Liberal Arts – Environmental Studies Option, Associate of Arts

Environmental Studies, an option of the Associate of Arts degree program, is an interdisciplinary major offered by the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, in cooperation with the Department of Science and Engineering, and other Departments at RVCC with environmental interests and applications. This option prepares students for transfer into either Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree programs in Environmental Studies and related fields, which leads to a wide range of career opportunities in environmental policy and law, journalism, activism, business and education.

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary major designed to teach students to examine environmental issues from a broad range of perspectives and analytical methods. Approximately half of the coursework will consist of classes in the biological and physical sciences, to learn about the basic patterns and processes that govern the natural world, and the effects of human actions on it. The other half of classes will consist of courses in the humanities and social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, philosophy, history, economics) in order to better understand the complexities of these human dimensions of contemporary environmental issues. With this broad range of tools and perspectives, students will learn to analyze the human and other causes of modern environmental problems, as well as to devise strategies and solutions to address them. Students will also be encouraged to focus on a particular subject area of his or her interest (e.g., social sciences, humanities, communications and languages, education, fine arts, economics, etc.).

Graduates are able to:

• demonstrate awareness of local and global environmental problems and efforts taken to address them
• apply concepts and skills learned in the sciences, liberal arts, and other fields of study to real-world environmental issues
• demonstrate skills in literature research, debate and discussion, oral presentation and scientific techniques and methodologies
• demonstrate awareness of specialization, career and employment opportunities in the field of environmental studies