You can earn the certificate by completing 32-35 hours of approved coursework selected from the courses outlined below. Many certificate courses currently satisfy both Tier and College of Arts and Sciences requirements. Further, courses taken as part of an Arts and Sciences major will also count toward fulfilling the certificate. Be advised that some courses require prerequisites, and plan accordingly. Students should take no more than three courses from any one department. Completion of this program, which is the equivalent of a minor, results in the awarding of a certificate and is officially recognized on your transcript upon graduation. You must be enrolled in the Environmental Studies Certificate Program to be awarded the certificate.

Certificate Requirements
Three Core courses (12-13 hours): Introduction, Ecology, and Environmental Policy, plus selected elective courses (20-23 hours), in three areas: Quantitative Skills, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences.
See below for course options.

CORE COURSES (12-13 hours)

Introduction (4 hours). All students are required to take GEOG 201 or GEOL 215.

GEOG 201 - Environmental Geography (4)
This course is a geographic survey of environmental changes caused by human activities. Topics include resource availability and use: pollution of air, water, and the biosphere: energy problems; and interactions of humans with plant and animal communities.

GEOL 215 - Environmental Geology (4)
This course is a survey of geological aspects of the environmental crisis. Topics include major environmental processes, immediate and extended influence of humans, and prospects of the future of the physical environment.

Ecology (4-5 hours)

BIOS 220 - Conservation and Biodiversity (4)
Designed for nonscience majors, this course introduces the student to the modern field of conservation biology and the role of genetics, ecology, life history, and biogeography in the preservation and maintenance of biodiversity. Case studies of endangered animal and plant species are highlighted.

BIOS 275 - Ecology in the 21st Century (4)
This course involves study of the natural environment and relations of organisms to each other and their surroundings. Individual, population, and community dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are examined in natural and human-influenced environments.

BIOS 375 - Animal Ecology (5)
This course explores empirical and theoretical aspects of how animals interact with their environment. This mechanism-oriented class will evaluate ecological processes at the individual, population, community, and ecosystem levels.

PBIO 209 - Plant Ecology (4)
This course explores basic concepts, theory, and applied aspects of plant ecology. The focus is on the interactions of plants with their environment (biotic and abiotic) over a range of spatial and temporal scales.

Environmental Policy. All students are required to take POLS 425 (4 hours)

POLS 425 - Environmental and Natural Resources Politics and Policy (4)
This course covers the institutional context and political dynamics of environmental and natural resource policy-making in the United States. Topics include public support for environmental protection; the role of science in the policy process; and the major actors and arenas of influence in environmental politics.

Selected elective courses (20-22 hours)

Quantitative Skills (4-5 hours). Choose one approved course in statistics, such as:

ECON 381 Introduction to Economic Statistics and Econometrics
GEOG 271 Introduction to Statistics in Geography
GEOG 471 Quantitative Methods
GEOL 205 Statistical Methods in Geology
ISE 304 Applied Engineering Statistics
MATH 250 Introduction to Probability and Statistics 1
MATH 450A Theory of Statistics
PBIO 415 Quantitative Methods in Plant Biology
PESS 409 Tests & Measurements
POLS 483 Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
PSY 221 Elementary Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

Chemistry elective (4 hours). Students must take one chemistry course. Any chemistry course except CHEM 100 or CHEM 115 is acceptable.

Natural Sciences (8-9 hours)

Natural Science Elective (4-5 hours). Select one course from the following list:

BIOS 221 Basic Microbiology
BIOS 376 Field Ecology
BIOS 385 Microbial Ecology
BIOS 429 Marine Biology
BIOS 431 Limnology
BIOS 481 Animal Conservation Biology
CE 353 Basics of Environmental Engineering
CE 452 Water and Wastewater Analysis
CHEM 485 Introduction to Toxicology
EH 260 Introduction to Environmental Health & Safety
EH 310 Water Supply and Wastewater Environmental Health Practice
EH 312 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
EH 440 Air Quality and Pollution Control
GEOG 302 Meteorology
GEOG 315 Landforms and Landscapes
GEOG 316 Biogeography
GEOG 417 Landscape Ecology
GEOL 231 Water and Pollution
GEOL 330 Principles of Geomorphology
GEOL 427 Water Geochemistry
GEOL 432 Origin and Classification of Soils
GEOL 480 Hydrogeology 1
PBIO 426 Physiological Plant Ecology
PBIO 435 Plant Population Biology
PBIO 436 Plant Community Ecology
PBIO 437 Ecosystem Ecology

Social Sciences (8-9 hours)

Social Science Electives. Select two of the following courses from two different departments:

ANTH 378 Human Ecology
ECON 313 Economics of the Environment
ECON 314 Natural Resource Economics
ECON 335 Economics of Energy
EH 275 Environmental & Occupational Health & Safety Regulations
GEOG 241 Global Issues in Environmental Geography
GEOG 344 Agricultural Ecosystems
GEOG 350 Land Use Planning
GEOG 353 Environmental Planning
GEOG 357 Environmental Law
GEOG 358 Geography of Risk
GEOG 440 Environmental Impact Analysis
GEOG 447 Natural Resource Conservation
GEOG 456 The City and the Environment
HIST 306 American Environmental History
PHIL 335 Environmental Ethics
POLS 426 Politics of the Environmental Movement
POLS 488 Public Dispute Resolution

If you wish to find out more about the Environmental Studies Certificate Program, or to enroll, contact:

Nancy Manring, Director
Environmental Studies Certificate Program
Ohio University
Political Science
Bentley Annex 251
Athens, OH 45701-2979
Telephone: 740-593-4375
Email: manring@ohio.edu

Environmental Studies
Ohio University
The Ridges, Bldg 22, Room 119
Athens, OH 45701
Telephone: 740-593-9358
Website: www.ohio.edu/envstu