Environmental Studies

Thomas M. Roy , Director

The Environmental Studies Program (EVST) seeks to provide students with the literacy, skills and commitment needed to foster a healthy natural environment and to create a more sustainable, equitable, and peaceful society. To this end, the EVST program helps students become knowledgeable, motivated, and active in environmental affairs. We want our students to acquire skills that will enable them to promote positive social change. Our program is organized upon the following principles:

-Environmental studies requires an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

-Creating solutions to environmental problems requires both action and reflection; therefore, an effective environmental education should generate thinkers who can do and doers who can think.

-It is important to provide both classroom and experiential learning opportunities in the arts of civic participation, including communication, collaboration, and activism.

-EVST should strive to maintain connections with alumni and former students and with the community of environmental activists nationally, regionally and in Montana.

-Students should be co-creators of their educational experience.

High School Preparation: Students in high school who are planning to major in environmental studies should take their schools’ college preparatory curriculum. Courses in biology, chemistry, math through pre-calculus, and writing are recommended.

Special Degree Requirements

Refer to graduation requirements listed previously in the catalog (see index). For the Bachelor of Arts degree, every major in environmental studies will complete the following requirements:

Environmental Studies: EVST 101N, 167H, 201, 225, 360, 484, 498, two of the following three courses, 302, 367, 420 and at least nine credits selected from 300 and/or 400 level courses offered by EVST.
Required courses outside Environmental Studies: BIOL 100N or 101N or 103N; CHEM 151N; MATH 241.

The Upper-division Writing Expectation must be met by successfully completing an upper-division writing course from the approved list in the Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog. See index.

Special Emphasis

Students are encouraged to select a minor or double major from another campus discipline or an emphasis in one of the following areas:

Environmental Management: In addition to satisfying the general requirements for a degree in environmental studies, students desiring an emphasis in environmental management must complete BADM 201, 202, 257, 270, 322, 340S, 341, 360, and 445 or 446 or 448.

Pre-Law: In addition to satisfying the general requirements for a degree in environmental studies, students desiring an emphasis in environmental law must consult with the pre-law faculty advisor within environmental studies to design a suitable pre-law program. The pre-law emphasis is a flexible program designed to prepare students for law school and allow students to strengthen their background within their area of interest.

Water Resources: In addition to satisfying the general requirements for a degree in environmental studies, student desiring an emphasis in water resources must complete 20 credits of advisor-approved courses or internships. (Could include such courses as BIOL 366, 453, 454; GEOL 320, 431, 480; FOR 210N, 389, 485, 486.) Note: some of these courses require prerequisites not in the environmental studies core requirements.

Suggested Course of Study

	Autumn	Spring
First Year
BIOL 100N The Science of Life	3	-
ENEX 101 Composition	(3)	(3)
EVST 101N Environmental Science	3	-
EVST 167H Nature and Society	3	-
MATH 117 Probability and Linear Mathematics	-	3
UNC 180 Environmental Studies Freshman Interest Group Seminar	1	-
Elective and General Education	3-6	10-13
Total	16	16
Second Year
CHEM 151N General and Inorganic Chemistry	3	-
EVST 201 Environmental Information Resources	-	3
EVST 225 Community and Environment	-	3
MATH 241 Statistics	4	-
Electives and General Education	9	9
Total	16	15
Third Year	3	6
EVST 302 Introduction to Environmental Regulation	-	3
EVST 360 Applied Ecology	3	-
EVST 367 Environmental Politics and Policies	-	3
EVST 420 U.S. Environmental Movement	3	-
EVST upper-division courses	3	3
Electives and General Education	6	6
Total	15	15
Fourth Year
EVST upper-division course	3	-
EVST 484 Senior Seminar	-	1
EVST 498 Cooperative Education	1-5	-
Electives and General Education	6-10	13
Total	14	14

 

Requirements for a Minor

To earn a minor the student must complete 25 credits. The following courses must be completed: EVST 101N, 167H, 225 and one of these ecology courses: BIOL 121N, EVST 360, FOR 330, or BIOL 340. The remaining credits can be from any other upper-division EVST courses.

