ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Director
Dr. Carolyn Peach Brown

Committee Members
Deans (ex-officio): Christian Lacroix (Science),  Don Desserud (Arts)
Director (ex-officio): Carolyn Peach Brown
Faculty of Science: Lisa Steele (Physics) and Pedro Quijon (Biology)
Faculty of Arts: Pamela Courtenay-Hall (Philosophy) and Godfrey Baldacchino (Island Studies)
Faculty at Large: Tim Carroll (Business) and Ron MacDonald (Education)
Student representatives: Jessica Willis and Hannah Hammeline

Departmental Website
>>>top

Environmental Studies at UPEI is an interdisciplinary program that is integrative, collaborative, and responsive. Since environmental problems are at the same time scientific/technical and human/social, the program aims to deepen and broaden students' understandings of the environment by critically integrating knowledge about the interrelationships of physical, biological and human systems. Blending theory with field components, a variety of Environmental Studies courses (coded ENV) and co-listed courses are offered in sixteen different departments and across faculties of Arts, Science, Education and Business. The program aims to allow the greatest flexibility in student choices, adapted to the specific needs of each student.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MINOR IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
A minor in Environmental Studies will be recognized when a student has successfully completed 21 semester hours of courses drawn from Environmental Studies courses and cross-listed courses.

These courses must include:

  1. the two core introductory Environmental Studies courses (Environmental Studies 201 and 202);
  2. a minimum of 6 semester hours in approved courses within the Faculty of Sciences; and
  3. a minimum of 6 semester hours in approved courses within the Faculty of Arts, School of Business Administration, and Faculty of Education.

Students minoring in Environmental Studies are encouraged to enroll in Environmental Studies 201 and Environmental Studies 202 as early as possible, but not before the second year.
>>>top

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES COURSES

201 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
This course introduces students to a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental issues; and emphasizes the interrelationships among the various physical, biological, and human systems. It examines major contemporary environmental issues, such as global warming and land use, and focuses on how these issues are understood and addressed within the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
PREREQUISITE: Second Year standing
Three hours a week (some field trips may be required).

202 SUSTAINABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
This course explores the fundamental ideas and ‘tools’ related to environmental sustainability. Topics critically examined include the relationship between sustainability and current environmental problems, sustainability indicators and plans, decision making and public policies, and issues of consumption patterns.
PREREQUISITE: Second Year standing
Three hours a week (some field trips may be required)

209 SPECIAL TOPICS
To create a category for uniquely titled courses offered by a department and put on the timetable as a “special course” on a one-time basis. 

212 EARTH’S PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
This course will introduce students to the basic ‘building blocks’ of Earth’s physical characteristics, providing a foundation on which to develop more specialist knowledge in their understanding of Environmental Studies. It will examine the geologic and geomorphic cycles, including processes of weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition, and investigate how these create fluvial, glacial, and coastal landforms and impacts on human activity. It also aims to address atmospheric processes and the links between global climate zones and world ecosystems.
PREREQUISITE:  Second year standing or permission of the instructor

224 FIELD COURSE IN ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY
This course introduces students to the principles and practices of ecological forestry management.  By combining theory-based lectures and an experiential learning approach at the McPhail Woods Ecological Forestry site students will gain a deep understanding of the forest and forest restoration efforts. 
PREREQUISITE:  Second year standing or permission of the instructor

291 DIRECTED STUDIES
This course offers recognition for equivalency-learning to returned CUSO cooperants and interns who have completed an international development placement overseas. Students who have completed a CUSO placement with a focus on environmental issues – such as environmental science, resource management, conservation, environmental education – can apply to receive credit toward their Environmental Studies degree.

