Environmental Science I

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

This course is the first of a two-course sequence (Environmental Science I and II). It explores the scientific principles, concepts, and methods required to understand critical disciplinary perspectives and interrelationships of the natural world. Students will learn to articulate the boundaries of science and describe the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science. This course covers fundamental aspects of Earth’s systems and their interactions including geology, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and conservation, ecology and evolution, population dynamics, ecosystem functioning, and more. In this course, students will be required to think critically regarding the scope of environmental conditions in terms of basic mathematics, accurate scientific language, and tools that can be used to describe environmental variables and conditions. This foundational course will provide the background needed to address applied sustainability challenges presented in Environmental Science II.