Planning Your Major
The Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management (ESPM) major has a great deal of flexibility and is built around an integrated core set of classes that stress the linkages between science, management, policy, education, and business industries. During your freshman year, you will take a combination of communication, basic and applied sciences, policy, and economic classes, as well as electives that fulfill your liberal education requirements. During your sophomore year, you are strongly encouraged to work with your faculty advisor and declare one of the major's five tracks to begin tailoring the ESPM program to your career aspirations:
- Conservation and Resource Management
- Corporate Environmental Management
- Environmental Education and Communication
- Environmental Science
- Policy, Planning, Law and Society
Many incoming students will know whether they are leaning toward the policy/education tracks, environmental science/management tracks, or corporate management track. Based on the direction you might be leaning and results of placement tests, we will work with you to tailor your selection of basic math and science courses accordingly.
This track is rooted in understanding how earth systems work and how they can be manipulated to positive ends through management. Students learn how to integrate this understanding with diverse economic and social insight to make effective decisions for the environment and society. Since earth systems are inherently complex and our understanding is often imperfect, conserving and restoring them requires broad knowledge and experience while using the most current analytical, policy, and managerial tools. Thus students will study the structure and function of forests, farms, cities, and wetlands, and through their coursework they will investigate the causes, consequences, and solutions to environmental problems created by human action. Students will solve problems in field settings and will learn to communicate their understanding, synthesis, and decision-making to diverse audiences. Finally, they will gain experience in the actual implementation of decisions. Students may also develop special skills through electives, for example, in the area of geographic information systems and geospatial analysis.
This track is designed to provide students with fundamental skills to systematically determine the environmental burdens associated with a firm's products or manufacturing processes. Students will also learn how to identify opportunities that generate value from environmental risk reduction, regulatory compliance programs, and other alternatives for improving environmental performance. Student experiences within this track will focus on analytical tools; the business, legal, regulatory, and ethical framework in which industrial firms operate; physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms associated with industrial emissions; techniques used to reduce the environmental impacts of industrial activity; and effective communication. 
Students in this track learn how to teach and communicate environmental issues to diverse audiences using a variety of methods. They gain a solid base of knowledge in the environmental sciences, environmental ethics, and the social context of environmental issues. They also develop a practical set of skills for teaching effectively in informal settings and for communicating clearly in written, oral, and electronic forms. Graduates will have a firm understanding of the challenges involved in educating and communicating about science- and value-based environmental subjects.
The impact of human activity on natural landscapes can result in environmental pollution and/or disruption of terrestrial, aquatic, and ecological processes. The focus of this track is on applying and integrating basic and applied sciences to solve complex environmental problems. Students will use an understanding of biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to develop a broad knowledge base in soil, hydrologic, atmospheric, and biological sciences. Students will study the interaction between science and the functioning of urban, forested, and agricultural lands as well as hydrologic, atmospheric, soil, and wetland resources. This track will also help students learn how to communicate scientific information to resource managers, policy makers, citizens, and other environmental professionals.
This track focuses on developing understanding and problem-solving skills relevant to the interaction between human and natural systems. Students study concepts, issues, and problem solving approaches that address the policy, legal, economic, political, planning, and social aspects of environment and natural resource management. This study includes ethics and conflict management, and emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach for examining problems and developing effective and innovative solutions. Problems considered include sustainable land use planning, resource conservation and management, law, and environmental protection at a range of political levels and spatial scales. Students will learn how to integrate knowledge from the physical, biological, and social sciences in order to develop policy and planning alternatives and appropriate strategies to provide solutions to complex problems. Students can also develop a specialized background in environmental law, policy analysis, planning, and conflict management.