ENVS - Environmental Studies

ENVS15 Natural History of the UCSC Campus

Introduces students to the range of natural species and communities occurring on the UCSC campus. All class time is spent outside, and each week a different area of campus is visited. Course 24 is recommended.

Credits

2

ENVS17 Curation of Natural History Collections

Introduction and training in the skills needed to create, manage, and exhibit natural history collections, including plants, insects, fungi, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.

Credits

2

ENVS18 Natural History Illustration

Students gain proficiency in illustration media, and acquire training in the essential skills needed to create natural-history inspired illustrations. Students create illustrations and paintings by studying organisms in the Norris Center for Natural History collections, as well as those living on and around campus. Some experience in basic drawing and/or natural-history sketching is recommended. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

5

ENVS19 Topics in Natural History

Students learn the fundamentals of organismal biology and ecology through observations in the field, museum specimens, and field journaling. Class focuses on a particular taxonomic group or natural community, such as reptiles, fungi, insects, coastal prairie, or chaparral.

Credits

3

ENVS23 The Physical and Chemical Environment

Provides an overview of the physical and chemical environment of planet Earth. Fundamental chemistry and physics is introduced in the process of learning about Earth in a holistic way. The influence of human societies on the global environment is one focus of discussion. Earth's many spheres are explored first: the lithosphere; the atmosphere; the hydrosphere, and the ecosphere. Then global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and several other elements are studied in the context of basic sciences and societal issues.

Credits

5

ENVS24 General Ecology

Covers principles of ecology including limits to species abundances, evolutionary ecology, population dynamics, community interactions and patterns, and ecosystem patterns and dynamics.

Credits

5

ENVS25 Environmental Policy and Economics

Introduces the policy and economic dimensions of some pressing environmental challenges. Uses examples from population, water, climate change, and other topics to examine the economic underpinnings of environmental problems, the process of environmental policy-making, and the trade-offs in different policy solutions.

Credits

5

ENVS65 Introduction to Fresh Water: Processes and Policy

Introduction to freshwater resources from multiple scientific and policy perspectives. After a review of basic concepts, water issues affecting cities, farms, open space, and multiple-use landscapes are studied. Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have previously received credit for course 165.

Credits

5

ENVS80B The Ecological Forecast for Global Warming

A broad overview of the impacts of human activities on the global climate system. Topics include how climate affects the distribution of ecosystems, the influence of global climate change on biodiversity, ecosystem function, and consequences for the human enterprise.

Credits

5

ENVS80C Climate Change Science and Policy

An interdisciplinary overview of the science and policy of global climate change. Topics include Earth system science, climate change impacts on the environment, climate change policy, and the future of climate change politics from the local to the global.

Credits

5

ENVS83 Environmental Studies Internship

A supervised off-campus learning experience related to environmental problem solving. Focuses on initial experiences in applied work and specific skill development. Students may be placed individually or with a team in government agencies, private organizations, citizen action groups.

Credits

5

ENVS99 Tutorial

Directed reading, supervised research, and organized projects relating to environmental problems. May be repeated for credit with consent of the chairperson of Environmental Studies Department. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

5

ENVS99F Tutorial

Provides for department-sponsored directed reading, supervised research, or organized project for lower-division students under the direct supervision of a faculty sponsor. May not be counted toward major requirements. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

2

ENVS100 Ecology and Society

Introduction to environmental issues in an interdisciplinary matrix. Focuses on three issues at the intersection of ecological questions and social institutions: agroecology and sustainable agriculture; population growth, economic growth, and environmental degradation; and biodiversity conservation and land management. Reviews the important roles of disciplinary abstraction and of the application of that knowledge to context-dependent explanations of environmental problems.

Credits

3

ENVS100L Ecology and Society Writing Laboratory

Required writing lab accompanying course 100. Students are introduced to writing in different styles and for different audiences typical of the ecosystem-society interface. Course 100 writing assignments are developed, written, and revised in conjunction with the lab. W credit is granted only upon successful completion of course 100.

