Environmental Studies Curriculum

Environmental Studies at Gettysburg College offers an interdisciplinary perspective, hands-on experiences, and faculty-led research opportunities in environmental science, policy, communications, and more. With the option of pursuing a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, the environmental studies program features a liberal arts curriculum that engages students through coursework in the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

Curriculum

Environmental studies majors, both BA and BS, take six core courses. Students typically take ES196 in their first year, and complete the 200-level core courses (211, 223, 225, and 230) by the end of the sophomore year. The 400-level capstone requirement is met in the senior year.

First Year Advising and Registration recommendations

Prospective majors and minors should take ES 196 as soon as possible, preferably in the first year. Note that ES 121 is designed for non-majors and do not count toward the ES major. Students interested in the Bachelors of Science degree should take two semesters of a basic natural science in their first year (Bio 111-112, or Chem 107-108, or Phys 103-104 or 109-110. (Note: Phy 111 and Phy 112 is recommended for Physics double majors only). For advising help, please contact Prof. Andy Wilson.

Environmental Studies Major

The Environmental Studies major is interdisciplinary with courses that draw from the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Students choose either a Bachelor’s of Arts degree (BA) or a Bachelor’s of Science degree (BS), and pursue an in-depth area of concentration. It is strongly recommended that upon declaring of the ES Major, students develop an ES major plan in consultation with an ES advisor. The plan should include a brief outline of future courses, internships, off-campus study, and independent research. While the plan may change, it encourages students to think intentionally about their academic careers and better prepare them to take full advantage of the learning opportunities available both on and off campus. Graduate schools often require particular coursework for admission, so students considering graduate school should speak with their ES advisors as early as possible.

BA Requirements

The Bachelor of Arts degree comprises a minimum of 11 courses. In addition to the six core courses listed above, students must take five elective courses at the 200 or 300 level outside the core. Up to two elective courses may be taken off-campus or in other departments, subject to advisor approval. All majors should complete an area of concentration through their choice of electives.

Summary of the Bachelor of Arts requirements for the Environmental Studies major: core courses, elective expectations, off-campus elective allowance, and area of concentration.

Bachelor of Arts — Environmental Studies (Gettysburg College)
Requirement	Details
Core curriculum	The BA uses the common Environmental Studies core, which includes: ES 196 — Environmental Science and Society ES 211 — Principles of Ecology ES 223 — Earth System Science ES 225 — Introduction to Environmental Humanities ES 230 — Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) ES 400 — Environmental Studies Seminar OR ES 460 — Honors Thesis
Degree composition	The BA comprises a minimum of 11 courses in the Environmental Studies program, including the core and electives.
Electives	Students take additional ES electives (typically 200- or 300-level) to complete the degree and their chosen concentration. Up to two elective courses may be taken off-campus or in other departments with advisor approval.
Area of concentration	All BA majors should complete an area of concentration by selecting related electives (pre-set concentrations such as Environmental Policy, GIS & Spatial Analysis, Environmental Humanities, etc., or a self-designed concentration in consultation with an advisor).
Advising & planning	Students are strongly encouraged to develop an ES major plan with an ES advisor that outlines coursework, internships, off-campus study, and independent research.

BS Requirements

The Bachelor of Science degree comprises a minimum of 14 courses.

Summary of the Bachelor of Science requirements for the Environmental Studies major: core courses, natural science and quantitative requirements, electives, and area of concentration.

Bachelor of Science — Environmental Studies (Gettysburg College)
Requirement	Details
Core curriculum	The BS includes the same Environmental Studies core as the BA: ES 196 — Environmental Science and Society ES 211 — Principles of Ecology ES 223 — Earth System Science ES 225 — Introduction to Environmental Humanities ES 230 — Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) ES 400 — Environmental Studies Seminar OR ES 460 — Honors Thesis
Degree composition	The BS places greater emphasis on natural sciences and quantitative analysis, requiring additional coursework beyond the shared core.
Natural science requirement	Students complete two year-long sequences in the natural sciences selected from departments such as Biology, Chemistry, or Physics.
Quantitative and statistical requirement	The BS requires at least one quantitative or statistical course beyond the Environmental Studies core to strengthen data and analytical skills.
Electives and concentration	Students complete additional Environmental Studies electives, typically at the 200- or 300-level, including courses aligned with their chosen concentration area (for example, Conservation Biology

Area of Concentration

All majors should complete an area of concentration through their electives. The area of concentration can be selected from the list below or self-designed in consultation with an ES advisor. Examples of self-designed concentrations include Environmental Education, Environmental Health, Environmental Film, and Nature & Culture. Concentrations comprise a minimum of two upper-level courses, but we recommend that you take as many courses as you can. If you are abroad when a course for your concentration is offered, your advisor may be able to suggest a substitute course.

