Requirements
Environmental Studies Coordinate Major
Students coordinate their study of the environment with any department/program at Bowdoin that offers a major. To satisfy the requirements for the coordinate major in environmental studies, students must complete the nine credits detailed below as well as the major requirements within their coordinated department/program.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ENVS 1101 | Introduction to Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches (preferably taken as a first-year student) | 1 |
| ENVS 2201 | Perspectives in Environmental Science | 1 |
| ENVS 2330 | Environmental Policy and Politics | 1 |
| ENVS 2403 | Environment and Culture in North American History | 1 |
| Select one advanced seminar chosen from environmental studies courses numbered 3900–3999. | 1 | |
| Select three environmental studies (ES) courses (or ES-approved courses) linked by a cohesive theme. a | 3 | |
| Select one science course with a weekly lab numbered 1000 or above | 1 | |
| a | Selecting these courses allows students to develop a particular interest from the broad spectrum of environmental studies courses offered at Bowdoin. An example of such a theme might be environmental health, environmental justice, or climate change and energy. Students meet with their ES advisor to discuss possible themes, and submit a major planning form to the ES Program. |
Environmental Studies Minor
The minor consists of five courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ENVS 1101 | Introduction to Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches | 1 |
| Select two environmental studies intermediate courses (2000–2969) or higher, one of which must be outside a student’s departmental major. | 2 | |
| Discipline-Based Option Requirements | ||
| Select two core courses in the disciplinary area as specified below: | 2 | |
| Natural Science Majors | ||
ENVS 2403 | Environment and Culture in North American History | |
ENVS 2330 | Environmental Policy and Politics | |
| Social Science Majors | ||
ENVS 2201 | Perspectives in Environmental Science | |
ENVS 2403 | Environment and Culture in North American History | |
| Humanities Majors | ||
ENVS 2201 | Perspectives in Environmental Science | |
ENVS 2330 | Environmental Policy and Politics | |
Additional Information and Program Policies
- A grade of C- or better must be earned in a course to fulfill the major or minor requirements, and no courses taken Credit/D/Fail may be applied to the major or minor.
- Students with a score of five on the Environmental Science AP exam can earn one general credit if the student completes ENVS 2201 Perspectives in Environmental Science with a minimum grade of B-. If the student declares a coordinate major in ES, has a score of five on the AP exam, and takes ENVS 2201 Perspectives in Environmental Science with a minimum grade of B-, the student is exempt from taking a science course with a weekly lab and does not need to replace it with another course. In order to receive credit for advanced placement work, students must have their scores officially reported to the Office of the Registrar by the end of their sophomore year at Bowdoin.
- Majors may count up to three courses cross-listed with ES and the students’ departmental or program majors to fulfill the environmental studies major requirements. Minors may count up to two courses cross-listed with ES and the students' departmental or program minors to fulfill the environmental studies minor requirements.
- With Environmental Studies Program approval, one off-campus study course may be used to fulfill the major or minor requirements.
- Students may not declare a coordinate major in environmental studies with any of the following: a second departmental major, a student-designed major, or an interdisciplinary major. (See the Interdisciplinary Majors.)
- Students may engage in independent study at the intermediate (2970–2979) or advanced (4000–4051) level. Only one semester of independent study or honors work may count toward the major or the minor.
Information for Incoming Students
First-year students interested in environmental studies are encouraged to take the gateway course ENVS 1101 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches in the fall. ENVS 1101 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches is an interdisciplinary introduction to the environment as framed by perspectives from the natural sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. This course does not meet the INS (Inquiry in the Natural Sciences) distribution requirement, nor is it a science course, but it does meet the DPI (Difference, Power, and Inequality) distribution requirement. Students in ENVS 1101 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches meet in a small group discussion section with an instructor once a week for 55 minutes. Discussion sections are listed as separate labs in the Classfinder, but they are not labs. This course is offered every fall.
In the spring, students should consider taking a science course with a weekly lab, the environmental science core course ENVS 2201 Perspectives in Environmental Science, or the environmental social science core course ENVS 2330 Environmental Policy and Politics
If a student declares a coordinate major in ES, has a score of 5 on the Environmental Science AP exam and takes ENVS 2201 Perspectives in Environmental Science with a minimum grade of B-, the student is exempt from taking a science course with a weekly lab and does not need to replace it with another course. To receive credit for advanced placement work, students must have their scores officially reported to the Registrar’s office by the end of their sophomore year at Bowdoin.
This is an excerpt from the official Bowdoin College Catalogue and Academic Handbook. View the Catalogue