The Environmental Management and Policy Certificate is a cluster of related courses focusing on environmental issues for individuals who want to expand their knowledge of the environment, environmental management, and environmental policy. For returning students interested in pursuing a college degree, the certificate program provides a stepping stone to the Bachelor of General Studies, with major concentration in Environmental Management and Policy.

The objective of the certificate program is to broaden a student's knowledge of the environment and the issues threatening its well being as well as to provide policy and planning information that may help them gain employment or advance their current careers. The advantage of a certificate program over a minor is that the certificate is equally accessible to individuals who do not have a college degree as it is to those who do.

The certificate also may serve as a first step for students considering entering a degree program, but who are hesitant or unable to make a commitment to a degree program at the present time. The courses required for the certificate are also core courses for the BGS with a major concentration in Environmental Management and Policy. Students who acquire the certificate may use it as a stepping-stone to a full degree.

• The major environmental issues confronting environmental managers (who work for corporations, businesses, government, industries, and non-profit organizations)
  
• The basic scientific concepts of environmental management
  
• State and federal laws that govern activity in the environmental field
  
• How to incorporate environmental protection considerations into business

BIO 308 General Ecology (3 credits) - An overview of the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their physical environment, progressing in complexity from the organism, to the population, to the community, to the ecosystem. Topic covered include: physiological ecology, population dynamics, factors that determine the distribution and relative abundances of species, organization of communities an ecosystem dynamics. Three hours lecture per week.

EES 220 Environmental Geology (3 credits) - Environmental geology is the application of geologic information to the entire spectrum of interactions between people and the physical environment. In this course we will develop an understanding of geology's role in major environmental problems facing people and society.

EES 315 Environmental Science and Society (3 credits) - This course is an introduction to how scientists approach some of the serious environmental problems facing our society. We will seek to understand how scientists acquire environmental data and how the data are used to mitigate environmental problems such as water pollution, climate change, acid rain, and food resources. We will also discuss the limits of science in trying to solve these problems.

EES 320 Environmental Management (3 credits) - This course will give students a toolbox of analytical techniques used in natural resources management. The objective is to prop-are students to work in private or public sector environmental law, environmental impact analysis, and environmental modeling. Note: Consent of instructor for non-EES majors.

PSC 351 Environmental Politics and Policy (3 credits) - An examination of the evolution and impacts of environmental policy within the context of American government. Focus primarily on pollution control policy and energy issues, and their impacts on politics and society.

ECSU Home