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Suggested Courses

Environmental Studies Courses

These courses are often included in the focal courses for the ES degree, and one or more of them can be taken as a focal course for the ESci degree.

  • ENVS 0410, Environmental Stewardship. Challenges students to address the economics and logistics of implementing strategies to conserve resources and reduce the negative impacts of the built environment. The goal is to learn the rationale, process and technical aspects of sustainable design, institutional change, and corporate environmental responsibility. Students collaborate in interdisciplinary teams. Students must successfully complete an application process prior to enrollment in the class- either during the registration period in the fall, or at the first class meeting in the spring. Course application.
  • ENVS 0 510, Problems in International Environmental Policy. This course examines the interaction between natural, political and value systems in the development of international environmental policy. Readings, guest lectures and interactive class projects, e.g., mock treaty negotiations, are used to examine several environmental issues such as management of the world ocean and marine resources; global climate change; global water supply; and/or preservation of biological diversity. Intended for second and third year students with a serious interest in the relationship between science and policy. Prerequisite: ENVS 0110.
  • ENVS 1450, Ecosystem Analysis. The principal objective of this course is developing the skills with which to measure and characterize important biological and physical parameters of forest ecosystems. The characterization of an ecosystem is equally dependent on the quality of the underlying data describing the system and the analysis of that data; both of these issues will be addressed. The course involves weekly field trips during which students explore measurement techniques, and are responsible for developing testable questions and/or hypotheses about at least three distinct forest types. Students will collect data addressing the questions of interest and will utilize that data to write scientific papers. The first portion of the course emphasises qualitative analysis and then moves to quantitative analyses and ends with analytical work in teh laboratory.
    Prerequisites: BIOL 0420 and GEOL 0220 or permission of instructor.
  • ENVS 1530, From Locke to Deep Ecology: Property Rights and Environmental Policy. This course will examine the relationship between changing attitudes toward natural resources and environmental policy in the United States. Selected literary, legal and scientific writings will be used to consider 1) the relationship between public and private rights in land, water and wildlife, 2) the ethical, legal and scientific basis for human rights and responsibilities with respect to natural resources and 3) the effect of changing attitudes on environmental policy and law. Texts will include readings from the works of Henry David Thoreau, Willa Cather, John Steinbeck, Cormac McCarthy, Edward Abbey, and Aldo Leopold, among others.

Courses Cross-Listed in the Environmental Studies Department

  • BIOL 0850, Biological and Social Context of Human Disease. Uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore how culture shapes the scientific questions we ask about disease, interpretation of scientific findings, and the strategies for intervention in the disease process. Case studies of microbial infections and chronic conditions such as cancer are used to illustrate the centrality of context to understanding disease. For related science credit in Biology programs. Prerequisite: BI 20 or equivalent.
  • BIOL 1470, Conservation Biology. Examines the scientific concepts behind the drivers of biodiversity extinction and approaches to mitigate biodiversity loss. Topics include the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, historical human migrations, agricultural landscapes, global change, and economic valuation. Assumes an understanding of basic ecological theory. Projects include literature and computer analysis.
    Prerequisite: BIOL 0420.
  • CHEM 0120, Environmental Chemistry. Focuses on understanding a number of environmental questions from the underlying laws and concepts of chemistry and physics. While some knowledge of math, physics and chemistry are useful, none is assumed. Concepts of chemistry and physics will be developed as needed.
  • GEOL 0580, Foundations of Physical Hydrology. Qualitative introduction to the dynamics of watersheds and groundwater flow from an intuitive perspective. Lays the foundations for understanding the physical mechanisms by which water is transported throughout a hydrologic system. Provides background for future studies, but is primarily designed to enable informed citizens to thoughtfully critique water management practices and public policy. Pre-college math and physics background is expected.
  • GEOL 1110, Global Physical/Descriptive Oceanography. Examines physical characteristics, processes, and dynamics of the global ocean to understand circulation patterns and how they relate to ocean chemistry and large scale climate change. Assignments address origin and distribution of water masses, heat and water budgets, thermohaline and wind-driven circulation systems, dynamics of the oceanic conveyor belt, and El Niños. Offered alternate years.
  • GEOL 1330, Global Environmental Remote Sensing. Introduction to physical principles of remote sensing across electromagnetic spectrum and application to the study of Earth's systems (oceans, atmosphere, and land). Topics: interaction of light with materials, imaging principles and interpretation, methods of data analysis. Laboratory work in digital image analysis, classification, and multi-temporal studies. One field trip to Block Island. Prerequisites: MA 9, 10; PH 6 (Recommended preparation courses: MATH 0090, 0100; PHYS 0060); background courses in natural sciences; or permission of the instructor.
  • GEOL 1580, Quantitive Elements of Physical Hydrology. A comprehensive introduction for science, engineering, mathematics and environmental studies students to all aspects of the physical hydrology of precipitation, surface runoff and groundwater flow. Three lecture/discussion sessions will emphasize the quantitative elements of predictive physical models. Extensive class discussion will assess the practical application of specific models. Group collaboration encouraged. One recitation period/week. Lab. No exams. Prerequisites: AM 34 (APMA 0340), or Physics 47 (PHYS 0470), or EN 51 (ENGN 0510), or written permission.
  • GEOL 1600, Environmental and Engineering Geophysics. How do hydrologists, engineers or archeologists investigate the subsurface without digging or drilling? Is water present? How deep is bedrock? Are there buried hazardous waste drums? Artifacts? Students using actual instruments in the field (seismic, radar, gravity, resistivity, electromagnetic and magnetic techniques) will investigate off-campus sites during weekly afternoon field excursions. Prerequisites: APMA 0340, or PHYS 0470, or ENGN 0510, or equivalents. No exams.
  • HIST 1790, North American environmental History. Analyzes the relationship between ecological and social change in North America from pre-Columbian times to the 20th century. Topics include Indian uses of the environment; the reshaping of ecosystems under European colonization; the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases from Africa and Europe to the Americas; urbanization; and the rise of the environmental movement. Prerequisites: HI 51 and 52 recommended but not required.
  • HIST 1970C African Environmental History. A seminar on the history of interactions between humans and the environment in sub-Saharan Africa. Begins with consideration of theory in environmental history. Continues by exploring important issues in the field, including cultivation, pastoralism, disease, population, famine, and conservation. Preference given to students with prior background in African studies.
  • HIST 1970 (90) Environmental Classics. Readings include works by Thoreau, Marsh, Muir, Powell, Leopold, Carson, Abbey, and others.
  • SOC 1870 (1) Environmental Sociology. Examines the effects of major social forces on the environment: political-economic and populations factors in environmental crises and the impacts of race, class and gender on environmental awareness.

