Chemistry Credit Hours: 3
- ENY 3571 - Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping Credit Hours: 3
- ENY 4004C - General Entomology Credit Hours: 4
- GLY 4730 - Marine Geology Credit Hours: 3
- GLY 4734 - Coastal Processes Credit Hours: 3
- MCB 4603 - Environmental Microbiology Credit Hours: 3
- PAZ 4234 - Zoo and Aquarium Management Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 3023 - Molecular Cell Biology Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 3343L - Principles of Field Ecology Credit Hours: 5
- PCB 3354 - Tropical Ecology and Conservation Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 3355L - Tropical Marine Biology Credit Hours: 2
- PCB 4353 - Florida Ecology, Natural History and Conservation Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 4408 - Urban Ecology Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 4514 - Genetics II Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 4684 - Population Genetics Credit Hours: 3
- PCB 4722 - Comparative Animal Nutrition Credit Hours: 4
- PCB 4802 - Comparative Endocrinology Credit Hours: 3
- ZOO 3454 - Ichthyology Credit Hours: 3
- ZOO 3713C - Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy Credit Hours: 5
- ZOO 4205C - Biology and Ecology of Metazoan Invertebrates Credit Hours: 4
- ZOO 4310C - Vertebrate Evolution & Ecology Credit Hours: 4
- ZOO 4462C - Herpetology Credit Hours: 4
- ZOO 4480 - Mammalogy Credit Hours: 4
- ZOO 4480L - Mammalogy Lab Credit Hours: 1
- ZOO 4513 - Animal Behavior Credit Hours: 3
- ZOO 4603C - Embryology/Development Credit Hours: 5
Capstone Requirements (3 Credit Hours)
The Capstone course is taken in the Senior year.
- IDS 4893 - Capstone Environmental Studies Credit Hours: 3
Electives
- Select primarily from upper level courses, with adviser approval.
Foreign Language Requirements
Admissions
- Two years of high school, or one year college language (or equivalent proficiency exam) prior to graduation
Additional Requirements
- Three (3) credit hours in undergraduate research, internship, study abroad and/or service-learning exclusive of courses in the major. Students may substitute demonstrated proficiency or instruction in a foreign language equivalent to the second college semester for this requirement. Standardized examinations for foreign languages may be used to meet the requirement if the students opts for foreign language.
Required Minors
Departmental Exit Requirements
- A grade of "C" or above (2.0) is required for each course taken in the subject areas and core.
- Computer Competency is met by completing this major.
University Minimum Exit Requirements
- A 2.0 UCF GPA
- 42 semester hours of upper division credit completed
- 60 semester hours earned after CLEP awarded
- 30 of the last 39 hours of course work must be completed in residency at UCF.
- A maximum of 45 hours of extension, correspondence, CLEP, Credit by Exam, and Armed Forces credits permitted.
- Complete the General Education Program, the Gordon Rule, and nine hours of Summer credit.
Total Undergraduate Credit Hours Required: 120
Additional Information
Honors In Major
Related Programs
- Biology (B.S.)
- Chemistry (B.S.)
- Environmental Engineering (B.S.Env.E)
- Political Science (B.A.)
- Economics (B.S.)
Certificates
Related Minors
Advising Notes
Transfer Notes
- Lower division courses do not substitute for upper division courses.
- Transfer courses must be evaluated for equivalency credit and/or for use in the degree program by the Interdisciplinary Studies Advising Team. The student must provide all supporting information.
Acceptable Substitutes for Transfer Courses
Program Academic Learning Compacts
- Program Academic Learning Compacts (student learning outcomes) for undergraduate programs are located at: http://www.oeas.ucf.edu/alc/academic_learning_compacts.htm
Plan of Study