Environmental Studies Minor

The Environmental Studies minor provides students majoring in other fields with an interdisciplinary understanding of environmental systems, policy, and human-environment interactions.

Generally electives must be taken at the 200 or 300 level. However, students may petition to count a 100-level ES or FYS course as an elective if it is the first ES course taken. Students who have taken ES 121 as their first ES course should meet with the Chair to discuss how to proceed with the minor.

Summary of the Environmental Studies minor requirements, including core courses, electives, and optional off-campus study.

Environmental Studies Minor — Gettysburg College
Requirement	Details
Core courses	The minor includes foundational Environmental Studies courses, typically drawn from: ES 196 — Environmental Science and Society ES 211 — Principles of Ecology ES 223 — Earth System Science ES 225 — Introduction to Environmental Humanities
Electives	Students select two additional Environmental Studies electives, often at the 200- or 300-level, that complement their interests or major field of study.
Off-campus or cross-departmental options	With approval from the program, one or two electives may be taken off-campus or in other departments if they are relevant to environmental studies.
Integration and advising	Minors are encouraged to work with an Environmental Studies advisor to select courses that support their broader academic or professional goals.

Courses

Jump to level: 100 • 200 • 300 • 400

Introduction to national and global environmental issues. Students learn the basic concepts of ecology, including population growth models, species interactions, and ecosystem and biosphere processes. Building on this scientific base, students use an interdisciplinary approach to analyze economic, ethical, political, and social aspects of environmental issues. Topics include human population dynamics, air and water pollution, toxic wastes, food production, land use, and energy utilization.
Exploration of the causes and consequences of the current species extinction crisis. The focus is on why and how the loss of biodiversity is an important environmental threat. Topics will include the importance of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, the intrinsic and utilitarian values of biodiversity, the social and political issues associated with this issue. Topics will be explored through active engagement in service learning activities and through reading of diverse sources.
Introduction to the ecology and conservation of large marine animals including marine mammals, sea turtles, sea birds, invertebrates, bony fishes, and sharks. Using marine megafauna examples and case studies, this lecture course integrates fundamental ecological concepts with interdisciplinary discussion of ocean ecosystems, animal physiology and behavior, methodological approaches and technologies, social value and cultural use, and national and international conservation and management.
Study of the localized weather of a region. Influencing factors of climate are examined, including continental vs. oceanic/lake effects, temperature and precipitation, the role of cyclones and anticyclones, and topographic and organismic alterations. Also analyzed are specific climatological disturbances, such as thunderstorm formation, tornado development and occurrence, hurricane structure and movement, El Nino, and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and La Nina.
Our lives depend on, are enhanced by, and at times even threatened by plants. From the oxygen we breathe to the carbon dioxide we release, our lives (biological, cultural and spiritual) are thoroughly integrated with plants. In this course "Plants, People and the Environment" we examine the biology of plants including the traditional botanical disciplines of anatomy, evolution, ecology, physiology as well as the cultural uses of plants from agriculture to religion. Further, we consider the developing applications of plants in human well-being like pollution remediation, food production and pharmaceuticals.
Welcome to Our Oceans Through Data! We live on an “ocean planet” and the ocean plays a central role in all aspects of our life–from the oxygen we breath to the global transportation of goods. Yet, in many ways, the ocean remains a mystery to us. We have, for example, mapped the Moon, Venus, and Mars at a higher resolution than much of the ocean floor. In this class, we will use real-world data to explore the ocean’s complex chemical, geological, biological, and physical processes and how these processes shape our daily lives. These data will come from satellites orbiting our planet, from robots roaming the deep ocean, and from citizen scientists reporting on local ocean conditions. Understanding our ocean is incredibly timely, as it is both heavily impacted by and key to mitigating global crises like food scarcity and climate change.
Introduction to the physical, chemical, and biological components of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Emphasis is placed on the history of the Bay, primary production dynamics, habitat types, and pelagic and bottom-dwelling organisms. Human impacts on the Bay and its watershed are discussed, including contemporary issues such as crab and oyster fisheries, aquaculture, nutrient inputs, toxic chemicals, exotic species invasions, and the management goals of the Chesapeake Bay Program
Animals in Society, Culture, and Literature. How do we engage with the animals that we encounter in “human” spaces? How do and how should we treat them? These animals might be companions, metaphors, food, tools, characters, objects, friends, or monsters. They are found not only in our homes, on our plates, in the lab, and at the zoo, but in our stories and imaginations. In this course, students consider what it means to be human in relation to nonhuman animals.
An introduction to geography through the study of world regions. This course serves to broaden and diversify students’ worldviews on contemporary issues while providing powerful conceptual tools for clearer understanding. Geographic applications emphasize the importance of region, place, spatial scale, and diffusion. Course focuses on the interaction within and between regional cultures, environments, politics, and processes of globalization from a variety of scales. Topics include: human-induced environmental change, population and migration, culture change, international development, regional conflict, and global inequality.
Examination of past and present environmental challenges facing indigenous communities in the United States with a focus on tribal activism and indigenous voices. Students analyze land and natural resource disputes in the context of European conquest, indigenous traditions, law, and human rights. Course includes in-depth analysis of contemporary environmental conflicts related to climate justice, fossil fuel extraction, and environmental health.
Introduction to the methods and assumptions underlying environmental science as applied to current environmental problems and their intersection with modern society. Building from a foundation in the natural sciences, an interdisciplinary approach is used to investigate the social causes and consequences of air and water pollution, human population, food production, energy, natural resource use, toxic waste, endangered species, land conservation, and environmental health.