Credits

5

ENVS104A Introduction to Environmental Field Methods

A course in the process of field research and monitoring, with emphasis on use of the scientific method; experimental design, data handling, statistical analysis and presentation; and basic field methodologies. Application of basic field skills, including habitat description; methods for sampling plants, animals, soils, water, and microclimate; and observational and manipulative techniques to address ecological, conservation, and management questions.

Credits

5

ENVS104L Field Methods Laboratory

Students directly observe elements of natural history and ecological process; design and implement field studies based on lectures; deploy the methods discussed in lectures; and collect data to analyze, interpret, and report in written and oral forms.

Credits

2

ENVS106A Natural History of Birds

The evolution, taxonomy, physiology, behavior, ecology, and management of birds. Lecture, discussion, field format. Birds observed in habitats including bay, marsh, meadow, and forest. Evaluations based on a field journal and examinations. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

5

ENVS107A Natural History Field Quarter

A 15-unit field course that uses California wild lands to develop skills of natural history observation and interpretation. Students gain the ability to identify plants, animals, vegetation types, and landscapes, as well as address the complex issues of preservation and management of these resources. Enrollment by interview. Prerequisite(s): Previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L; concurrent enrollment in courses 107B and 107C required. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

5

ENVS107B Natural History Field Quarter

A 15-unit field course that uses California wild lands to develop skills of natural history observation and interpretation. Students gain the ability to identify plants, animals, vegetation types, and landscapes, as well as address the complex issues of preservation and management of these resources. Enrollment by interview. Prerequisite(s): Previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L; concurrent enrollment in courses 107A and 107C required.

Credits

5

ENVS107C Natural History Field Quarter

A 15-unit field course that uses California wild lands to develop skills of natural history observation and interpretation. Students gain the ability to identify plants, animals, vegetation types, and landscapes, as well as address the complex issues of preservation and management of these resources. Enrollment by interview. Prerequisite(s): Previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L; concurrent enrollment in courses 107A and 107B required.

Credits

5

ENVS108 General Entomology

Introduction to entomology including anatomy, physiology, systematics, evolution, behavior, and reproduction of the world's most diverse group of organisms. These topics are illustrated in several contexts, from the importance of insects as disease vectors to the historical and contemporary uses of insects by humans.

Credits

5

ENVS108L General Entomology Laboratory

Laboratory sections are devoted to the identification of insects. Individual collections representing 15 orders, sight identification of 60 families, and use of taxonomic keys for positive designations required.

Credits

3

ENVS110 Institutions, the Environment, and Economic Systems

Debate about environmental policy is often couched in economic terms. Environmental issues have become questions of political economy, as they influence international and domestic policy and reflect on the functioning of the market system. Examines the assumptions and implications of alternative approaches to political economy, as these pertain to questions of environmental policy and political institutions.

Credits

5

ENVS115A Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Applications

Introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) as the technology of processing spatial data, including input, storage and retrieval; manipulation and analysis; reporting and interpretation. Emphasizes GIS as a decision support system for environmental and social problem solving, using basic model building, experimental design, and database management. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 215A.

Credits

5

ENVS115B Intermediate Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Evaluates advanced technologies of processing spatial data, spatial theory, and application to unique geographic problems, data manipulation and analysis, and reporting and interpretation. Emphasizes GIS as a decision-support system for environmental and social problem solving, using basic model building, experimental design, and database management.

Credits

5

ENVS115C Advanced Geographic Information Systems

Explores more advanced training in spatial theory and methods and their application to unique geographic problems. Emphasis given to advanced aspects of spatial data analysis and building custom GIS solutions.