Courses

U = for undergraduate credit only, UG = for undergraduate or graduate credit, G= for graduate credit. R after the credit indicates the course may be repeated for credit to the maximum indicated after the R.

Environmental Studies (EVST)

U 101N Environmental Science 3 cr. Offered autumn. An introduction to the scientific principles that underpin environmental science and discussion of how these shape national and local environmental laws and policies. Local approaches to solving environmental problems.

U 167H Nature and Society 3 cr. Offered autumn. The relationship between ideas about nature and the development of political and social ideas, institutions, and practices, primarily in western (Euro-American) society. Complements ethics offerings in philosophy aimed at environmental studies majors.
U 195 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 201 Environmental Information Resources 3 cr. Offered spring. Students write a research paper on a current environmental issue. Focus on critical thinking and critical analysis of sources.
U 225 Community and Environment 3 cr. Offered spring. Same as SOC 225. Exploration of the ways that communities address their environmental concerns. Introduction of relevant social science concepts.
U 294 Seminar 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently.
U 295 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 302 Introduction to Environmental Regulation 3 cr. Offered spring. Introduction to the history, law and theory of environmental regulation in the United States using public and private land regulation mechanisms as case studies. Basic principles of constitutional and administrative law relevant to environmental regulation, substantive public and private land use law and the history of environmental problems and their regulation.
U 327E Environmental Ethics I3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as PHIL 327E. Critical exploration of selected philosophical and literary texts pertinent to the ethics of human relationships with the natural environment. Issues parallel to those in EVST 427E, but presented in a manner available to those without prior experience in philosophy. Credit not allowed for both EVST/PHIL 327E and EVST/PHIL 427E.
UG 360 Applied Ecology 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., BIOL 100N, CHEM 151N, EVST 201, MATH 241. Understanding the principles and concepts of ecology and how they inform real life decisions about human interactions with the environment. Emphasis on case studies, field study design and conservation of watersheds and biodiversity.
UG 367 Environmental Politics and Policies 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., EVST 167H or consent of instr. Environmentalism as social movement, political and electoral issue. Focus is domestic illustrated by case studies.
UG 371 Wilderness Issues Lecture Series 1 cr. (R 3) Offered spring. Same as RECM 371. Explores current issues in wilderness preservation, management and research.
U 375 Agriculture, Society and Ecology 1 cr. Offered every spring. Same as PHIL and SOC 375. Lecture series that accompanies cooperative education credit for students participating in the Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society (PEAS).
U 377 Rhetoric, Nature and Environmentalism 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as COMM 377. Survey of rhetorical texts that shape public understanding of nature and environmental issues. Analysis of a range of historical and contemporary environmental texts using theoretical concepts from the rhetorical tradition.
U 391 Agriculture in the Humanities and Fine Arts 1 cr. Offered autumn. Same as LS and PHIL 391. Lecture series that accompanies cooperative education credit for students in P.E.A.S. (Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society).
U 395 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 12) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 398 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., six credits in EVST and consent of instr. Practical application of classroom learning through internship with governments, organizations or industry.
UG 420 The U.S. Environmental Movement 3 cr. Offered autumn. Study of the environmental movement as a social movement. Examination of different approaches to environmental protection and restoration in view of the movement’s historical roots and contemporary debates.
UG 425 The Human Role in Environmental Change. 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., upper division standing or graduate standing or consent of instr. Same as GEOG 425. A systematic examination of the ways in which the major physical systems and ecosystems of the earth have been modified by human activity.
UG 427E Environmental Ethics II 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., lower-division course in Perspective 5 or consent of instr. Same as PHIL 427E. Critical exploration of selected philosophical and literary texts pertinent to the ethics of human relationships with the natural environment. Issues parallel to those in EVST 327E, but considered from a more philosophically sophisticated perspective. Credit not allowed for both EVST/PHIL 327E and EVST/PHIL 427E.
UG 440 Environmental Economics 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., ECON 111S, 112S or consent of instr. Same as ECON 440. Outlines a theoretical framework for the analysis of environmental problems, including concepts of market failure and externalities, materials balance and property rights. The policy implications of this analytical model are explored for a range of topics including pollution and the preservation of natural environments and species.