Suggested Courses for the Environmental Studies Concentration

There is a wide range of courses that may be acceptable for an environmental studies concentration. Each student's concentration program is unique to his or her specific interest in the field. The list of suggested courses which follows is a compilation of courses which are related to environmental studies and which have been approved in the past. ES concentrators should examine the courses which reflect his/her particular interest and should consult with as many faculty members as possible.

Not all courses listed here are suitable for inclusion in any particular concentration. Nor does the fact that a course is not listed mean that it will not be accepted for concentration credit. This listing is suggestive only, not definitive, and is provided to stimulate consideration of all options at the beginning of the concentration design process. Obviously, environmental science concentrators should give particular attention to the section on science courses.

Courses marked with a star (*) generally will not be regarded as "beyond the introductory level" and thus will not qualify as possible focal courses for the Environmental Science degree. However, remember that the final choice of the focal courses must be approved by your concentration committee and the ESci sub-committee.

Not all courses are offered every year, and some of the examples below may not be offered again.

American Civilization

  • 152 Technology and Material Culture in America: The Urban Built Environmental
  • 153 Technology and Material Culture in America: The Automobile in American Life

Anthropology

  • 114 Native North American Cultures 119 Native North Americans in the 20th Century 151 Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations

Applied Mathematics

  • 9 Introduction to Modeling
  • 165 Statistical Inference I
  • 166 Statistical Inference II

Biology and Medicine

  • 19 (6) Plants, Food, and People*
  • 20 Foundation of Living Systems*
  • 28 Introduction to Biochemistry
  • 41 Invertebrate Zoology
  • 43 Diversity and Adaptation of Seed Plants
  • 44 Plant Organism
  • 45 Animal Behavior: Ecological and Evolutionary Determinants
  • 46 Insect Biology
  • 47 Genetics
  • 48 Evolutionary Biology
  • 53 Principles of Immunology
  • 115 Plant Physiology
  • 127 Advanced Biochemistry
  • 132 Evolution and Development
  • 140 Behavioral Ecology
  • 142 Experimental Design in Ecology
  • 143 Problems in Field Biology
  • 144 Marine Ecology
  • 150 Plant Ecology
  • 186 General Pathology
  • 188 Comparative Biology of the Vertebrates
  • 243 Topics in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • 244 Topics in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • 283 Topics in Pathobiology
  • C132 Social-Science Research in Health Care
  • C168 (5) Issues in Health Policy & Occupational/Environmental Health
  • C212 Introduction to Methods in Epidemiology Research
  • C213 Principles in Biostatistics and Data Analysis
  • C214 The Health of Women

