Degree: B.S.

Coordinator: George E.B. Morren (morren@crssa.rutgers.edu)

The program in environmental policy, institutions, and behavior is concerned with the human dimensions of environmental problems. It addresses such issues as how human actions affect the environment; how societies adapt to changes in natural resource availability; and how individuals, nations, and international agencies respond to environmental hazards. Courses in the program deal with local, regional, and national differences in the use of resources; with social and environmental aspects of health and illness; with alternative strategies for environmental management; with the ethical, moral, and legal dimensions of environmental and resources issues; and with the roles of governmental and nongovernmental agencies in environmental affairs.

To understand these topics, students are exposed to a multidisciplinary view of the environment and draw upon concepts from a variety of fields, including anthropology, ecology, economics, geography, sociology, political science, and psychology.

The objectives of the curriculum are to teach basic concepts and methods from the social, biological, and physical sciences as they relate to the interactions among people and the environment; to train students in the techniques of empirical research; to provide opportunities for experiences in "real world" situations; to guide students in acquiring practical skills such as environmental assessment, professional writing, data analysis, and demographic analysis; and to broaden students` knowledge regarding environmental problems and how people cope with them.

Graduates of the program are prepared for a variety of career paths. In addition, graduates are prepared for graduate study in many social science and some natural science disciplines.

The curriculum offers four options:

Health and Environmental Policy. This option focuses on the links between the environment and health. Students learn to understand health and nutrition as both biological phenomena and products of social, behavioral, and cultural influences. Students are prepared for further training in the health professions, as well as for graduate studies in the social sciences or public health.

Individual Option. This option is for students who wish to develop their own specialized program. Their programs must focus on a particular topic, area of application, or body of knowledge concerned with environmental policy, environmental health, institutions, or behavior. Students must identify, in writing and with the aid of a faculty adviser, the specific intellectual and vocational goals of the individualized program.

International Environmental and Resource Policy. This option focuses on the political, scientific, and economic dimensions of global environmental and resource issues. Particular attention is given to the role of international institutions. Students are prepared for careers in government, industry, or nonprofit organizations, as well as for graduate or professional studies in political science, law, and international development.

United States Environmental and Resource Policy. This option encompasses the political, scientific, institutional, and economic dimensions of environmental and resource policy development in the United States. Students are prepared for careers in government, industry, or nonprofit organizations, as well as for graduate or professional studies in political science, law, and public administration.

Graduation Requirements for the Major

Students must complete all environmental policy, institutions, and behavior (374) courses with a grade of C or better.

Please see the Programs of Study Summary on page 272 for information regarding changes in degree requirements.

I. Interdisciplinary/Ethical Analysis (5 credits)

  11:015:101  Perspectives on Agriculture and the Environment (2)

  11:015:400  Junior/Senior Colloquium (3)

II. Introductory Life and Physical Sciences

A. Life Sciences (8 credits)

  01:119:103  Principles of Biology (4) or 01:119:101 General Biology (4)

  11:704:351  Principles of Applied Ecology (4)

B. Physical Sciences (3-4 credits)

One of the following courses is recommended.

  01:460:101  Introductory Geology I: Physical (3)

  01:460:102  Introductory Geology II: Historical (3)

  11:628:200  Marine Sciences (4)

  11:670:202  Elements of Climatology (3)

III. The Arts (6 credits)

See suggested courses in the Degree Requirements chapter.

IV. Human Diversity (6 credits)

  11:374:101  Introduction to Human Ecology (3)

  11:374:102  Global Environmental Processes and Institutions (3)

V. Economic and Political Systems (6-9 credits)

A. Economic Systems (3-6 credits)

  01:220:103  Introduction to Macroeconomics (3) or equivalent

  11:373:121  Principles and Applications of Microeconomics (3) or equivalent

  11:373:101  Economics, People, and Environment (3) may be substituted in the Health and Environmental Policy and Individualized options.

B. Political Systems (3 credits)

  11:374:279  Politics of Environmental Issues (3)

VI. Oral and Written Communication (6 credits)

See suggested courses in the Degree Requirements chapter.

VII. Experience-Based Education (3 credits)

One of the following:

  11:374:337  Systems Approaches and Interventions in Human Ecology (3)

  11:374:491 or 492  Readings and Practicum in Human Ecology (3)

  11:374:493  Environment Communication Clinic (3)

an appropriate, adviser-approved placement in cooperative education

an appropriate, adviser-approved independent research project

VIII. Competence in Environmental Policy, Institutions, and Behavior (45-67 credits)

A. REQUIRED COURSES (15)

Quantitative Methods (3)

  01:960:211  Statistics I (3)

Computer Competence (3)

  01:198:110  Introduction to Computers and Their Application (3) or an adviser- approved equivalent

Professional Ethics (3)

  11:374:201  Research Methods in Human Ecology (3)

