Human consumption of our planet’s natural resources increases each year. Habitat degradation, pollution (air, water, and soil), and social concerns, such as overpopulation and poverty, are only a few of the problems created by our demand for more resources to manufacture and fuel our technology.
The twenty-first century will see a shift to alternative energy technologies and new strategies for preservation of the planet’s biodiversity and conservation of its natural resources. Therefore, environmental science degrees will be advantageous as scientists will be needed to solve and monitor these problems, as well as design new technologies.
The Environmental Science program at Lewis University is committed to providing a comprehensive education to its students. Our Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of this field, including coursework in both biology and environmental science with additional coursework in chemistry and earth science. Students who pursue the B.S. degree may choose an ecology or chemistry track.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE/BACHELOR OF ARTS
Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours: 62
A grade of C or better must be earned in a prerequisite course in order to advance to the next course in the sequence.
It is the policy of the Environmental Science program to support with letters of recommendation for graduate schools, only those students who have achieved a minimum cumulative and science GPA of 3.0 by the time they complete the first semester of their junior year. If there is a required exam for the program to which the student is applying, the student must supply an official copy of the scores to the faculty before the letters can be written. In the event that a student has his/her request for letters of recommendation denied, he/she has the right to petition for reconsideration with the understanding that there is no guarantee that the petition will be successful. Acceptance into any graduate school is solely determined by the admission committee of that school. All faculty members have the right to decline a request to write a letter of recommendation for any student.
Environmental Science majors may take a Biology class only two times. If a student has not achieved a minimum of a C after the second attempt, the student may not repeat the class.
The Biology Department will award 3 hours of credit for our general education class 02-100 (Introduction to Biology) when students have received a score of 4 or 5 on AP tests. We do not award any credit for major classes based on AP scores.
I. Core Courses (54)
02-110 General Biology I (4)
02-111 General Biology I Lab (1)
02-115 General Biology II (4)
02-116 General Biology II Lab (1)
02-220 Genetics (4)
02-221 Genetics Lab (1)
02-222 Earth Science (4)
02-224 Microbiology (4)
02-226 Microbiology Lab (1)
02-233 Principles of Environmental Science (4)
02-315 General Ecology (3)
02-316 General Ecology Lab (1)
02-375 Issues in Environmental Science (3)
02-383 Ecology Journal Club (1)
02-480 Department Pillars Portfolio (0)
02-495 Research Methods in Ecology and Environmental Science (2)
02-498 Field Biology (2)
03-110 General Chemistry I (4)
03-111 General Chemistry I Lab (1)
03-115 General Chemistry II (4)
03-116 General Chemistry II Lab (1)
13-200 Calculus I (4)
or
13-211 Calculus for the Life Sciences (4)
II. Environmental Science Electives. Students must select a sufficient number of elective courses from the following list to total a minimum of 8 hours. (8)
02-312 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3)
02-405 Invertebrate Zoology (4)
02-416 Conservation Biology (3)
02-417 Conservation Biology Lab (1)
02-418 Limnology (3)
02-419 Limnology Lab (1)
02-420 Botany (3)
02-421 Botany Lab (1)
III. The advanced writing requirement of the General Education Curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of the following courses which contain strong writing components: General Biology Labs I and II (02-111 and 02-116), Microbiology Lab (02-226), and Research Methods in Ecology and Environmental Science (02-495).
