WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES?
Environmental Studies connects key concepts from many disciplines in an environmental context, providing a framework for the study of ecosystems and human interaction with the Earth. The field recognizes that an understanding of the interactions of many scientific and social factors is critical to society's response to environmental change, from issues with global implications to the impact of one development upon the smallest of community parks.
Environmental Studies graduates work in a variety of capacities in every sector of the workplace, because environmental issues face every business, agency and institution, and any environmental issue is inevitably intertwined with many other environmental disciplines.
WHAT ARE THE EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS?
Environmental Studies students can expect to study many disciplines from the natural sciences to the social sciences to humanities, with the focus on learning to make educated judgments about environmental issues through careful, objective analysis. Because of the wide range of disciplines studied, there is also often great latitude for students to create their own curriculum and emphasis within the major.
Programs often call for basic courses in biology, geology, policy studies and law, philosophy and ethics, geography, archaeology, religion, history, civil and chemical engineering, chemistry, economics, history, and sociology. More advanced, specific courses we've seen include:
- Environmental Pollution Control
- Toxicology
- Culture & the Environment
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- Organic Evolution
- Environment & Politics
- Historic Preservation
- Health and Disease Ecology
- Environmental Geography
- Global Environmental Issues
- Energy Policy
- Congress, Bureaucracy and Policymaking
- Statistics
- Forensic Anthropology
- Environmental Activism
- Urban Environments
- Botany
- Marine Biology
- Water Resources & Hydrology
For more on what it's like to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies, please see our interview with Sapna Thottathil, recent graduate in the field and Udall Scholar, here.
CAREERS AND SALARY OUTLOOK
Environmental Studies graduates can expect to find careers as environmental planners, analysts and policy-makers; or in the business or corporate field, orchestrating compliance with environmental regulations, conducting audits of internal environmental efficiency or communicating an environmental message; or in the conservation or public sector managing or protecting natural resources.
The challenge for Environmental Studies majors is not whether they will have jobs, but how to find the jobs and how to market themselves and their training. The job market is expected to grow, as public awareness continues to expand on issues pertaining to the environment and the management of natural resources, making it even more imperative for the public and private sectors to consider the environment in their decision-making. Specific job titles that we've seen that apply to Environmental Studies graduates include:
- Environmental specialist
- Air quality specialist
- Water resources manager
- Park naturalist or ranger
- Communications or public relations specialist
- Environmental news reporter or editor
- Community outreach coordinator
- Environmental science teacher
- Natural products sales representative
- Agricultural extention worker
- Regional or urban planner
- Laboratory supervisor
Because the job opportunities are so diverse and there is no generic category for Environmental Studies, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have specific information on salary expectations. Please visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook to browse your specific field of interest. The statistics for environmental science, a closely related (but more technical) field, can be found here.
RELATED AREAS OF STUDY
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