UG 450 Food, Agriculture, and Environment 3 cr. Offered spring. Exploration of the premise that agricultural sustainability requires practices, policies, and social arrangements that balance concerns of environmental soundness, economic viability, and social justice among all sectors of society.
UG 473 Collaboration in Natural Resources Decisions 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as FOR 473. Political and social processes affecting natural resource decisions. Examination of cases of multi-party collaboration in forestry, range, and watershed management issues.
U 484 Senior Seminar 1 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., senior standing in EVST. Seminar for seniors in the EVST major to pursue topics of current interest.
UG 494 Seminar 3 cr. (R 6) Prereq., EVST 101N or consent of instr. A seminar on a current environmental topic.
UG 495 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 496 Independent Study 1 12 cr. (R 12) Offered autumn and spring.
U 498 Cooperative Education Internship 1-5 cr. Offered intermittently. Prereq., major in EVST and at least junior standing. Practical application of classroom learning through internships with conservation-environmental non-profits or government.
G 501 Scientific Approaches to Environmental Problems 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST or consent of instr. The strength and limitations of the scientific approach to investigating and solving selected environmental problems with an emphasis on the natural sciences.
G 502 Environmental Law for Non Lawyers 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., graduate standing. Review of major substantive environmental laws with an emphasis on areas of citizen involvement in the legal process.
G 504 Colloquium in the Philosophy of Ecology 3 cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate student in EVST or consent of instr. Same as PHIL 504. Documents of ecology studied in the context of social and political philosophy, metaphysics and ethics, philosophy of science, and technology.
G 505 The Literature of Natural History 3 cr. Offered spring. Same as ENLT 523. Study of the literary history of natural history from its classical origins to the present with an emphasis on the American tradition of nature writing and its relationship to conservation biology, and the practice of natural history.
G 506 Nature, Language and Politics 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as ENLT 524 and PHIL 506. Investigation of environmental, social and political thought from the perspective of contemporary language theory.
G 513 Public Dispute Resolution in the American West 3 cr. Offered spring. Same as LAW 613. Provides a conceptual framework for understanding the history of ideas that have shaped the policies, institutions, and strategies used to resolve natural resource and other public policy conflicts in the American West. Focus on natural resource and environmental dispute resolution.
G 520 Environmental Organizing 3 cr. Offered spring. Developing understanding of and skills in community and environmental organizing. Emphasis on theory and practice of civic engagement and social change with a focus on developing and running campaigns and working in a group. Team projects.
G 521 Foundations in Environmental Education 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., graduate standing in environmental studies. Same as C&I 521. Problem solving approaches to environmental education; problem identification, research and design and implementation of an educational approach to selected environmental issues.
G 525 Teaching Environmental Science 1-3 cr. (R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of instr. Same as C&I 525. Identification and examination of potential solutions to environmental problems and their impact on society. Major emphasis on teaching methods as they apply to environmental science.
G 530 Environmental Policy 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., graduate standing in environmental studies or consent of instr. Inquiry into the history, processes, and politics of state and national environmental public policy. Includes a review of policy processes, methods of studying public policy, and the role of advocacy groups in the policy process.
G 531 Citizen Participation in Environmental Decision Making 3 cr. Offered spring. Review of the modes and methods of citizen participation in governmental and corporate decision making. Review of the National and Montana Environmental Policy Act; administrative rule making and appeals, strategic planning, lobbying and corporate governance. Students complete a project with an outside group.
G 537 Building Effective Environmental Organizations 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., graduate standing. Focus on the tasks and skills necessary to building and managing effective environmental organizations, particularly non-profit. Budgeting, fund-raising, grant-writing, attracting and utilizing volunteers, working with the media. Strategic approaches and how they are shaped by issue, context, and structure.
G 540 Watershed Conservation Ecology 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., college ecology course or consent of instr. Overview of the basic science, management, policy and social action aspects of watershed conservation, preservation and restoration.
G 542 Transboundary Environmental Issues 3 cr. Offered intermittently in autumn. Prereq., graduate standing in environmental studies program. Review of the political systems and administrative systems of each country relevant to natural resource policy decision-making and ecological systems. Review pertinent literature, interact with stakeholders, and produce group reports.