Credits

5

ENVS115L Exercises in Geographic Information Systems

Exercises in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing that demonstrate the development of digital geographic data. Students gain hands-on experience with developing datasets, using imagery to create GIS layers, performing spatial analysis, and utilizing GPS technology. Emphasis placed on environmental applications. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 215L. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

2

ENVS120 Conservation Biology

Introduces biological and anthropogenic influences on the diversity and scarcity of organisms. Explores the mathematical models and research tools that provide the foundation for many conservation and management decisions regarding endangered and/or declining species. Topics explored in the context of various examples of conservation decision-making in the real world.

Credits

5

ENVS121 Landscape Ecology

Investigates topics about the causes and consequences of spatial heterogeneity and pattern in natural- and human-dominated systems. This course provides a foundational understanding of how landscape pattern is generated and relates to populations, communities, and ecosystem processes.

Credits

5

ENVS122 Tropical Ecology and Conservation

An introduction to the ecological processes, principles, and players of tropical ecosystems, and to conservation issues facing tropical American forests. We will look at how tropical ecosystems work, roles of humans in shaping them, and current conservation opportunities and dilemmas.

Credits

5

ENVS123 Animal Ecology and Conservation

Advanced course in animal ecology and conservation focusing on the ecology, behavior, biogeography, and evolution of vertebrates.

Credits

5

ENVS129 Integrated Pest Management

Provides an extensive coverage of applied ecology, pest control technology, and the social, political, and economic factors regulating the ideologies and practice of pest management. Topics include agroecosystem design and population regulation of insects, weeds, vertebrates, and pathogens; field monitoring, chemical and biological control; economic thresholds, decision-making processes, and the role of agribusiness.

Credits

5

ENVS129L Integrated Pest Management Laboratory

Field trips and field exercises that demonstrate the practice of integrated pest management techniques. Individual and group projects provide hands-on experience with field sampling techniques, pest identification, recognition of biological control agents, experimental design, interview techniques, data interpretation and field report writing.

Credits

2

ENVS130A Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture

Ecological concepts and principles are applied to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems. Alternatives for agriculture are discussed in terms of ecosystem structure and function. A weekly three-hour lab is required.

Credits

5

ENVS130B Justice and Sustainability in Agriculture

Agricultural sustainability is examined as a complex set of interactions between ecological, social, and economic factors. Drawing case studies from U.S. agriculture, course examines the social justice implications of historical and current agri-food system dynamics. (Formerly Principles of Sustainable Agriculture.)

Credits

5

ENVS130C Field Experiences in Agroecology and Sustainable Food

Research and practice in agroecology and sustainable food systems. Students gain multidimensional understanding of agroecology through study at the UCSC farm, guest speakers, field trips, and interdisciplinary readings. Students participate in research projects and learn about methods, and study design and statistical analysis. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

5

ENVS130L Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Laboratory

Laboratory and field exercises to train in the analysis of ecological processes in agricultural systems, with a focus on the quantification of ecological sustainability. Experimental design, analysis, and data interpretation are emphasized. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

2

ENVS131 Insect Ecology

Advanced course in ecology featuring insect-plant interactions such as herbivory, pollination, and the effects of plants on insect population dynamics. Lectures emphasize current controversies in ecological theory and relate theory to application.

Credits

5

ENVS133 Agroecology Practicum

Lectures and demonstrations are combined with field applications to give students direct experience and knowledge of sustainable agriculture and horticulture practices and principles. UCSC Farm and Garden are the living laboratories for testing agroecological principles. Emphasis is placed on small-farm systems. May be applied to major only once. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

5

ENVS135 Sustainable Aquaculture

Current international and local aquaculture systems and science and practices needed to steer them toward sustainability. Critically looks at practices, analyzes environmental, social, economic, and human health effects of sustainable systems. Includes UCSC Aquaculture lab, farm visits, private sector, guests.

Credits

5

ENVS138 Field Ethnobotany

Lectures, laboratory, and fieldwork examine field botany from a human ecology perspective. Students have the opportunity to learn the skills of field botany and plant identification through the study of plants that are of major significance for human cultures. The emphasis of field skills is on applications to sustainable management of natural resources.

