A Brief History of the Environmental Science Major
Environmental science is a somewhat ambiguous discipline — partly because it is by nature interdisciplinary and partly because work or study in it stretches across many positions and fields — and as such is difficult to track to one original fountainhead, especially as far as education is concerned. Yale University, in 1901, founded the first school of Forestry & Environmental Studies; but that program was more a professional degree in forestry than the concentrated hard science program that constitutes the environmental science degree as it exists today.
It wasn’t until the 1960s and 70s in America, during the reformative policy years of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War, that scientists, politicians, and academics began to see and try to alter the impact human life has on the environment. From this trend sprouted a collaborative approach that, unlike most efforts before it, sought to rectify the environmental problems that were then just in their infancy by way of conjoining academic and scientific research and experimentation with governmental policy.
As environmental science expands its horizons, absorbing new technologies and disciplines in order to preemptively act on environmental issues, education opportunities within the field are also expanding to include quality online degree programs.
Delving Into the Environmental Science Major
Distinct from other, more liberal arts focused environmental studies programs, the environmental science major stresses a broad knowledge of the natural sciences, namely biology, chemistry, ecology, geology, and physics, as well as a cursory, if not comprehensive, understanding of the social and political sciences.
To better understand how humans can protect and to what extent they can control the environment, students will be immersed in the scientific world, taking the widest array of classes possible: cells and genetics, physiology, microbiology, general and organic chemistry, physics, ecosystems, just to name a few. An extensive foundation in the sciences, both technical and social, will prepare students for the demanding, often ambiguous roles that are common in the field.
Additionally, communications courses are important, as discussion and clear dialogue are paramount to successful, efficacious policy-making. Most programs will also feature a research or internship project to expose students to some of the elements, challenges, and current problems in environmental science, and to provide students the opportunity to gain some field experience before making the transition into the profession.
Degree Levels:
Associate
In a field as technical as environmental science, a bachelor’s degree is necessary to progress beyond a field technician position. That said, an associate degree fulfills the standard two year formal education requirement of most firms. At the associate level, the curriculum does not move past an introductory look at the life and physical sciences, and provides an outline of environmental history and policy that students can develop either with more education, or in on-the-job training.
Bachelor’s
A bachelor’s degree will prepare students to be conversant in a variety of scientific fields, including at least rudimentary coverage of the social and political sciences, and will familiarize them with the current state of environmental science. Starting with basic courses in the sciences, students will eventually study more and more specialized topics within environmental science, which will ultimately determine what division of the discipline they will move into after graduation.
Master’s
Having already received a generalist education in the physical and life sciences with some concentration in a given field as part of the bachelor’s degree, students pursuing a master’s degree in environmental science will continue to specialize in their branch of environmental science, taking higher level science courses. Students will also complete a practicum, either research or field based, to augment their studies and prepare them for their career.
Doctorate
A doctorate degree is not required for most of the career positions within the environmental science field, although there are some research positions that are exceptions to that rule; rather, doctoral candidates will usually go on to teach environmental science, and therefore the curriculum is very comprehensive, covering all the sciences at length, in addition to educational theory and method courses to round out students’ training.
Supplementing Your Environmental Science Major
As mentioned several times already, the environmental science field is not a definite one with well-defined roles; rather, it is an ambiguous and complex one, one with room for experts from many disciplines. Given the complex nature of the field, a degree in environmental science is extremely versatile, and can be applied in several ways toward a career, some of them not even directly scientific.
In the later years of a bachelor’s program, and throughout a master’s, students are commonly given electives from which they can choose a concentration within environmental science. Because the field is so large, and so many perspectives must be accounted for when writing new policy, the concentrations are as varied as science itself — biogeochemistry, ecology, environmental education, taxonomy, habitats, policy; the list could go on.
The concentration a student chooses can and most likely will directly affect job title and responsibilities. For example, if a student concentrates in environmental health and studies epidemiology and toxicology, he or she would be qualified to work nearly anywhere in the environmental science field, but would probably be able to best serve working under an epidemiologist, or a related position.
Another viable and lucrative option for students with degrees in environmental science is to continue on with law school instead of diving into research or policy positions. Environmentally literate lawyers are a valuable commodity in our time, and with another degree in law, environmental scientists could easily occupy that position as well.
Learn More About the Environmental Science Major
- College Board
- Princeton Review
- 12.085 Seminar in Environmental Science (MIT)
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Journal of Environmental Science
- Environmental Science & Policy
The Environmental Science Major in the Job Market
The task environmental scientists are charged with is managing the knowledge and resources available to them by way of research, experimentation, and collaboration, to advocate for policies that best address the challenges and dangers the modern world poses for the environment — problems such as climate control, air, land, and water pollution, conservation, deforestation, energy and mineral resource management, and many more.
To be qualified for work in the environmental science discipline, a vast, deep, and thorough knowledge of several scientific fields, as well as a command over political science tactics and awareness of current political, social, economic, and environmental trends is required. Considering what is at stake, it is not surprising that so much is expected from professionals in the environmental science field; and reaching that level of interdisciplinary expertise is exactly what environmental science degrees facilitate.
When searching for new hires, employers want to see a combination of general and specialized expertise — the specialization differs depending on the specific field — and demonstrated practical field experience. Candidates with a degree in environmental science will meet those requirements out of hand as both are requirements of the degree.
After graduating, most students will transition to entry level positions, a science technician, for example, working in government agencies, non-profit organizations, or consulting firms, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states. A bachelor’s degree generally suffices for entry-level positions, but a master’s will distinguish applicants even further. Once established, students can expect promotions to higher research, analysis, and policy-making positions with hard work and consistent successful execution of their responsibilities, according to the BLS.
Careers I Can Get with This Degree:
