Environmental Science and Management, B.S.
Visit the Earth Science Department page for more information on the program and access to advising.
Program Description
The Environmental Science and Management, BS provides a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between humans, the Earth, and living systems by integrating scientific knowledge with management principles and practical skills. Graduates are prepared to address environmental and social challenges, manage resources, and mitigate environmental impacts effectively. Career opportunities span ecology, pollution control, hydrology, water treatment, compliance, consulting, environmental law, public policy, education, and public health.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
| General Education Requirements | 31 Credits | |
| ENGL 1010 | Introduction to Academic Writing | 3 |
| or ENGL 1005 | Foundations of Academic Writing | |
| ENGL 2010 | Intermediate Academic Writing | 3 |
| MATH 1050 | College Algebra | 4 |
| American Institutions | 3 | |
| American History (3) | ||
| US Economic History (3) | ||
| US History to 1877 and US History since 1877 (6) | ||
| American Heritage (3) | ||
| American National Government (3) | ||
| Distribution Courses: | ||
| ENVT 1110 | Introduction to Environmental Science and Management | 3 |
| BIOL 1010 | General Biology | 3 |
| GEOG 1400G | Introduction to Human Geography | 3 |
| or GEOG 1300G | Survey of World Geography | |
| Arts | 3 | |
| Humanities | 3 | |
| Personal, Professional, and Civic Growth | 3 | |
| Sustainability and Environment (3) (recommended) | ||
| Discipline Core Requirements | 55 Credits | |
| CHEM 1210 & CHEM 1215 | Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry I Laboratory | 5 |
| CHEM 1220 & CHEM 1225 | Principles of Chemistry II and Principles of Chemistry II Laboratory | 5 |
| STAT 2040 | Principles of Statistics | 4 |
| ENVT 2300 | Environmental Lab and Sampling | 3 |
| ENVT 2710 | Careers in the Earth Sciences | 1 |
| ENVT 2730 | Introduction to Soils | 4 |
| ENVT 2560 | Environmental Health | 3 |
| ENVT 3270 | Environmental Microbiology | 4 |
| ENVT 3790 | Applied Hydrology | 4 |
| ENVT 3850 | Environmental Policy and Law | 4 |
| ENVT 4700 | Ecological Foundations in Restoration | 4 |
| GEOG 3400 | Environmental Remote Sensing | 4 |
| GEOG 3600 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| GEO 4800R | Earth Science Seminar (Must be taken twice) | 1 |
| Complete one of the following combinations: | 5 | |
| College Physics I and College Physics I Lab (5) | ||
| Physics for Scientists and Engineers I and Physics for Scientists and Engineers I Lab (5) 1 | ||
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirements | 22 Credits | |
| Water and Pollution Management - Complete one of the following: | 3 | |
| Environmental Toxicology (3) | ||
| Water Quality and Reclamation (4) | ||
| Water Resources Management (3) | ||
| Land and Environmental Management - Complete one of the following: | 3 | |
| Environmental Management and Reporting (3) | ||
| Land Use Planning (3) | ||
| Natural Resources Management (3) | ||
| Weather - Complete one of the following | 3 | |
| Introduction to Meteorology (3) | ||
| Fundamentals of Weather Forecasting (3) | ||
| Climate and Geography - Complete one of the following: | 3 | |
| Climate Change in Science and Society (3) | ||
| Biogeography (4) | ||
| Climate and the Earth System (3) | ||
| Biological Sciences - Complete one of the following | 3 | |
| Environmental Biology (3) | ||
| General Ecology (3) 2 | ||
| Conservation Biology (3) | ||
| Geological Sciences - Complete one of the following | 4 | |
| Introduction to Geology and Introduction to Geology Laboratory (4) | ||
| Natural Disasters and the Environment and Introduction to Geology Laboratory (4) | ||
| The Dinosaurian World and Introduction to Geology Laboratory (4) | ||
| Geology of National Parks and Introduction to Geology Laboratory (4) | ||
| Integrated Sciences - Complete one of the following | 3 | |
| Environmental Geochemistry (3) | ||
| Wetland Studies (3) | ||
| Energy Use on Earth (3) | ||
| Elective Requirements | 12 Credits | |
| Choose 12 credits from the following list (at least 3 credits must be Upper Division): 3 | 12 | |
| Environmental Worker Safety (3) (Choose 12 credits from the following list (at least 8 credits must be Upper Division):) | ||
| Hazardous Materials Emergency Response (3) | ||
| Environmental Toxicology (3) | ||
| Water Quality and Reclamation (4) | ||
| Water Resources Management (3) | ||
| Environmental Management and Reporting (3) | ||
| Site Investigation (3) | ||
| Current Topics in Environmental Management (3) | ||
| Land Use Planning (3) | ||
| Natural Resources Management (3) | ||
| Energy Use on Earth (3) | ||
| Geologic Environmental Internship (1) | ||
| Special Projects in Environmental Management (1) | ||
| Field Botany (3) | ||
| Flora of Utah (3) | ||
| Natural Disasters and the Environment (3) | ||
| Introduction to Oceanography (3) | ||
| Science Excursion (1) | ||
| Natural History Excursion (3) | ||
| Desert Natural History (3) | ||
| Environmental Geochemistry (3) | ||
| Earth Materials and Earth Materials Laboratory (4) | ||
| Isotope Geochemistry (3) | ||
| Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory (1) | ||
| Geologic Hazards and Geologic Hazards Laboratory (4) | ||
| Geomorphology and Geomorphology Lab (5) | ||
| Sedimentary Geology (4) 2 | ||
| Hydrogeology (4) | ||
| Sustainability and Environment (3) | ||
| Biogeography (4) | ||
| Geospatial Data Science (3) | ||
| Advanced Geographic Information Systems (4) | ||
| Wetland Studies (3) | ||
| Wetland Studies Laboratory (1) | ||
| Environmental History of the United States (3) | ||
| Geospatial Field Methods (4) | ||
| GIS Internship (1-3) | ||
| Introduction to Meteorology Laboratory (1) | ||
| Climate and the Earth System (3) | ||
| College Biology I Laboratory (1) | ||
| College Biology II (3) | ||
| College Biology II Laboratory (1) | ||
| Environmental Biology (3) | ||
| General Ecology (3) 2 | ||
| General Ecology Laboratory (3) 2 | ||
| Conservation Biology (4) | ||
| Freshwater Ecology (4) 2 | ||
| Microbial Ecology (4) 2 | ||
Or other electives approved by the advisor and chair | ||
- 1
MATH 1210 or PHYS 1100 is required for PHYS 2210 option
PHYS 1100 is also a recommended course for ENVT 3790
- 2
This course may have a prerequisite that is not in the program and may require you to take additional courses or additional approval.
