B.A. in Earth and Environmental Studies, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus

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Program Design & Assessment

Overview

The BA in Earth and Environmental Studies (BA EES), offered by the School of Earth and Space Exploration, provides a foundational understanding of the evolution of the Earth system with an emphasis on the planetary context for sustainable human societies. The degree includes broad training in the physical sciences, especially process-oriented geosciences that focus on Earth's life-sustaining surface environment. Advanced courses focus on topics including climate change; the water, energy and material resources of Earth; impacts of land-use change on human civilization; and the physical, chemical, and biological process interactions that characterize the evolution of Earth.
The BA EES degree is designed as a liberal arts program with an emphasis on basic scientific literacy, not as a preparatory degree for graduate study in natural science. However, successful BA EES graduates are well prepared for "green" careers in fields such as education, environmental consulting, environmental media, natural-resource management, public planning, and water law.

Strengths of this program
The program is highly flexible, allowing students to choose core "tracks" that most closely match their career interests, and simplifying a range of possible double majors in fields such as Sustainability, Pre-Law, or Education.

Types of students served

Program Goals

The goals of this program are as follows:
The primary goal of the BA EES program is to broaden ASU student options for meaningful and marketable majors in the Earth and environmental sciences beyond the existing graduate-school preparatory track.

The learning goals were informed by the following resources:
SESE faculty had long been aware that there are many ASU undergraduate students with interests in geosciences and the environment who do not necessarily choose to pursue postgraduate degrees in the field (our B.S. degree program is intended to do that). We wished to offer students a degree in Earth science with fewer program constraints and more flexibility to pursue cross-disciplinary interests.

How program goals are assessed
The BA EES program has defined outcomes that are assessed annually at the School, College, and University levels.

Design features that allow goals to be met:

Alumni Careers

Graduation rate

Careers pursued by our alumni
Recent BA EES graduate placements include: Lead Technical Consultant for an environmental firm; Specialist for the Arizona Department of Water Resources; Manager of an Aquatics specialty store; and MS student in Environmental Management at Duke University.

Courses and Sequencing

Diagram of course sequencing and requirements

Entry into the degree
This information is posted and regularly updated on the website listed below.

Core Courses
This information is posted and regularly updated on the website listed below.

Elective courses and Requirements
This information is posted and regularly updated on the website listed below.

Capstone
Solving Environmental Problems (GLG 464, 3 credit hours)

Supporting Science and Math Courses
This information is posted and regularly updated on the website listed below.

Other key features of this program:

Supporting Materials