Credits

5

ENVS140 National Environmental Policy

An overview of all major federal environmental policy domains. Analyzes political, social, economic, and other forces influencing federal (and some state) public policy responses to land use, natural resources, pollution, and conservation dilemmas.

Credits

5

ENVS141 Ecological Economics

Application of economic analysis to natural resource policy and management. Topics include welfare economics, property rights and externalities, natural resource valuation, exhaustible and renewable resources, and sustainable development.

Credits

5

ENVS142 Sustainable Energy

Explores the renewable and fossil fuel energy resources, with an emphasis on interactions with food and water systems. Explores opportunities for improving efficiency, reducing pollution, and increasing access through technology advances, policy, and consumer decisions. (Formerly Energy Politics and Policy.)

Credits

5

ENVS143 Sustainable Development: Economy, Policy, and Environment

Considers whether and how global poverty can be alleviated without irreparably damaging the environment. Examines interactions among population, economic growth, poverty, global consumption ethos, property rights systems, global economy, state capacity, and environmental damage. Scrutinizes impact of various developmental strategies adopted during the past 50 years on poverty, governance, and the environment.

Credits

5

ENVS144 Global Climate Change Politics

Explores the central political questions surrounding global governance of climate change. It focuses on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the international hub of climate politics, and in particular explores issues of equity and justice in this forum.

Credits

5

ENVS145 Green Cities

Are cities an environmental savior or an engine of pollution? This course considers what makes a truly green city and analyzes innovative urban policies in areas such as energy, transportation, buildings, and waste management.

Credits

5

ENVS146 Water Quality: Policy, Regulation, and Management

Building on prior preparation, the course provides an in-depth examination of American water-quality policy, regulation and management. In addition to a detailed understanding of pollutant-discharge permitting, students learn about nonpoint source water pollution and its regulatory remedies.

Credits

5

ENVS147 Environmental Inequality/Environmental Justice

Reviews research on race, class, and differential exposure to environmental hazards. Shows how environmental inequality has, from the start, been an essential feature of modernity. Situates the environmental-justice movement in the history of American environmentalism. Students cannot receive credit for this course and Sociology 185.

Credits

5

ENVS149 Environmental Law and Policy

Surveys a wide range of topics in environmental law, including state and federal jurisdiction, administrative law, separation of powers, state and local land use regulation, public land and resource management, pollution control, and private rights and remedies. Students read a large number of judicial cases and other legal documents.

Credits

5

ENVS150 Coastal and Marine Policy

Examines key legal, policy, and institutional frameworks that govern the use and stewardship of coastal and marine areas and resources. Primary focus is on the U.S., although attention is also devoted to international laws and institutions. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 250.

Credits

5

ENVS151 Environmental Assessment

Introduction to California land use planning law and practice, and the theory, practice, and public policy aspects of environmental assessment, using the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as a model. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental and planning legislation also considered. Covers elements of State law and regulations, environmental impact assessment requirements, and practical procedures for preparing and evaluating CEQA documents, with case studies that exemplify legal, regulatory and public policy and practice aspects of the assessment process.

Credits

5

ENVS152 International Environmental Politics

Examines international law and politics through the lens of cooperation on transboundary environmental problems, ranging from acid rain to toxic chemicals to biodiversity loss and climate change, which have become pressing political concerns in our increasingly globalized economy.

Credits

5

ENVS153 Globalization and the Environment: Trade Complements and Conflicts

Explores the relationship between international trade and environmental protection. Centrally, we will consider the question: are trade liberalization and environment protection antithetical or conducive? We will use the theoretical literature on regime overlap to help us better consider this question.

Credits

5

ENVS154 Amazonian Cultures and Conservation

Overview of human societies in the Amazon from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Topics include indigenous resource management, deforestation, conservation politics, culture, and economic change.