Introduction to current ideas in theoretical and empirical ecology. A quantitative approach is used to examine population dynamics, competition, predator-prey interactions, life-history strategies, species diversity patterns, community structure, energy flow, biogeochemical cycling, and the biosphere. Course provides a foundation for further work in environmental studies. Three class hours and laboratory. Prerequisite: ES 196 or one year of college science.
Introduction to the natural environment and human interaction with it. Course examines the physical processes of the Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Topics include geological processes and hazards, water resources, waste management, energy and mineral resources, and human impact on global climate change. Lab sessions provide practical exercises on basic earth systems principles and environmental applications. Local field trips to environmental and geological sites are included. Prerequisite: ES 196 or one year of college science.
Introduction to environmental humanities. Using the interdisciplinary lenses of literary studies, history, philosophy, and communication studies, students consider how human beings imagine nature, how they communicate ideas about nature, and the ways in which these understandings affect the material environment. Discussions and assignments emphasize humanities research methods and explore topics such as wilderness, environmental justice, and consumerism, highlighting how language and media shape (and are shaped by) cultural perceptions of the environment. Prerequisite: ES 196
Conventional and alternative energy sources are examined with respect to supply, price, technology, and environmental impact. U.S. consumption patterns are studied and the potential of conservation is addressed. Topics include nuclear reactors, fossil fuel supply, photovoltaics, air pollution, greenhouse effect, and energy efficient architecture. Alternate Years. Prerequisite: ES196 or one year of college science
Exploration of environmental issues through the reading and writing of journalistic prose. Highlighting the historical roots of environmental journalism and contemporary practices, the course focuses on reporting and writing stories for the public in formats typical to newspapers, magazines, and online media such as blogs. Fundamentals to such writing include developing: 1) basic techniques for organizing stories that evoke interest and convey scientific and technical information accurately; 2) newsgathering techniques like researching credible sources and interviewing; 3) clean, crisp writing through attention to the iterative process of drafting, peer reviewing, and revising. Alternate Years. Prerequisite: ES 225, or ENG writing class at 110 or above and ES 196, or Permission of Instructor.
Literature as a lens through which to understand contemporary global environmental issues. This courses uses the study of literature to help connect scientific, data-driven approaches to the environment with the aesthetic and affective power of the written-word. By reading both fiction and nonfiction, students consider how different modes and genres of writing produce a wide range of emotional responses to current environmental issues. The result is an understanding of how literature can be a vital tool for effecting change.
Workshop in advanced expository and persuasive writing linking the study of sustainability to writing and problem solving in the community at large. Students write in a variety of formats and revise their work after receiving detailed comments from both the instructor and fellow students. Students should expect to write for nearly every class in response to readings on sustainability, creating the building blocks for longer essays. Prerequisites: ENG 101 or equivalent; ES 196 or permission of the instructor.
Intensive two-week field-based examination of the physical and cultural geography of the Rocky Mountain West. Focusing on the San Juan Mountain Range in Southwest Colorado, students participate in field-based projects to examine major environmental and natural resource management issues from diverse multi-cultural, institutional, and political-economic perspectives. Stops include Boulder, Durango, Telluride, Cortez, Ouray and Silverton, Colorado. Students will visit Mesa Verde National Park, the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, the San Juan National Forest, the Weminuche Wilderness, and historic mining towns. Student will gain a critical place-based understanding of recent efforts to achieve sustainable and socially-just solutions to resource management problems. *Please note that dates differ from the online courses and enrollment requires permission of the instructor, Prof. Randall Wilson (rwilson@gettysburg.edu).
Intensive two-week field-based examination of the physical and cultural geography of the Rocky Mountain West. Focusing on the San Juan Mountain Range in Southwest Colorado, students participate in field-based projects to examine major environmental and natural resource management issues from diverse multi-cultural, institutional, and political-economic perspectives. Stops include Boulder, Durango, Telluride, Cortez, Ouray and Silverton, Colorado. Students will visit Mesa Verde National Park, the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, the San Juan National Forest, the Weminuche Wilderness, and historic mining towns. Student will gain a critical place-based understanding of recent efforts to achieve sustainable and socially-just solutions to resource management problems. *Please note that dates differ from the online courses and enrollment requires permission of the instructor, Prof. Randall Wilson (rwilson@gettysburg.edu).
A discipline comprising pure and applied science, which focuses on the preservation of biological diversity. Focus implicitly recognizes that preserving the genetic and ecological features of a species requires preservation of that species' niche. Topics include food web organization, spatial heterogeneity and disturbance, consequences of small population size and inbreeding, captive propagation, demographics of population growth, and species reintroduction and management. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 211 or BIO 111. BIO 256 and ES 256 are cross-listed.
What is a sustainable food system? What circumstances determine its design? What choice do individuals have in shaping its contours? These are questions with consequences at the global, national, and local level for issues such as environmental land use, nutrition, and social justice. Students will engage theoretical and practical perspectives in Food Studies and participate in community-focused activities to explore their active role in shaping food systems.

