Environmental Science and Sustainability department web site
The information on this page pertains to program requirements for students who matriculated in the 2023-2024 academic year. View requirements for previous catalog years here.
Drake's Environmental Sustainability and Resilience major is a highly interdisciplinary program enabling graduates to address sustainability and resilience challenges in a variety of fields. Sustainable systems are those that can continue their core functions indefinitely without degradation; resilient systems are those that can continue their core functions in the face of rapid, and often unexpected, change.
Creating sustainable and resilient systems requires that practitioners incorporate ecological, economic, and social principles in their work, and that they be familiar with both rigorously quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. Therefore, our majors will develop a strong background in environmental sciences sociology, economics, communication, consensus-building, and other relevant areas. They also will develop skills in systems analysis, carbon footprinting, and Geographic Information Systems that will prepare them to engage in identifying issues and developing solutions to diverse challenges upon graduation.
Because each student's path and interests are unique, the sustainability and resilience curriculum is organized around four key outcomes for majors:
1. Choice Analysis - Students will be able to identify, analyze, and communicate the impacts of collective and individual choices on environmental, economic, and social systems.
2. Systems Thinking - Students will employ whole-systems thinking to understand the nature of sustainability and resilience challenges and to design successful responses.
3. Stakeholder Engagement - Students will develop appropriate skills for communicating among various constituencies that have a stake in sustainability and resilience choices, and be able to integrate concerns from multiple perspectives into proposed solutions that are appropriate to local political, social, and economic conditions.
4. Professional Skills - Students will develop the skills necessary for employment or graduate study in fields related to Environmental Sustainability and Resilience.
All Environmental Sustainability and Resilience majors take a set of core courses in areas central to the study of environmental sustainability and resilience, including environmental science, biology, geology, sociology, and economics. In addition, students take two courses fulfilling each of the four major outcomes.
Courses in any of the areas of study can count for only one area of study. For example, ENSS 135, which could satisfy either Choice Analysis or Stakeholder Engagement, can count for only one of those requirements.
| Course | Credits |
| ENSS Core | 17 |
| ENSS 035 - One Earth: Global Environmental Science | 3 |
| ENSS 036 - One Earth: Global Environmental Science Lab | 1 |
| ENSS 037 - Environmental Case Analysis | 3 |
| ENSS 041 - Principles of Geology | 3 |
| ENSS 042 - Principles of Geology Lab | 1 |
| ENSS 061 - Environmental Sociology | 3 |
| ENSS 065 – Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| Other Required Courses | 10-11 |
| BIO 013 - General/Pre-Professional Biology II | 3 |
| BIO 013L - General/Pre-Professional Biology II Lab | 1 |
| ECON 002 - Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| ENSS 151 - Sustainability and Resilience, or LAW 329 - Sustainability and the Law |
4 3 |
| Choice Analysis - Select two from the following: | 6 |
| ECON 108 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| ECON 109 - Public Economics | 3 |
| ECON 135 - Developing Economies | 3 |
| ENSS 050 - Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3 |
| ENSS 072 - Environmental Psychology | 3 |
| ENSS 103 - Foundations of National History & Environment | 3 |
| ENSS 111 - International Environment Seminar | 3-5 |
| ENSS 125 - Conservation Biology | 4 |
| ENSS 135 - Global Climate Change | 3 |
| ENSS 150 - Advanced Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3-5 |
| ENSS 153 - Ecological Economics | 3 |
| ENSS 154 - Environmental Decision-Making | 3 |
| ENSS 157 - Environmental Justice | 3 |
| HIST 186 - History of the Environment | 3 |
| HIST 188 - Urban Environmental History | 3 |
| POLS 156 - Global Health | 3 |
| SOC 145 - Food and Society | 3 |
| Systems Thinking - Select two from the following: | 6 |
| BIO 111 - Evolved Foodways | 3 |
| BIO 117 - Ecology | 3 |
| ECON 135 - Developing Economies | 3 |
| ENSS 050 - Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3 |
| ENSS 072 - Environmental Psychology | 3 |
| ENSS 103 - Foundations of Natural History and Environmentalism | 3 |
| ENSS 107 - Civic Environmentalism/Growth | 3 |
| ENSS 111 - International Environment Seminar | 3-5 |
| ENSS 119 - Regional Ecology | 3 |
| ENSS 127 - Endangered Species Conservation | 3 |
| ENSS 150 - Advanced Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3-5 |
