Environmental Program

Administrative Officers

This program is administered by the Council of Participating Deans with co-chairs.

Vice Chancellor and Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences	-	Edward A. Hiler, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Acting Dean, College of Geosciences	-	Mary Jo Richardson, A.B., Ph.D.

General Statement

The Environmental Program is a synergistic grouping of faculty, curricula, research and outreach focused on environmental issues on local to global scales. The program offers opportunities for students to obtain both in-depth discipline-specific education and interdisciplinary education. Students should consult with faculty in the program about internships and research opportunities to enhance the undergraduate experience.

Undergraduate Degree Granting Programs

Bioenvironmental Science. An innovative, multidisciplinary program focusing on management, remediation and regulation of environmental wastes emphasising scientific and policy issues involved with the protection of earth's precious resources (see Plant Pathology and Microbiology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences).

Biological and Agricultural Engineering. Engineering technology and design related to hydraulics, surface and subsurface hydrology, transport of eroded sediment and agricultural chemicals, handling and treatment of wastes, and air quality (see Biological and Agricultural Engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Dwight Look College of Engineering).

Environmental Design. Study of disciplines which plan and develop the built environment and manage the interface between people and their buildings (see Environmental Design in the College of Architecture).

Environmental Geoscience. Interdisciplinary program covering all the geosciences (Atmospheric Sciences, Geography, Geology and Geophysics and Oceanography) including issues associated with environmental policy with emphases in climate, coastal issues, water and human impact (see Environmental Geoscience in the College of Geosciences).

Environmental Studies. Study of the earth's land, water and air and the interaction of humans with their environment, focusing on environmental policy for successful planning and usage of the earth's resources (see Environmental Studies in the College of Geosciences. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is planning an Environmental Studies degree with social, political and technical policy issues related to the environmental protection of renewable natural resources and the regulation of environmental wastes.).

Plant and Environmental Soil Science. The role of plants and soils in the environmental realm. The curriculum has a fundamental base in mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics and focuses on agricultural aspects of the environment (see Plant and Environmental Soil Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences).

Renewable Natural Resources. The study and management of sustainable ecosystems for a wide variety of resource values (see Renewable Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The degree is offered by four departments: Forest Science, Rangeland Ecology and Management, Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, and Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.)