Alabama's Public Liberal Arts University

Environmental Studies

Check out the new Check Sheet and ES Minor Declaration Form

 

ES gives your degree a green edge in a 21st Century job market.

 

 

 

The Environmental Studies Minor is an innovative option for UM students looking for an interdisciplinary “Honors College” experience in step with the best COPLAC environmental programs.  ES prides itself on bringing faculty, students, staff, administrators, and the community together to solve environmental problems and making the UM campus a veritable sustainability lab.  Moreover, ES is essential to the UM Strategic Plan in that it creates opportunities for professors in every discipline to work on collaborative projects and team-teach original classes. 

 

Take a look at the ES Check Sheet and current ES courses to see if you are already on your way to becoming an Environmental Studies Minor!

 

MISSION

The Environmental Studies program at the University of Montevallo fosters leadership in building a sustainable society. 

 

ES and E-Club students hiking with Wild South members

 

PURPOSE

Environmental Studies at the University of Montevallo is an interdisciplinary minor grounded in the natural sciences that incorporates perspectives from the social sciences, the arts and humanities, and business.  The purpose of the program is to provide students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they will need as citizens and as members of the workforce to make informed decisions with respect to ecological issues.  The overarching objective is to help students learn to balance present needs with those of future generations while promoting environmental justice and biological sustainability.  Course offerings include ES 200 Introduction to Environmental Studies, ES 300 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Studies, ES 310 Special Topics in Environmental Studies, and Senior ES Independent Study, as well as regularly taught classes that meet the criteria for ES designation.

 

Aaron, Robin, Cameron, Courtney, and Jodie at PowerShift

 

JOBS

Career paths for Environmental Studies minors include employment in public schools and private educational facilities; in city and regional planning agencies; in agencies and firms dealing with environmental impact analysis, law, and natural resource management; in energy management and design consulting firms, utilities and renewable energy businesses; in federal, state, county and city parks; in public art projects; in environmental writing; and in activist organizations.

 

UM Students Strategize Campus Food Initiatives in Athens

 

UPCOMING ENVIRONMENTAL COURSES

    • ES 200 Introduction to Environmental Studies    

    • ES 310 Environmental Law & Policy

    • ES 300 Summer Harvest

    • SOC 411/511 Rural Environments, Communities, & Well-Being

    • ES 300 Economics of Environmental Toxicology

    • ES 300 Philosophy of the Cosmos

    • ART 405 Landscape to Land Art

    • ES 400 Senior ES Independent Study

 

PARTNERS

Our commitment to the environment goes well beyond course offerings.  It includes a number of green initiatives and facilities, such as:

 

        ValloCycle: The Montevallo Bike Share

        UM Organic Community Garden

        Campus Trails

        • Ebenezer Swamp

        James Wylie Shepherd Observatory

        UM Lake Project and Outdoor Classroom

 

 

 

  GOALS

        • Synthesis of knowledge from the biological, physical and social sciences

        Study of human activities and their effects on ecological systems

        Understanding of the ethical and public policy implications of environmental issues

        Stewardship of the Earth’s natural resources

        Application of basic economic & management principles to environmental problems

        Well-informed decision-making with respect to the Earth’s future

        Communication skills needed to advocate for the environment

        Pursuit of careers and/or further study in environmental fields

        Reverence for the natural world at risk

 

 

For more information, contact ES Coordinators Lee Rozelle or Jill Wicknick

Lee Rozelle

UM Department of English and Foreign Languages

Station 6420

Montevallo, AL  35115

rozellehl@montevallo.edu

 

Jill Wicknick

UM Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics
Harman Hall, Station 6480
University of Montevallo
Montevallo, AL 35115

wicknickja@montevallo.edu