G 548 Supervision and Teaching in Environmental Education 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Prereq., EVST 521 or C&I 521. Design, selection and evaluation of materials for the teaching of environmental education.
G 550 Pollution Ecology 3 cr. Offered spring even-numbered years. Prereq., college ecology course or consent of instr. Same as BIOL 550. Environmental fate and biological effects of pollutants, especially in aquatic ecosystems. Pollution reduction and prevention strategies; related law and policies.
G 551 Environmental Field Study 1-3 cr. (R-3) Offered autumn. Prereq. or coreq., EVST 540 or 550 or 560. Same as BIOL 551. Designing, executing and interpreting environmental studies. Project oriented.
G 555 Research Methods for Social Change 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as SOC 555. Introduction to qualitative methods of research design, data collection, and analysis. Emphasis on research that facilitates and documents social change processes. Hands-on research experience through fieldwork projects. Includes instruction on writing social science and on research ethics.
G 560 Environmental Impact Analysis 3 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST or consent of instr. Basis for analyzing environmental impacts of various activities; preparing and critiquing federal and state environmental impact documents, such as environmental reviews, impact statements, etc.
G 561 Land Use Planning Law 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as GEOG 561 and LAW 687. Basic overview of the law of land use planning including background in the traditional governmental regulatory, proprietary, and fiscal land use tools. Examination of modern techniques for land use planning; consideration of constitutional limits of authority of state and local governments. Focus on skills in interpreting, drafting and applying state legislation and local ordinances.
G 562 Land Use Planning Clinic 2 cr. Offered every term. Prereq. or coreq., EVST 561. Same as GEOG 562. Students assist local communities in long-range planning efforts and development of growth management plans as required by Montana law; ordinance drafting, development proposals, and land use issues.
G 563 Introduction to Environmental Law 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST. Same as LAW 650. Philosophy and values underlying environmental regulation, basic introduction to administrative law, in depth study of air and water pollution and the environmental policy acts.
G 564 Advanced Environmental Law 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST. Same as LAW 649. In depth study of the laws addressing toxic substances and solid and hazardous waste, and the Endangered Species Act. Exploration of interaction between land use regulation and environmental law.
G 565 Public Land and Resources Law 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST and consent of instr. Same as LAW 654. Historical development of United States public land law, state federal relations, and the roles of Congress, the executive and the courts; the law applying to specific public land resources: water, minerals, timber, range, and preservation.
G 566 Advanced Problems in Public Land and Resources Law 2 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST and consent of instr. Same as LAW 619. Collaborative work on practical problems arising in public land and resources law and individual research and writing projects.
G 567 Water Law 2 cr. Offered spring. Same as LAW 663. Interstate water problems; federal/state powers; federal/Indian water rights; Montana water law.
G 570 Environmental Clinic 3 cr. (R 6) Offered autumn. Prereq., graduate standing. Environmental projects for nonprofit or community based organizations or agencies. Team client relationships; project planning, execution (including research and analysis), and presentation.
G 573 Environmental Writing 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., graduate standing. Writing workshop designed to improve skills in writing on environmental topics for general audiences.
G 575 Seminar in Rhetoric and Environmental Controversy 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as COMM 575. The study of how advocates use symbols to influence meaning and action in environmental controversies. Rhetorical concepts used to examine recurring strategies and tactics in specific controversies.
G 593 Professional Paper Variable cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST.
G 594 Graduate Seminar 3 cr. (R 15) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST or consent of instr. In depth analysis of a current environmental topic. Different topics offered each semester.
G 595 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST or consent of instr. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
G 596 Independent Study Variable cr. (R 12) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST. Work on selected problems by individual students under direct faculty supervision.
G 597 Research Variable cr. (R 12) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST. Directed individual graduate research and study appropriate to background and objectives of the student.
G 598 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R 8) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST. Practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus.
G 599 Thesis Variable cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., graduate standing in EVST.

Faculty

Professors
Thomas M. Roy, M.A., University of Chicago, 1966 (Director)
Vicki Watson, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1981

Associate Professors
Leonard Broberg, Ph.D., University of Oregon, 1995
Fletcher Brown, Ph.D., Miami University, 1994

Assistant Professor
Neva Hassanein, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1997