Courses
The Certificate's curriculum is designed to provide an interdisciplinary
perspective of the environment. It includes Nelson Institute courses as well as
courses from across campus.
Not all Nelson Institute courses can be used to meet the requirements of the Environmental Studies Certificate
Program. For a list of courses that
do meet the Certificate's requirements, see the Certificate's curriculum outlined below.
For information about all courses offered through the Nelson Institute, see our
Nelson Institute Courses.
Two sections follow. The first section includes course lists by semester,
showing Certificate course availability over the current 12-month period. The
second section includes the full curriculum of the Certificate program.
Certificate courses by semester
Certificate Curriculum
A minimum number of credits is required in each of the following four units, for
a final total of 26 credits including at least one field course. The units are
as follows:
1. Perspective Courses, 6 credits, including both of the following courses:
- Envir St 112 Environmental Studies: The Social Perspective, 3 credits
- Envir St 113 Environmental Studies: The Humanistic Perspective, 3 credits
These two courses, normally taken at the beginning of the curriculum, must be completed with a minimum grade of "B."
2. Fundamental Science Courses, 8 credits, with at least one course or
pair of courses chosen from each of the following categories:
Principles of Natural Science
- Biocore/Biology 301 Evolution, Ecology, and Genetics, 3 credits, and Biocore/Biology 302 Evolution, Ecology, and Genetics Laboratory, 2 credits
- Botany/Biology 130 General Botany, 5 credits
- Geog/Envir St 127 Physical Systems of the Environment, 5 credits
- Soil Sci/Atm Ocn 132 Earth's Water: Natural Science and Human Use, 3 credits and Soil Sci/Geog/Envir St 230 Soil: Ecosystem and Resource, 3 credits
- Zoology/Biology 101 Animal Biology, 3 credits, and Zoology/Biology 102 Animal Biology Laboratory, 2 credits
- Zoology/Botany/Biology 151 Introductory Biology, 5 credits
- Zoology/Botany/Biology 152 Introductory Biology, 5 credits
Basic Ecology
- *Botany/F&W Ecol/Zoology
460 General Ecology, 4 credits
- *Envir St 126 Principles
of Environmental Science, 4 credits
- *F&W Ecol 550 Forest Ecology,
if taken at the 4-credit level, which includes lab
- Zoology/Botany 260 Introductory Ecology, 3 credits
3. Breadth Courses, 9 credits, with at least one course chosen from
each of the following three categories:
Natural Sciences
- Atm Ocn/Envir St/Physics 472 Scientific Background to Global Environmental
Problems, 3 credits
- Atm Ocn/Envir St 520 Bioclimatology, 3 credits
- Atm Ocn/Envir St/Geog 528 Past Climates and Climatic Change, 3 credits
- *Botany/F&W Ecol 455 The
Vegetation of Wisconsin, 3 credits
- *Botany/F&W Ecol/Zoology
460 General Ecology, 4 credits
- *Envir St 375 Field Ecology Workshop, 3 credits
- Envir St/Botany/F&W Ecol 461 Environmental Systems Concepts, 3 credits
- Envir St/Pop Hlth 471 Introduction to Environmental Health, 3 credits
- Envir St/Pop Hlth 502 Air Pollution and Human Health, 3 credits
- Envir St/Soil Sci 575 Assessment of Environmental Impact, 3 credits
- F&W Ecol 318 Principles of Wildlife Ecology, 2 credits
- *Geog/Envir St 325 Analysis of the Physical Environment, 4 credits
- Geog/Atm Ocn/Envir St 331 Climatic Environments of the Past, 3 credits
- Geog/Atm Ocn/Envir St 332 The Global Warming Debate, 3 credits
- Geog/Envir St 336 Our Hazardous Environment, 3 credits
- Geog 338 Vegetation: Stability and Change, 3 credits
- Geog/Atm Ocn 531 Global Climates, 3 credits
- Geology/Envir St 410 Minerals as a Public Problem, 3 credits
- Geology/Envir St 411 Energy Resources, 3 credits
- *Land Arc/Envir St 361 Wetlands Ecology, 3 credits
- *Land Arc 666: Restoration Ecology, 3 credits
- *Land Arc 667 Field Study: Native Plant Communities, 3 credits
- Soil Sci 315 Soil Science for Land Use Planning, 3 credits
- Soil Sci/Envir St 324 Soils and Environmental Quality, 3 credits
- Soil Sci/F&W Ecol 451 Environmental Biogeochemistry, 3 credits