Other Required Courses (6)

One of the following courses on population issues (3):

  11:374:269  Population, Resources, and Environment (3)

  10:832:417  Introduction to Population Tools and Policy (3) or equivalent

One of the following courses on human responses to the environment (3):

  11:374:322  Environmental Behavior (3)

  11:374:331  Culture and Environment (3)

  11:374:335  Social Responses to Environmental Problems (3)

B. OPTIONS (30-52)

1. Health and Environmental Policy (30)

  11:374:341  Social and Ecological Aspects of Health and Disease (3)

  11:709:255  Nutrition and Health (3)

A course introducing the biological or physiological dimensions of health (3):

  01:119:150  Biology, Society, and Biomedical Issues (3) or 01:146:356 Systems Physiology (3) (recommended for premedical and predental students)

A course presenting the public health perspective (3):

  10:832:232  Introduction to Public Health (3) or 10: 832:483 Urban Revitalization and Public Health (3)

A course on epidemiology (3):

  11:375:403  Environmental and Public Health: Epidemio-logical Aspects (3) or 10:832:335 Epidemiology (3) or adviser-approved equivalent

A course addressing the social dimensions of health issues (3):

  01:070:307  Medical Anthropology (3) or 01:920:210 Sociology of Medicine and Health Care (3) or 01:830:377 Health Psychology (3)

One of the following seminars, selected in consultation with the adviser (3):

  11:374:420-429  Topics in Environmental and Resource Policy (3)

  11:374:430-439  Topics in Health and Environment (3)

  11:709:452  Nutrition and Behavior (3)

A planned sequence of three courses on a particular aspect of health, food, and the environment (9):

Suggested areas include public health, environmental/ occupational health, the social sciences of health (anthropology, sociology, psychology), food and nutrition, and aging. Written approval of the adviser is required.

2. International Environmental and Resource Policy (36-52)

  11:373:363  Environmental Economics (3) or 01:220: 332 Environmental Economics (3)

  11:374:301  Environment and Development (3)

  11:374:312  Environmental Problems in Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective (3)

  11:374:313  Environmental Policy and Institutions (3)

  11:374:314  Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management (3)

  11:374:315  International Environmental Policy (3)

  01:790:327  International Political Economy (3) or 01: 790:319 Issues of American Foreign Policy (3)

A course that focuses on a particular geographical area (3):

This course may be selected from anthropology, geography, history, or political science.

A foreign language (0-16):

Students in the option should demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language by completing either a year of intermediate-level courses or by performance of a foreign language proficiency or placement examination.

One of the following seminars, selected in consultation with the adviser (3):

  11:374:420-429  Topics in Environmental and Resource Policy (3)

  11:374:430-439  Topics in Health and Environment (3)

A planned sequence of three courses on a specific environmental problem (9):

Suggested areas include sustainable agriculture, air pollution, forest conservation and management, land use, marine pollution, fisheries management, and solid waste management. Written approval of the adviser is required.

3. United States Environmental and Resource Policy (36)

  11:373:363  Environmental Economics (3) or 01:220: 332 Environmental Economics (3)

  11:374:312  Environmental Problems in Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective (3)

  11:374:313  Environmental Policy and Institutions (3)

  11:374:314  Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management (3)

  11:375:333  Environmental Law I (3) or 11:704:320 Legal Aspects of Conservation (3)

  01:790:201  American Government (3) or adviser-approved equivalent

Two of the following (6):

  11:375:334  Environmental Law II (3)

  01:512:323  History of the North American Environment (3)

  01:790:305  Public Policy Formation (3)

  01:790:341  Public Administration: American Bureaucracy (3)

  01:790:342  Public Administration: Policymaking (3)

  01:920:434  Social Science and Public Policy (3)

  10:975:231  Social Public Policy (3)

  10:975:305  U.S. Urban Policy (3)

  10:975:330  Urban Fiscal Policy (3)

or adviser-approved equivalents (6)

One of the following seminars, selected in consultation with the adviser (3):

  11:374:420-429  Topics in Environmental and Resource Policy (3)

  11:374:430-439  Topics in Health and Environment (3)

A planned sequence of three courses on a specific environmental problem (9):

Suggested areas include sustainable agriculture, air pollution, forest conservation and management, land use, marine pollution, fisheries management, and solid waste management. Written approval of the adviser is required.

4. Individual Option (36)

A planned sequence of courses, selected in consultation with a faculty adviser.

The student is required to develop a formal proposal for the individual option that includes the learning goals and lists the specific courses to be taken. This proposal must be approved in writing by the adviser by the beginning of the junior year. The sequence may represent a selection from the courses required for the other three options, or courses from one of the options combined with a Cook College minor (e.g., Science and Agriculture Teacher Education program), or some other well-defined program of study.

IX. Unspecified Electives (10-40 credits)