Concentrations

Students receive an advanced understanding of maintenance and evolution of biological diversity, management of vulnerable populations, and how ecosystems are affected by factors such as human activities, interactions among species, species diversity and physical environmental conditions.

Students develop skills in experimental design and quantitative methods of data analysis such as species classification, geospatial analysis, population modeling, and statistical methods.

Students can learn to design and implement surveys to examine abundance and biodiversity of ecosystems using tools such as remote sensing to extract data on land use. Basic statistical analyses and interpretation models are used to predict the population trends, describe communities, and evaluate available management options.

Graduates will find their degree highly applicable for the private and government sectors including the design and implementation of environmental impact assessments and monitoring studies.

Students receive an extensive scientific education as well as a thorough understanding of the skills, theories, and techniques employed by both environmental scientists and modern archaeologists in their collection and analysis of environmental data and cultural artifacts. These techniques bring forward quantifiable information which allows for powerful analysis to occur and connections regarding the relationship of humans to their environment to be drawn.

In this concentration students are taught a highly sought-after skill set of practical archaeological techniques paired with critical analysis skills, all viewed through an environmental lens. Students engage in a set of specific quantitative and scientific analyses that are part of a traditional archaeology degree.

Graduates of this concentration will be well suited for career opportunities in both natural resources sector and environmental consulting, and as part of environmental impact analyses and monitoring studies, both in the private and public sectors. This concentration provides graduates with a gateway to graduate studies in archaeology and natural resource management.

• Environmental Consultant

• Environmental Educator

• Environmental Impact Assessor

• Environmental Archaeologist 

• Field Technician/Director

Students receive an advanced understanding of Earth’s spheres and their interactions in the form of carbon, nutrient and water cycles, glacial environments and landforms, biodiversity, and weather and climate. Impacts of human activities on these spheres such as carbon emissions and climate change, mining and logging, threats to biodiversity and ways of addressing those concerns such as rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems are explored in depth.  

Student will conduct quantitative analyses of changes in one or more of Earth's systems using mathematical or statistical modeling, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and field/lab methods.

This concentration facilitates hands-on experience in data collection using field techniques such as surveying and sample processing, as well analysis of collected data to identify interactions among the Earth’s spheres using lab methods such as geographic information systems to visualize data through digital maps or examining remote sensing studies.

Graduates would be well suited for employment in fields such as environmental impact analyses, land use planning, and habitat restoration. Graduates would also have an excellent basis for going on to undertake graduate studies in physical geography and related pure and applied sciences, such as planning and resource management.

This concentration aims to educate on the numerous intersections of the many facets of environmental science, as directed by the student’s interests.

Students receive a robust general science education with a combination of advanced training options possible in the various biological systems, water cycles, earth systems, and statistical data analysis that our other concentrations are dedicated towards. Required training builds skills in quantitative analysis, lab and field methods in environmental science, and group-based projects centered in real-world collaborations.

In addition, students explore the social factors at work in environmental policy and planning decisions, and the role that the scientist plays among the many professionals in the natural resources sector.

Upon completion students will attain a well-rounded environmental education in the areas of their greatest interests and apply their knowledge towards questions of human impacts on the environment, climate change, land use, the intersections between them, and much more.

This concentration applies statistical and quantitative knowledge to environmental problems. It encourages design of monitoring programs for environmental data collection, and development of theoretical justifications of statistical decisions with attention to law, ethics, and economy.

Students apply statistical and quantitative knowledge including data science and big data to real-world environmental problems using monitoring programs to analyze surveys and design experiments.

The course content will build proficiency in statistical methods and model selection techniques within statistical software for analyzing environmental data. Lab processes and protocols from multiple disciplines are used to produce and analyze data that vary over time and space.

Graduates will be capable of designing, monitoring and developing complex experimental designs related to current environmental issues. This concentration also prepares students for advanced studies that utilize statistical methodology such as quantitative studies that examine the effects of pollutants on human and environmental health.

In this concentration, students explore the role of policy and planning in mitigating and protecting environmental impacts of human actions on Earth’s water resources in a changing climate.

Quantitative methods of data analysis through estimating uncertainty, measurement of water use changes, water quality and assessment of aquatic ecosystem health are central to the water science concentration.

Upon completion, students will possess skills in quantitative methods of data analysis and interpretation in aspects of the Earth's water system, measurement of water fluxes and use, and assessment of aquatic ecosystem health.

Graduates will have the science-based training to contribute to decision-making about water management and water policy. They will be able to offer a broader perspective on water management issues as compared to discipline-specific scientists in hydrology, hydrogeology, climatology, and aquatic science.