Wildlife Ecology. Study of ecological applications for managing terrestrial vertebrate populations and their habitats. Building on topics in Principles of Ecology (ES211), this lecture and laboratory develops an in-depth understanding of wildlife ecology, management techniques, ecological survey techniques, and data analysis. Emphasis is on application through the use of current field protocols and analytical techniques. The class draws on literature and examples from around the world. Alternate Years. Prerequisite: ES 211 or BIO 111.
What do environmental issues have to do with issues of race, and vice versa? This course invites you to explore how closely these issues are related and to actively engage with this vibrant area of environmental research and action. our focus will be on the United States, as not only is it where we are located, but also it is often used as a model for global environmental politics. We will think, write, and discuss the question of race and environment in this country with careful attention to to historical, political, and social data, always keeping in view the cultural frames that shape these data. By the end of the semester, you should have a good grasp of how to express and negotiate this complex dimension of American environmental research and practice. Prerequisite: ES 225
Analysis of the ecology of marine systems. The open ocean, estuaries, salt marshes, beaches, mud and sand flats, seagrass beds, rocky shores, coral reefs, and deep sea are examined. Problems of pollution, beach erosion, and the management of declining fisheries is also presented. Quantitative field work in a variety of coastal habitats is conducted on a required field trip to Duke University Marine Laboratory and the Outer Banks barrier island chain. Three class hours and laboratory-field work. Alternate years. Prerequisite: ES 211.
Fisheries are an important source of protein and income for the growing world population and are incredibly diverse, ranging from small-scale, subsidence-based to large-scale, commercial operations. Although the amount of fish caught in marine and freshwater systems has remained stable since the 1980s, a growing number of species are considered overfished. This course covers the history and impacts of fishing, the current state of global fisheries, the scientific methods used to assess fish stocks, and the scientific and policy tools used to sustainability manage fisheries. Prerequisite: ES 211
Application of geographic information systems and spatial analytic methods to selected environmental problems. Students will solidify their existing GIS skills, as well as learn new analytic strategies such as exploratory spatial data analysis, quantitative landscape analysis, and spatial interpolation. Lab exercises focus on environmental applications such as constructing habitat suitability models, quantifying habitat fragmentation, mapping wilderness, and identifying environmental health "hot spots". Each student will also complete a final project related to an environmental issue, where they will define project needs, develop a GIS database, conduct spatial analyses, and present results. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 230. Alternate Years.
Examines the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay region in the context of society's exploitation of a natural system. We will trace the settlement of the region with an emphasis on how the Bay affected the society that developed along its shores and, in turn, how the Bay was affected by this human development. Readings from the scientific literature will be combined with those from history, sociology, and economics to form a coherent portrait of the interplay between society and the environment. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 211. Alternate Years
Introduction to glacial geology and records of climate change over the last 2 million years. Course examines basic glaciology, glacial erosion and depositional processes. Analysis of landforms is used to make interpretations of climatic variability. Climate records from ice cores and sediment cores are evaluated. Natural and human induced climate change is discussed. Alternate Years. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 223 or permission of instructor.
