Environmental Studies Minor

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The environmental studies minor requires the completion of six courses (18-22 hours), of which no more than two may come from a single discipline with the exception of Environmental Studies. This requirement is designed to prevent students from graduating with an environmental studies minor without having any significant exposure to multiple disciplines that are important contributors to environmental studies. At least four of the six courses must be taken at Salem. No more than three courses can count toward both the student’s major and the environmental studies minor.

Required Core Courses for the Environmental Studies Minor (13 hrs):

Plus, two additional courses from the following list (6-9 hrs):

Notes:

Given the diversity of the classes within the minor, it is highly suggested that students give serious thought to what they hope to gain by adding an environmental studies minor to their course of study. With these goals in mind, students can select courses which will provide them the appropriate tools.

Course Groups

The following course groups have been put together to assist with this process, but they are not intended to be an exhaustive list of potential course combinations. Students should consult with their advisor and the director of the environmental studies program to select courses that reflect their post-college goals.

Environmental management grouping

The following courses will provide a background in how to effectively structure, manage, and fund environmental organizations:

Conservation ecology grouping

This course grouping is intended for those students interested in applied conservation science. These courses will provide students with conservation tools that are useful for various post-college goals including research, on the ground species conservation, and environmental restoration, among others. This grouping of courses is most easily pursued by a student already majoring in the sciences as many of these courses have prerequisites that one would not inevitably take when majoring in a non-scientific discipline.

Environmental policy and advocacy grouping

Students interested in environmental laws and policies will find the following courses to be of great use. These courses teach students about the organizational structures that determine legal jurisdictions, how this information can be used to influence policy, and the consequences of environmental policy at scales ranging from the local to the global. Student interests well served by this grouping include (but are not limited to): working as an environmental lawyer, lobbying for environmental issues on behalf of public or private institutions, and working on global environmental issues (like climate change) within the international arena.