301 INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL THEORY AND PRACTICE*
This course provides students with opportunities to develop, integrate and apply their knowledge of environmental issues and theory. Students will be involved in 'internship' experiences with varied environmental organizations, in environmental action research on campus issues or in other settings, and in developing personal plans for environmental action and change. Classroom discussions and written work will aide students in developing a multidisciplinary and systems approach to the analysis of these experiences.
PREREQUISITES: Environmental Studies 201. Students taking this course concurrently may apply for admission to the instructor.
One and a half hours per week in class, two and a half hours per week in practicum work.
>>>top

309 SPECIAL TOPICS
To create a category for uniquely titled courses offered by a department and put on the timetable as a “special course” on a one-time basis.

311 UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE*
This course introduces students to the science of climate change. Students explore its social and political implications, and examine its impact on daily life by reviewing current scientific data as it relates to vulnerabilities of particular regions. Topics include methods, strategies, and technologies that address climate change, using case studies of adaptive and mitigative programs in North America, with a special emphasis on Canada’s climate action plan.
PREREQUISITE: Environmental Studies 201 or 202
Three hours a week 

321 NATURAL HAZARDS
This course provides an introduction to the causes of a variety of natural hazards (tectonic - e.g. earthquakes, tsuanmis, and volcanic activity; meteorological - e.g. hurricanes and flooding; and mass movement - e.g. landslides and avalanches) as well as their impact on human activities and the strategies available to predict and manage such events.
PREREQUISITE:  Second year standing or permission of the instructor
 
409 SPECIAL TOPICS
To create a category for uniquely titled courses offered by a department and put on the timetable as a “special course” on a one-time basis.
 
491-492 DIRECTED STUDIES
These courses offer students the opportunity for the study of other subjects in environmental studies in two different forms: (1) In response to an individual student's needs, a program of directed readings or directed research can be developed with a faculty member; (2) Directed Studies courses are offered on occasion by members of the faculty or by visiting instructors. (See Academic Regulation 9 for Regulations Governing Directed Studies.)
Three hours a week
 
*NOTE: These courses may be counted to meet either the Science course requirement or the Arts/Business/Education course requirement discussed above.
>>>top

CROSS-LISTED COURSES ON ENVIRONMENTAL THEMES

Faculty of Science (minimum of 6 semester hours required)*
**Biology 101 - Environmental Biology
Biology 132  - Introduction to Organisms
Biology 222 - General Ecology
Biology 314 - Plant Community Ecology
Biology 327 - Field Coastal Ecology
Biology 391 - Marine Biology
Biology 411 - Principles of Wildlife Biology
Biology 452 - Biogeography and Macroecology
Biology 454 - Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
Biology 462 - Watershed Ecology
Biology 485 - Environmental Toxicology
Chemistry 202 - Environmental Chemistry
Engineering 211 - Introduction to Geology
Physics 261 - Energy, Environment and the Economy

Faculty of Arts, School of Business Administration, Faculty of Education (minimum of 6 semester hours required)*
Economics 211 - Introduction to Resource Economics
Economics 215 - Environmental Economics
Economics 352 - Applied Resource Economics
English 322 - English-Canadian Poetry
English 335 - British Romantic Literature
English 362 - Nineteenth-Century American Literature 1830-1910
History 483 - The History of the Environmentalist Movement
Island Studies 201 - Introduction to Island Studies
Philosophy 102 - Introduction to Ethics and Social Philosophy
Philosophy 105 - Technology, Values and Science
Philosophy 203 - Environmental Philosophy
Philosophy 206 - Animal Ethics
Philosophy 371 - Community-Based Ethical Inquiry I
Political Science 433 - Politics and the Environment
Psychology 333 - Ecopsychology
Sociology 305 - Population and Society 
Sociology/Anthropology 341 - Technology, Society and the Environment

*Students who do not have the required prerequisites for particular courses that are cross-listed in the Environmental Studies program are encouraged to consult with the instructors of these courses to seek their permission to enroll. Instructors may choose to admit students to these courses based upon alternative prerequisites that are judged to provide the student with sufficient background preparation for the course.

**Students may only credit either Biology 101 or Biology 132 toward their minor.
>>>top