Credits

5

ENVS156 Environmental Action Through Writing

Guided practice in writing skills useful to environmental activists. Assignments emphasize thinking quickly, revising adeptly, researching resourcefully, and tempering powerful passions with careful arguments. Toward the development of effective individual voices, students read each other's drafts as well as the published work of established writers. Enrollment priority will be given to students who have not taken course 157.

Credits

5

ENVS157 Writing in the Natural Sciences

Guided practice in writing effectively about science and natural history for a variety of audiences. Assignments emphasize reporting first-hand observations, explaining processes and phenomena, understanding scientific papers, and writing about scientific and technical subjects for a general audience. Enrollment priority will be given to students who have not taken course 156.

Credits

5

ENVS158 Political Ecology and Social Change

The object is to provide a rigorous grounding in the method of political ecology and to demonstrate how this approach has been used in environmental analysis and problem solving by environmental social movements.

Credits

5

ENVS159 Nature Literature

Introduction to 19th- and 20th-century American writers who have influenced our understanding of humans' place in the natural world. Readings include original works as well as biographical and critical texts. Discussions, field trips, and writing assignments emphasize active learning.

Credits

5

ENVS160 Restoration Ecology

A multidisciplinary overview of restoring degraded ecosystems. Among the topics addressed are linkages between ecological principles and restoration, planning and implementing restoration projects, evaluating restoration success, and case studies of restoration of specific ecosystem types. Participation in one work day is required.

Credits

5

ENVS161A Soils and Plant Nutrition

Provides fundamentals of soils and plant nutrition. The physical, biological, and chemical components of soils are investigated in relation to their ecological functions, fertility to plants, and sustainable management.

Credits

5

ENVS161L Soils and Plant Nutrition Laboratory

Practice analytical techniques for evaluation of physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. Grow plants to observe some typical symptoms of plant nutrient deficiencies.

Credits

2

ENVS162 Plant Physiological Ecology

Describes how the environment affects plants through the linkages between water, energy, nutrients, photosynthesis, and plant growth. Demonstrates how plant recruitment, survival, and reproduction affect conservation and agriculture. Prior coursework in ecology and/or plant physiology is recommended.

Credits

5

ENVS162L Plant Physiological Ecology Laboratory

Introduces techniques for the study of plant interactions with the physical environment. Examines the role of stress on energy budgets, water relations, photosynthesis, and reproductive allocation. Emphasizes experimental design, field techniques, and instrumentation during field trips to local chaparral and grassland ecosystems.

Credits

2

ENVS163 Plant Disease Ecology

Introduction to ecological roles of plant diseases, including their importance in regulating plant population dynamics, community diversity, and system function in natural ecosystems; considerations of plant diseases in conservation ecology; and ecological approaches to managing diseases in agroecosystems. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 263.

Credits

5

ENVS163L Plant Disease Ecology Lab

Introduction to techniques for studying plant diseases, including detection, isolation, cultivation, and identification of important groups of plant pathogens, completing Koch's postulates; diseases assessment techniques; experimental manipulation of plant-pathogen systems; and basic epidemiological tools. One field trip required.

Credits

2

ENVS164 Projects and Practices in Soil Ecology

Students learn soil ecological principles by carrying out inquiry-based projects and practices in land ecosystems (agroecosystems, forests and grasslands). UCSC reserves, farms, gardens, and greenhouses are the default living-laboratories for the course. The emphasis is on experiential learning of practical and technical skills in using soil methods.

Credits

5

ENVS165 Sustainable Water Systems

Concepts, vocabulary, and skills necessary to the analysis of freshwater issues are introduced from hydrology, ecology, law, economics, engineering, and other disciplines. The skills are then applied to case studies involving local, state, and international freshwater conflicts and crises. (Formerly Freshwater Issues and Policy.)

Credits

5

ENVS166 Agroecosystem Analysis and Watershed Management

Explores a range of approaches to examine agroecosystem function, watershed management, and concepts of sustainability. Uses a combination of lecture, demonstration, field work, and field trips to illustrate approaches to analysis of managed ecosystems behavior and the integration of biophysical and socio-political knowledge to aid in watershed management.

Credits

5

ENVS167 Freshwater and Wetland Ecology

Field and lecture course teaches the physical and biological patterns and processes in freshwater and wetland systems, primarily focusing on Central Coast systems from headwaters to coastal marshes.

Credits

5

ENVS167L Freshwater and Wetland Ecology Lab

Provides basic skills to assess chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of freshwater creeks, rivers, and wetlands. These skills are needed in environmental consulting, municipal agencies engaging in water management or impacts on water, and regulatory agencies. Relies on methods in geomorphology, biogeochemistry, hydrology, and field biology. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

2

ENVS168 Biogeochemistry and the Global Environment

Studies biogeochemical cycles and related environmental issues such as global environmental change, eutrophication, ecosystem degradation, and agricultural sustainability. Discusses transformation and movement of major nutrient elements in context of watershed ecology and societal implications. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 268.

Credits

5

ENVS169 Climate Change Ecology

Advanced topics in atmospheric science and ecological theory. Topics include impacts on biodiversity, carbon sequestration, sustainable agriculture, and innovative solutions.

Credits

5

ENVS170 Agriculture and Climate Change

Agriculture contributes to and is affected by climate change. Through lectures and field trips, this course covers the impacts on crops and livestock; climate adaptation strategies in the United States and internationally; and agricultural policy responses to climate change.

Credits

5

ENVS171 Topics in Environmental Studies

Readings and discussions of primary literature on a current environmental topic. Emphasizes experiential learning and research. The topics vary; consult current course listings.

Credits

5

ENVS172 Environmental Risks and Public Policy

Introduces students to the dilemmas in public policy relating to the management of environmental risks, and discusses their underlying philosophical underpinnings. Explores emergent alternatives, such as the precautionary principle and alternatives assessment, and examines the relationship between experts and the lay public in public controversies. (Formerly Science, Policy, and the Environment.)

Credits

5

ENVS173 An Introduction to World Environmental History

Introduces students to some of the central issues in world environmental history such as: human attitudes toward the natural environment; the role of human societies, their institutions and technologies in changing the face of the earth; and the historical impact of environmental and developmental policies on race, class, and gender differences in a variety of human communities across the world.

Credits

5

ENVS176 Vulnerability, Complex Systems, and Disasters

Introduces students to the research on the relationship between vulnerability and disasters, and on complex systems including hazardous technologies. Explores perspectives on disasters in the literature on political ecology. Also examines relevant work of organizational sociology, and related fields including normal accident and high reliability organizational theories.

Credits

5

ENVS177 Teaching Environmental Education

Designed for environmental studies majors interested in teaching environmental education in the K-12 school system. Students investigate incorporation of environmental education in the classroom; design an environmental education school project; and are placed in a school where they observe environmental education in practice.

Credits

5

ENVS179 Environmental Interpretation

A field course in theory and practice of environmental interpretation in parks, museums, and school programs with special attention to local natural history and children. Students work to define their own interpretive philosophy, skills, and style. A background in natural history and/or experience working with children is recommended.

Credits

5

ENVS183 Environmental Studies Internship

A supervised off-campus learning experience related to environmental problem solving. Students may work with government agencies, private organizations, citizen action groups, or in specialized apprenticeships on an individual or team basis. A significant, independently researched project is required. Internship intended for environmental studies majors. Prerequisite(s): previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L, and by permission of instructor. Students submit petition to course sponsoring agency.