- Soil Sci/Atm Ocn 532 Environmental Biophysics, 3 credits
- Zoology/Envir St 315 Limnology: Conservation of Aquatic Resources, 2 credits
- *Zoology 316 Laboratory for Limnology: Conservation of Aquatic Resources, 2 credits
- Zoology/F&W Ecol/Envir St 360 Extinction of Species, 3 credits
- Zoology/Anthro/Botany 410 Evolutionary Biology, 3 credits
Social Studies
- AAE/Econ/Envir St 343 Environmental Economics, 3-4 credits
- AAE/Envir St 344 The Environment and the Global Economy, 3 credits
- AAE/Nutr Sci/Agronomy/Inter-Ag 350 World Hunger and Malnutrition, 3 credits
- Anthro 470 Ecological Anthropology, 3 credits
- Econ/Soc 663 Population and Society, 3 credits
- Envir St/M&EnvTox/Pl Path 368 Environmental Law, Toxic Substances, and Conservation, 2 credits
- Envir St/Poli Sci/Urb R Pl/Econ 449 Government and Natural Resources, 3-4 credits
- Envir St/Urb R Pl 668 Green Politics: Global Experience, American Prospects, 3 credits
- F&W Ecol/Envir St 515 Renewable Resources Policy, 3 credits
- Geog 303 The Human Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, 3 credits
- Geog 319 Environmental Evaluation and Adaptation, 3 credits
- Geog/Envir St 339 Environmental Conservation, 3-4 credits
- Geog/Rur Soc/Envir St 434 People, Wildlife and Landscapes, 3 credits
- Geog 519 Environment and Human Experience, 3 credits
- Geog 535 Environmental Geography and Conservation in Developing Countries, 3 credits
- Geog 536 American Wilderness: Perception and Preservation, 2 credits
- Geog/Envir St 537 Culture and Environment, 4 credits
- Geog 538 The Humid Tropics: Ecology, Subsistence, and Development, 4 credits
- History/Envir St/Geog 460 American Environmental History, 4 credits
- History/Amer Ind 490 American Indian History, 3-4 credits
- Poli Sci/Geology/Envir St 512 Science and Government, 4 credits
- Rur Soc/Soc 541 Social Behavior and Natural Resources, 3 credits
- Rur Soc/Soc 573 Community Organization and Change, 3 credits
Humanities
- Envir St 307 Literature and the Environment: Speaking for Nature, 3 credits
- F&W Ecol/History/Envir St 452 World Forest History, 3 credits
- Geog 519 Environment and Human Experience, 3 credits
- Geog 536 American Wilderness: Perception and Preservation, 2 credits
- History/Envir St/Geog 460 American Environmental History, 4 credits
- History/Chc Std 461 The American West to 1850, 4 credits
- History/Chc Std 462 The American West Since 1850, 4 credits
- History/Amer Ind 490 American Indian History, 3-4 credits
- Hist Sci/Med Hist/Relig St 331 Science, Medicine, and Religion, 3-4 credits
- Hist Sci/Envir St 353 History of Ecology, 3 credits
- L Sc Com/Amer Ind 444 Native American Environmental Issues and the Media, 3 credits
- Med Hist/Hist Sci/Envir St 513 Environmental and Health in Global Perspective, 3 credits
- Philos/Envir St 441 Environmental Ethics, 3-4 credits
- Philos/Envir St 453 Aesthetics of the Natural Environment, 3 credits
- Philos/Envir St 523 Philosophical Problems of the Biological Sciences, 3 credits
- Urb R Pl/Envir St/DS/Land Arc 548 Environmental Aesthetics, 3 credits
4. Integrative Course, 3 credits
- Botany 468 Patterns in Biological Design: An Introduction to Systems Biology, 3 credits
- Envir St/Botany/F&W Ecol 461 Environmental Systems Concepts, 3 credits
- Envir St/Soil Sci 575 Assessment of Environmental Impact, 3 credits
- Envir St 600 Environmental Studies Certificate Seminar, 3 credits
- F&W Ecol/AAE/Envir St 652 Decision Methods for Natural Resource Managers, 3-4 credits
Field Course: At least one course choice must be a field course, identified with asterisks
(*) in the course list above.
Short descriptions of these courses can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
Paper copies of the syllabi are available for viewing in the Academic Programs Office (70 Science Hall).
Detailed descriptions of the integrative courses and other limited-enrollment courses can be found under
the Pre-Registration section. For questions about course content or prerequisites,
contact the course instructor. For enrollment questions contact our Timetable Coordinator, 263-4626.