| ENSS 156 - Environmental Politics and Policy | 3 |
| ENSS 168 - Dynamic Environmental Modeling | 3 |
| SOC 145 - Food and Society | 3 |
| Stakeholder Engagement - Select two from the following: | 6 |
| ENSS 050 - Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3 |
| ENSS 054 - Environmental Communication | 3 |
| ENSS 071 - Environmentalism in the U.S. | 3 |
| ENSS 107 - Civic Environmentalism/Growth | 3 |
| ENSS 125 - Conservation Biology | 3 |
| ENSS 135 - Global Climate Change | 3 |
| ENSS 138 - Water Resource Policy | 3 |
| ENSS 150 - Advanced Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3-5 |
| ENSS 156 - Environmental Politics and Policy | 3 |
| ENSS 157 - Environmental Justice | 3 |
| HIST 186 - History of the Environment | 3 |
| HIST 188 - Urban Environmental History | 3 |
| HONR 067 - Sustainable Development in Africa | 3 |
| POLS 156 - Global Health | 3 |
| Professional Skills - Select two from the following: | 6 |
| BIO 140 - Biological Research and Statistics Methods | 4 |
| ENSS 050 - Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3 |
| ENSS 101 - Restoration Ecology | 3 |
| ENSS 107 - Civic Environmentalism/Growth | 3 |
| ENSS 115 - Environmental Field Course | 3-5 |
| ENSS 125 - Conservation Biology | 4 |
| ENSS 150 - Advanced Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3-5 |
| ENSS 150 - Environmental Consulting | 3 |
| ENSS 153 - Ecological Economics | 3 |
| ENSS 165 - Applications of GIS | 3 |
| ENSS 168 - Dynamic Environmental Models | 3 |
| STAT 050 - Statistics for Social Sciences | 3 |
| ENSP 191 Capstone | 3 |
| Total | 54 |
At least 25 credits toward the Environmental Sustainability and Resilience major must not be counted toward another major, minor, or concentration.
All minors must have an adviser in the program and must successfully complete 22-23 credit hours that fulfill the following requirements:
| Course | Credits |
| ECON 002 - Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| ENSS 035 - One Earth: Global Environmental Science | 3 |
| ENSS 036 - One Earth: Global Environmental Science Lab | 1 |
| Choose one of the following: | |
| ECON 108 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| ENSS 107 - Civic Environmentalism | 3 |
| ENSS 151 - Sustainability and Resilience | 4 |
| One course that meets each outcome: | |
| Choice Analysis | |
| ECON 108 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| ECON 109 - Public Economics | 3 |
| ECON 135 - Developing Economies | 3 |
| ENSS 050 - Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3 |
| ENSS 072 - Environmental Psychology | 3 |
| ENSS 103 - Foundations of Natural History & Environment | 3 |
| ENSS 111 - International Environment Seminar | 3 |
| ENSS 125 - Conservation Biology | 4 |
| ENSS 135 - Global Climate Change | 3 |
| ENSS 150 - Advanced Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3 |
| ENSS 153 - Ecological Economics | 3 |
| ENSS 154 - Environmental Decision Making | 3 |
| ENSS 157 - Environmental Justice | 3 |
| HIST 186 - History of the Environment | 3 |
| HIST 188 - Urban Environmental History | 3 |
| POLS 156 - Global Health | 3 |
| SOC 145 - Food and Society | 3 |
| Systems Thinking | |
| BIO 111 - Evolved Foodways | 3 |
| BIO 117 - Ecology | 3 |
| ENSS 050 - Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) | 3 |
| ENSS 072 - Environmental Psychology | 3 |
| ENSS 103 - Foundations of Natural History and Environment | 3 |
| ENSS 107 - Civic Environment | 3 |
| ENSS 111 - International Environmental Seminar | 3 |
| ENSS 119 - Regional Ecology | 3 |
| ENSS 127 - Endangered Species Conservation | 3 |
| ENSS 150 - Advanced Topics in ENSS (must be approved by advisor) |
3 |
| ENSS 156 - Environmental Politics and Policy | 3 |
| ENSS 168 - Dynamic Environmental Modeling | 3 |
| SOC 145 - Food and Society | 3 |
| Stakeholder Engagement | |
| ECON 135 - Developing Economies | 3 |
| ENSS 050 - Topics in ENSS | 3 |
| ENSS 054 - Environmental Communication | 3 |
| ENSS 071 - Environment in the United States | 3 |
| ENSS 107 - Civic Environment | 3 |
| ENSS 125 - Conservation Biology | 4 |
| ENSS 135 - Global Climate Change | 3 |
| ENSS 138 - Water Resource Policy | 3 |
| ENSS 150 - Advanced Topics in ENSS (must have advisor approval) | 3 |
| ENSS 156 - Environmental Politics and Policy | 3 |
| ENSS 157 - Environmental Justice | 3 |
| HIST 186 - History of the Environment | 3 |
| HIST 188 - Urban Environmental History | 3 |
| HONR 067 - Sustainable Development in Africa | 3 |
| POLS 156 - Global Health | 3 |
| One upper-level ENSS elective | 3 |
| Total | 22 |
The information in this catalog does not constitute a contract between the university and the student. The university reserves the right to make changes in curricula, admission policies and processes, tuition and financial aid, academic standards and guidelines, student services and any other regulations or policies set forth in this catalog without giving prior notice.