Study of environmental films and their role in shaping environmental imaginations and actions in contemporary life. Applies fundamentals of film analysis to critical stylistic, textual and contextual (historical and political-economic) investigations of both fictional and documentary environmental films. Topics include Hollywood films about wildlife, wilderness, land use, technology and pollution, and documentaries on wildlife conservation, wilderness-adventure, and socio-nature themes. Alternate Years. Prerequisite: ES 225 and any 200 level Environmental Studies course or permission of the instructor.
Investigation of geologic disasters and their relationship to global change. Course focuses on natural disasters that affect the surface of the Earth, including landslides, floods, El Nino, coastal erosion, sea level rise, droughts and desertification. The interaction between natural surface processes and human modification of landscapes are discussed. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 223 or permission of instructor. Alternate Years
Analysis of the policies that guide the use, control and management of natural resources. Students examine the laws, bureaucracies, economics, politics and ideologies underlying policy making processes in order to understand how and why certain policies emerge as well as their social and ecological effects. The primary focus is on the United States, but the growing international dimension of environmental policies and the ambiguous role of the US in these efforts is also considered. Prerequisite: ES 196 or POL 101. ES 333, POL 333, and PP 333 are cross-listed.
Examination of the cultural, political, and economic processes driving uneven environmental change and socioeconomic development from an interdisciplinary political ecology perspective. Course focuses on sustainable development issues in the developing world, but includes discussion of the industrialized countries to a lesser extent. Topics covered include: population, poverty, and the environment; cultural adaptation to environmental change; conservation-development dilemmas; environmental justice; role of non-governmental organizations; international environmental policy. Prerequisite: ES 196 and ES 225. Alternate Years
Introduction to the interdisciplinary field of gender, environment, and development. A theoretically grounded, historical approach is taken to study of relevant debates in ecofeminism, feminist political ecology, queer ecologies, masculinity studies, and gender/development. Topics will be explored through classic and contemporary case studies and may vary depending on student interest. Sample topics: Gender issues in natural resources management; Gender and environmental activism; Gender-based strategies for sustainable development; Gender mainstreaming policy initiatives; Gender, disasters, and climate change. Alternate Years.
An introduction to the theory and practice of remote sensing, the science of acquiring information about the earth from air or space borne sensors. The first part of the course focuses on principles of remote sensing, sensor technology, and basic image processing. The course culminates in a change detection project where students acquire, process, and analyze image pairs to map an environmental change such as deforestation, urbanization, or flooding. Alternate Years. Prerequisite: ES 230, or permission of instructor.

Advanced study of an important national or global environmental issue. Interdisciplinary approach is used to analyze the problem from a variety of viewpoints in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students are responsible for a major term paper involving independent research. Topics differ each semester. Prerequisite: Senior standing as a minor or major in environmental studies or permission of instructor; and ES 196, 211, 223, 225, and 230.
Independent investigation of an environmental topic of interest to the student. In conjunction with a faculty member, the student writes a research proposal due the tenth week of the spring semester of the junior year for a project to be conducted in the senior year. Student usually defines a research question and collects data to test a hypothesis. Such work may be done in the laboratory or field or with a computer database. A substantial paper is written and presented orally. Studio, performance, and writing projects may also be appropriate individualized study activities. Prerequisite: Senior standing as a major in environmental studies and a departmental GPA of at least 3.50.