Credits

5

ENVS183A Senior Internship

First quarter of two-quarter senior internship exit requirement. Supervised off-campus learning experience related to environmental problem-solving. Students may work with government agencies, private organizations, citizen action groups, or in specialized apprenticeships on an individual or team basis. Students submit petition to course-sponsoring agency. Enrollment is restricted to environmental studies majors and the combined majors with Earth science, biology, and economics. Enrollment is by permission of instructor.

Credits

5

ENVS183B Senior Internship

This course combines fieldwork at an off-campus agency and a comprehensive analytical paper produced for the agency. Equivalent to a thesis in terms of the depth and quality of the work expected. Prerequisite(s): course 183A. Students submit petition to course-sponsoring agency. Enrollment is restricted to environmental studies majors and the combined majors with Earth sciences, biology, and economics.

Credits

5

ENVS184 Environmental Studies Internship

Supervised learning experience related to environmental problem solving. Students may work with government agencies, private organizations, citizen action groups, or in specialized apprenticeships on an individual or team basis. This 2-credit internship puts students in the field and offers them the experience of practicing environmental problem solving. This internship experience focuses on specific skill development.

Credits

2

ENVS189 Environmental Studies Research Seminar

Research seminars presented weekly throughout the year by environmental studies faculty, visiting scholars, and graduate students. Students discuss content and methodology of research presented following each seminar. Students write critiques of some seminars.

Credits

1

ENVS190 Capstone Course: Environmental Problem Solving

A synthetic course that draws on the knowledge and skills students bring from other courses in the major. Focuses on written and oral individual and group projects in which students must take the initiative. Emphasizes developing skills critical for students in their future careers.

Credits

5

ENVS191F Community and Agroecology Seminar

Interdisciplinary two-credit seminar designed for upper-division students who want to become involved in PICA (Program in Community and Agroecology) and to explore concepts of community and agroecology as they relate to sustainability. Also emphasizes development of leadership skills. Specific topics and readings change each quarter.

Credits

2

ENVS192 Directed Student Teaching

Teaching a lower-division seminar. (See course 42.) Prerequisite(s): upper-division standing; permission of environmental studies faculty member and chairperson of department.

Credits

5

ENVS194 Teaching Environmental Studies

This provides an opportunity to participate in the preparation and teaching of introductory environmental studies courses. Students will have significant responsibility in leading discussion sections. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

5

ENVS194F Teaching Environmental Studies

Students facilitate discussions of course material in an introductory environmental studies course in conjunction with faculty and teaching assistants. May not count toward upper-division major requirements. Approval of the sponsoring agency and selection by the primary instructor of specific courses is required.

Credits

2

ENVS195A Senior Research

First of a two-quarter senior thesis that results in drafting key thesis elements. Completion of this course does not satisfy the senior exit requirement. Continuation into 195B is contingent upon instructor approval after satisfactory completion of this course. Prerequisite(s): Completion of courses 100 and 100L, and Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements.

Credits

5

ENVS195B Senior Thesis Group

Individually supervised senior research that results in a senior thesis. Must meet regularly with faculty sponsor to discuss progress of the project, and to receive academic and technical guidance. Students must submit electronic copies of the completed research and write-up. Satisfies the senior comprehensive requirement. Prerequisite(s): Completion of courses 100 and 100L and 195A.

Credits

5

ENVS196 Senior Seminar

Readings and discussions of primary literature on a current environmental studies topic. Field or literature-based research projects (individual or group) writing multiple drafts resulting in a final paper. Topics vary yearly; consult current course listings. Enrollment by application with selection based on appropriate background and academic performance and by consent of instructor. Satisfies senior comprehensive requirement. Enrollment restricted to senior environmental studies majors; senior environmental studies/biology combined majors; senior environmental studies / Earth sciences combined majors; and senior environmental studies /economics combined majors. Prerequisite(s): Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements.

Credits

5

ENVS199 Tutorial

Advanced directed reading, supervised research, and organized projects relating to environmental problems. May be repeated for credit with consent of the chair of environmental studies. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. Prerequisite(s): prior or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L.

