ENVST Minor - 19 credits:
Environmental and Sustainability Studies students develop an understanding of ecological systems and the consequences of human-environment interactions, with grounding in earth systems and social science. The curriculum emphasizes human impacts on the environment, policy and decision making, ethics, and historical approaches to the human-environment relationship. This interdisciplinary program is unique in its emphasis on peer learning and community engagement regarding the environment, social responsibility, and sustainability.
ENVST 2050 (or AP Environmental Science with a score of 3 or higher) & 2100 are required prerequisites before ENVST 3364 & 3365 are taken.
Required Courses:
The goal for this class is to have students versed in the topics of: 1) Ecology and Sustainability, 2) Biodiversity, and 3) Earth Resources and Environmental Quality. The course consists of lectures, participation exercises, which will require critical thinking and data analysis, and the laboratory assignments (at-home and field based). The materials have been designed to step you through the topics and if you already have some science background this class will help you make connections among scientific disciplines and ESS.
This course consists of a series of lectures from University of Utah faculty on a wide variety of research focuses on the environment and sustainability. The course professor will provide continuity and develop an integrated framework for understanding and analyzing the material. The course will expose students to a diverse range of research viewpoints and approaches to studying issues surrounding the environment and sustainability.
This course surveys the natural and anthropogenic factors that have caused the Earth’s climate to change over the past 700 million years. Topics include: how scientists study past climates, the causes and evidence for climate changes, how ecosystems respond to climate change, and how climate change impacts humans and culture. We will also discuss how human-produced climate change can be distinguished from a background of natural climate trends.
