Majors
(Requirements apply to members of the Class of 2012 and beyond)

THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES MAJOR
As a foundation for the major, all students must take ES100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective. As a capstone to the major, students must take ES374 Environmental Studies: Methods and Approaches and ES375 Case Studies in Environmental Sustainability. In addition, ES majors must meet the core requirements for one of the two ES tracks (i.e., Social and Cultural Perspectives or Environmental Science). Students who major in ES and plan to attend graduate or professional schools are encouraged to design programs of study that meet admission requirements for graduate or professional schools of their choice.


HONORS: ES Program honors are awarded to an ES senior who has maintained the required college and department grade averages and who, by the end of the first semester of the senior year, has either registered for or enrolled in ES376 Senior Thesis. The senior thesis proposal must be approved by the ES Steering Committee prior to enrollment in ES376 Senior Thesis. In addition to the necessary grade averages and an A- or better on the ES senior thesis, the student must receive the recommendation of the ES program. See the ES Director or the ES Web page for additional information on senior thesis proposal submission.

Note: To be considered for honors, the college requires a GPA of 3.5 or higher for work in the major, and a GPA of 3.0 or higher based on all work taken at Skidmore.


Social and Cultural Perspectives Track

The Social and Cultural Perspectives track draws upon disciplinary and interdisciplinary foundations in the social sciences, humanities, and arts to build an understanding of how changes in the environment affect social organization and cultural development. Conversely, these courses also focus on how society and culture shape the environment and on the consequences of that influence. This track is well-suited for students interested in environmentally related activities in literature, journalism, education, sustainable development, policy and law, social service, public health, and resource management.

Students in the Social and Cultural Perspectives track must successfully complete forty-two to forty-eight credits in approved courses that count toward the ES major.

1. Foundation courses: ES100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective and 105 Field Studies in Environmental Science;
   
   
2. Three courses from the Social and Cultural Core classes: EC343, EN229, GO231, SO223;
   
   
3. Three courses from ES Cluster A, Culture, Society and the Environment (at least six credits must be at the 300 level);
   
   
4. Two courses from ES Cluster B1, Exploring the Natural World (at least one course with a lab);
   
   
5. One methods course: EC237, ID210, MA104, SO226 or SO227; and
   
   
6.  ES Senior Year Capstone Sequence of ES374 and 375.

1. Foundation course: ES100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective;
2. Natural science disciplinary foundation: BI105, 106, CH105 and 106, (or 107H) and GE101;
3. Interdisciplinary natural science core courses: ES205 and 206;
4. Three other natural science courses from ES Cluster B2, one of which must be an ES-designated course (two of these courses must be at the 300 level, the third must at least be 200 level, and two of the three must be lab courses);
5. Two courses from ES Cluster A, Culture, Society and Environment;
6. Two methods courses: MS104 and ID210; and
7. ES Senior Year Capstone Sequence of ES374 and 375.