Chemistry

  • 12 Chemistry of the Environment*
  • 31 Chemical Structure, Kinetics, Equilibrium and Analysis*
  • 33 Equilibrium, Rate, and Structure*
  • 35, 36 Organic Chemistry*

Comparative Literature

  • 81A City Lights

Computer Science

  • 4 Introduction to Scientific Computing and Problem Solving*
  • 15 Intro. to Object-Oriented Programming and Computer Science

Economics

  • 111 Intermediate Microeconomics
  • 121 Intermediate Macroeconomics
  • 128 The History and Philosophical Context of Economic Thought
  • 139 Value of Life
  • 141 Urban Economics
  • Economic Theories of Firms
  • Industrial Organization
  • 151 Economic Development
  • 162 Introduction to Econometrics

Education

  • 112 Educational Issues with Minority Populations
  • 157 Philosophical Analysis of Educational Concepts

Engineering

  • 3 Introduction to Engineering*
  • Dynamics and Vibrations *
  • 93 Technology and Society Course Series
  • 136 Soil Mechanics and Principles of Foundation Engineering

Geology

  • 22 Physical Processes in Geology*
  • 23 Geochemistry: Earth and Planetary Materials and Processes
  • 24 Earth System History
  • 31 Fossil Record
  • 58 Physical Processes in the Environment
  • 110 Global Physical / Descriptive Oceanography
  • 111 Estuarine Oceanography
  • 112 Paleoceanography
  • Stratigraphy and Sedimentation
  • Global Environmental Remote Sensing
  • Meterological Aspects of Climate Change
  • Remote Sensing of Earth and Planetary Surfaces

History

  • 52 American History Since 1877
  • 197,8 Selected seminars on interpretations of history

History of Art and Architecture

  • 2 Introduction to the History of Architecture and Urbanism
  • 85 Twentieth-Century Architecture

International Relations

  • 180 Seminars on various topics, changing from year to year

Mathematics

  • 7 Calculus With Applications To Social Sciences*
  • 9 Introductory Calculus, Part I*
  • 10 Introductory Calculus, Part II*

Philosophy

  • 6 Modern Science and Human Values

Physics

  • 3,4 Basic Physics*
  • 5 Foundations of Mechanics*
  • 6 Foundations of Elecromagnetism and Modern Physics*

Political Science

  • 10 Introduction to Public Policy
  • 22 City Politics
  • 40 Conflict and Cooperation in International Politics
  • Ethics and Public Policy
  • The Politics of the Legal System
  • 118 The Problems of American Cities
  • 120 Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation
  • 142 International Political Economy of Development
  • 160 Political Research Methods
  • 182 (7) Rhode Island Government and Politics
  • 182 (23) The Dynamics of Agenda-Building

Public Policy (Other P.P. courses are listed under Political Science)

  • 121 Practicum in Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation
  • 150 Urban Revitalization: Lessons from the Providence Plan
  • Insurance and Public Policy

Sociology

  • 13 The American Heritage: Democracy, Inequality, and Public Policy
  • 15 Economic Development and Social Change
  • 20 Population and Society
  • 102 Methods of Social Research in Families
  • 110 Introductory Statistics for Social Research
  • 111 Evidence and Inference
  • 115 Capitalism and Social Theory
  • 120 Population and the Environment
  • 121 Policy Analysis
  • 127 Race, Class and Ethnicity in the Modern World
  • 131 Social Change in Latin America
  • 150 Bureaucracy and Society
  • 160 Comparative Development
  • 164 Social Inequality
  • 187(1) Environmental Sociology
  • 208 Principles of Population
  • 210 Social Theory and the City
  • 213 Health, Illness, and Medicine in the Social Context
  • 215 SocioEconomic Analysis of Development

University Courses

  • 64 Women and Health Care
  • 100 Feast or Famine: The Ecology and Politics of World Hunger
  • 107 The Burden of Disease in Developing Countries
  • 114 Anthropological Issues in World Population
  • 126 Energy Technology and Policy
  • 152 The Shaping of World Views
  • 154 Hunger: A Research Seminar

Urban Studies

  • 21 The City: An Introduction to Urban America
  • 101 Fieldwork in the Urban Community
  • 133 Metropolitan Community
  • 187(3) Urban Planning and Public Policy
  • 187(5) Downtown Development
  • 187(14)Green Cities: Parks and Designated Landscapes in Urban America

Courses at RISD

RISD offeres various course that may be accepted for credit by the CES, including courses on Landscape Architecture, Landscape Planning, and Theory and Practice of Landscape. Check the current RISD catalog for courses. (Individual approval for cross-registration must be sought from the CES.)