Environmental Studies


This highly interdisciplinary major permits students to develop and exercise their individual initiative and motivation in environmental issues. In addition to a variety of specific skills, the environmental studies curriculum is designed to encourage students to become independent learners. The environmental studies program teaches students to become informed and responsible citizens of the world by gaining the breadth and expertise needed to critically evaluate issues that concern local and global human effects on our natural environment and, subsequently, ourselves.

The major gives students many opportunities to develop interdisciplinary perspectives and emphasizes problem-solving approaches to understanding the dynamic and complex balance between human activities and the integrity of the environment. Graduates are able to enter a range of careers including: agricultural economies, public health, environmental assessment and planning, community development, public policy, and others.

Major Requirements


The environmental studies (EVST) program is strongly interdisciplinary in its nature and requires students to assimilate sometimes opposing perspectives and information from different domains of human endeavor and to integrate these perspectives into an attitude of constructive environmental advocacy and problem solving collaboration. To satisfy the requirements for an environmental studies major, a student must complete coursework from the following disciplines:
  • Science
  • Economics
  • Mathematics
  • Humanities
  • Communication
  • Environmental Studies

Sample Course Offerings
  • Humans and the Environment
  • Chemistry in Context: An Environmental Perspective
  • Ecological Principles
  • Environmental Geology
  • Introduction to Ethics
  • Environmental History
  • Environmental Legislation
  • Writing about Nature
  • Foundations for Public Communication
  • Organizational Communication

Area of Concentration


Each environmental studies student will work with an EVST advisor to develop a coherent and environmentally meaningful area of concentration. The following is a list of discipline-oriented areas of concentrations that are available through the Weekend College: communication, economics, history, management, urban studies/regional planning, political science, religious studies, and sociology.The area of specialization will consist of four to six courses and must be approved by the Environmental Studies Board.Transfer students will be required to complete at least half of the coursework in their environmental studies major at Hiram College. Currently enrolled students interested in transferring credits from other institutions must receive written permission from the Dean of the Weekend College and from an environmental studies advisor.

Additional Information