- 3
Credits used to satisfy core requirements or General Education requirements cannot double count as an elective.
Graduation Requirements
- Completion of a minimum of 120 semester credits, with a minimum of 40 upper-division credits.
- Overall grade point average of 2.0 (C) or above.
- Grade of C- or better in all ENVT, GEO, GEOG, and BIOL courses.
- Residency hours--minimum of 30 credit hours through course attendance at UVU, with at least 10 hours earned in the last 45 hours.
- Completion of an exit interview with the department chair and a Qualtrics Exit Survey prior to graduation.
- Completion of GE and specified departmental requirements.
- Successful completion of at least one Global/Intercultural course.
- Successful completion of at least two Writing Enriched (WE) courses.
Graduation Plan
This graduation plan is a sample plan and is intended to be a guide. Your specific plan may differ based on your Math and English placement and/or transfer credits applied. You are encouraged to meet with an advisor and set up an individualized graduation plan in Wolverine Track.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Credit Hours | |
| ENGL 1010 or ENGL 1005 | Introduction to Academic Writing or Foundations of Academic Writing | 3 |
| MATH 1050 | College Algebra | 4 |
| ENVT 1110 | Introduction to Environmental Science and Management | 3 |
| Arts Distribution | 3 | |
| Humanities Distribution | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| ENGL 2010 | Intermediate Academic Writing | 3 |
| American Institutions | 3 | |
| BIOL 1010 | General Biology | 3 |
| ENVT 2710 | Careers in the Earth Sciences | 1 |
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirement - Geological Sciences | 4 | |
| GEO 4800R | Earth Science Seminar | 0.5 |
| Credit Hours | 14.5 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Semester 3 | ||
| Personal, Professional, and Civic Growth | 3 | |
| Sustainability and Environment (strongly recommended) | ||
| CHEM 1210 | Principles of Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 1215 | Principles of Chemistry I Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 2010 & PHYS 2015 | College Physics I or Physics for Scientists and Engineers I and Physics for Scientists and Engineers I Lab | 5 |
| ENVT 2730 | Introduction to Soils | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Semester 4 | ||
| Humanities Distribution | 3 | |
| CHEM 1220 | Principles of Chemistry II | 4 |
| CHEM 1225 | Principles of Chemistry II Laboratory | 1 |
| ENVT 2300 | Environmental Lab and Sampling | 3 |
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirement - Weather | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Semester 5 | ||
| STAT 2040 | Principles of Statistics | 4 |
| ENVT 2560 | Environmental Health | 3 |
| GEOG 3600 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| ENVT 3850 | Environmental Policy and Law | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 6 | ||
| ENVT 3270 | Environmental Microbiology | 4 |
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirement - Biological Sciences | 3 | |
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirement - Water Pollution and Management | 3 | |
| Program Electives | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 13 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Semester 7 | ||
| ENVT 3790 | Applied Hydrology | 4 |
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirement - Land and Environmental Management | 3 | |
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirement - Climate and Geography | 3 | |
| Interdisciplinary Core Requirement - Integrated Sciences | 3 | |
| Program Electives | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 8 | ||
| ENVT 4700 | Ecological Foundations in Restoration | 4 |
| GEOG 3400 | Environmental Remote Sensing | 4 |
| GEO 4800R | Earth Science Seminar | 0.5 |
| Program Electives | 6 | |
| Credit Hours | 14.5 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
Program Learning Outcomes
- Analyze the complex interrelationships among environmental, societal, and economic systems.
- Evaluate the impacts of human activities on environmental problems.
- Employ the scientific method in the field of environmental science and management.
- Communicate scientific findings and environmental management strategies effectively to diverse stakeholders, utilizing written, oral, and visual means.
- Build multi-disciplinary teamwork and leadership skills in environmental and science management field.
Compliance officers
- Total Positions403,900
- Field Growth5.4%
- Median Salary$75,670
- Average Openings34.4
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Total Positions84,600
- Field Growth7.3%
- Median Salary$78,980
- Average Openings8.5
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health
- Total Positions33,900
- Field Growth7.0%
- Median Salary$50,660
- Average Openings4.1
Forest and conservation technicians
- Total Positions31,300
- Field Growth1.7%
- Median Salary$51,880
- Average Openings4.0
Environmental science teachers, postsecondary
- Total Positions9,100
- Field Growth3.9%
- Median Salary$88,410
- Average Openings0.7