College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Curriculum in Bioenvironmental Sciences
Major breakthroughs are taking place locally, regionally and globally concerning environmental awareness. Environmental hazards take many forms, including microbial threats, toxic wastes and the indirect impact of man’s activities on a fragile ecosystem. As a result, there is a growing recognition that the solutions to environmental problems require innovative multi-disciplinary perspectives and technologically-intensive approaches. The Bioenvironmental Sciences curriculum (BESC) was designed in consultation with numerous industry representatives in order to comply with the most current thinking on the talents needed for tomorrow’s environmental fields. Students will be prepared for a breadth of career choices in the environmental sciences. These choices include such areas as research and development, environmental consulting, remediation of wastes, site assessment and environmental sampling, and environmental law. Graduates from BESC find employment in federal, state and municipal environmental agencies; in industries concerned with the generation and clean-up of hazardous wastes; with environmental advocacy and educational groups. In addition, the strong science base in BESC prepares students for professional and graduate schools in a variety of disciplines.
The curriculum described combines a foundation of required courses of technical and free electives to allow the student the maximum flexibility to design a personalized course of study. Students are advised to focus on an area of emphasis with those electives that come from such categories as conservation/ecology, policy/ethics/regulations, the physical environment, engineering, plant studies, genetics/biotechnology and general environmental. The Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology also supports the extracurricular activities needed to support a successful environmental professional.
| Required Course1 | (Th-Pr) | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| AGEC 105 Introduction to Agricultural Economics | (3-0) | 3 |
| AGLS 101 Modern Agricultural Systems | (1-0) | 1 |
| AGRO 301 Soil Science | (3-2) | 4 |
| BESC 201 Introduction to Bioenvironmental Science | (3-0) | 3 |
| BESC 484 Field Experience | 3 | |
| BIOL 101 Botany and BIOL 107 Zoology or BIOL 111 and 112 Introductory Biology |
8 | |
| CHEM 101 and 111 Fundamentals of Chemistry I and Lab. | 4 | |
| CHEM 102 and 112 Fundamentals of Chemistry II and Lab. | 4 | |
| CHEM 227 and 237 Organic Chemistry and Lab. | 4 | |
| COMM 203 Public Speaking | (3-0) | 3 |
| ENGL 104 Composition and Rhetoric | (3-0) | 3 |
| GENE 310 Principles of Heredity or GENE 315 Genetics of Plants |
(3-0) | 3 |
| HIST 105 and 106 or American history elective2 | (3-0) | 6 |
| MATH 131 Mathematical Concepts—Calculus | (3-0) | 3 |
| PHIL 240 Introduction to Logic or MATH 166 Topics in Contemporary Mathematics II or MATH 141 Business Mathematics I |
(3-0) | 3 |
| POLS 206 and 207 American National and State and Local Government 2 | (3-0) | 6 |
| RENR 205 and 215 Fundamentals of Ecology and Lab. | 4 | |
| STAT 302 Statistical Methods | (3-0) | 3 |
| * KINE 198 Health and Fitness Activity | (0-2) | 1 |
| * KINE 199 Required Physical Activity | (0-2) | 1 |
| BIO Group electives3 | 10 | |
| ENV Group electives3 | 12 | |
| Humanities elective5 | 3 | |
| Technical electives2,4 | 14 | |
| Visual and performing arts electives5 | 3 | |
| Free electives | 8 | |
| Total Hours |
120 | |
NOTES:
- A minimum of 120 semester hours will be required for a B.S. degree.
- During the sophomore year, a degree plan will be developed in consultation with the departmental advisor.
- BIO Group selections consist of: BESC 401 Bioenvironmental Microbiology; AGRO 405 Soil Microbiology; PLPA 301/303 Introductory Plant Pathology and Lab; and other course selections as approved by advisor. ENV Group selections consist of BESC 402 Microbial Processes in Bioremediation; BESC 314 Pathogens, the Environment, and Society; and other course selections as approved by advisor. Exact numbers of hours from these groups will vary, to achieve a minimum of 120 hours.
- Courses may be selected from categories designed to reflect the professional aspirations of the student. Exact number of technical electives will depend on choice selections from other categories to achieve a minimum 120 hours.
- To be selected from the University Core Curriculum. The University Core Curriculum includes a requirement for 6 hours of international and cultural diversity courses. Refer to University Core Curriculum, item 6 for a list of acceptable courses. A course satisfying another Core category, a college/department requirement, or as a free elective can be used to satisfy these requirements. See academic advisor.
* See University Core Curriculum, item 7.