Credits

5

ENVS199F Tutorial

Provides for department-sponsored directed reading, supervised research, or organized project under the direct supervision of a faculty sponsor. May not be counted toward major requirements. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

2

ENVS201A Research Approaches in Environmental Studies

The first course of a two-quarter sequence that explores the range of scholarly traditions that inform the kinds of research common to the Environmental Studies Department at UCSC. (Formerly Keywords and Concepts: Geography and Ecology.)

Credits

5

ENVS201B Environmental Studies In Practice

The second course in a two-quarter sequence that is designed for beginning graduate students in environmental studies and in any other related field. Introduces interdisciplinary approaches of environmental studies and is an experiential, hands-on class focused on a specific environmental problem. (Formerly Keywords and Concepts: Biogeochemistry and Environmental Policy.)

Credits

5

ENVS210 Political Ecological Thought and Environment

Provides an introduction to social scientific analyses of the relationships between capitalistic development and the environment in the late 20th century. It has a dual purpose: First, to develop a contemporary historical understanding and sensibility of how economic change, new institutional configurations, and world scale processes are shaping interactions with the environment. Second, to examine some recent political social theoretical perspectives on nature-society relations and radical environmental and social movements.

Credits

5

ENVS215A Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Applications

Introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) as the technology of processing spatial data, including input, storage and retrieval; manipulation and analysis; reporting and interpretation. Emphasizes GIS as a decision support system for environmental and social problem solving, using basic model building, experimental design, and database management. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 115A.

Credits

5

ENVS215B Intermediate Geographic Information Systems

Evaluates advanced technologies of processing spatial data, spatial theory, and application to unique geographic problems, data manipulation and analysis, and reporting and interpretation. Emphasizes GIS as a decision-support system for environmental and social problem solving, using basic model building, experimental design, and database management. Taught in conjunction with ENVS 115B. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 115B.

Credits

5

ENVS215L Exercises in Geographic Information Systems

Exercises in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing that demonstrate the development of digital geographic data. Students gain hands-on experience with developing datasets, using imagery to create GIS layers, performing spatial analysis, and utilizing GPS technology. Emphasis placed on environmental applications. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 115L. Students are billed a materials fee.

Credits

2

ENVS220 Conservation Biology

The principles of conservation biology, including a review of the core disciplines of demography, population genetics, island biogeography, and community ecology and discussion of area and edge effects, population viability, and ecosystem issues related to the maintenance of biological diversity, especially in fragmented landscapes.

Credits

5

ENVS230 Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture

The application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of agricultural systems. The long-term goal of sustainable agroecosystems is examined in economic, social, and ecological contexts.

Credits

5

ENVS235 Social Theories of Nature

Intensive reading and discussion seminar on the treatment of nature in social theory. Focuses on major recent works which examine nature in social theory, in themselves, and in the context of the intellectual history of development of disciplinary discourses about nature. Students write critical reviews of assigned books and a research paper situating a particular book within its intellectual tradition. Prerequisite(s): interview with instructor to determine preparedness.

Credits

5

ENVS240 Public Policy and Conservation

Introduction to political and economic approaches to policy analysis, with particular reference to natural resource scarcity, property rights, and environmental conservation. Case studies apply economic and policy process concepts to the management of public lands, biodiversity, and renewable resources.

Credits

5

ENVS247 Regional Approaches to Environmental Policy

A research seminar combining theoretical issues in democratic theory, political economy, and planning with emerging concepts of bioregionalism. The focus is on institutional, scientific, and political innovations in managing the environment. Students evaluate current and historical proposals to regionalize environmental policy in the U.S.

Credits

5

ENVS250 Coastal Governance

Introduction to major theories of ocean and coastal governance, with emphasis on those that underlie current policy and management approaches. Students analyze local, state, national, and international laws and policies, considering interactions across scales, levels of social organization, and institutions. Taught in conjunction with ENVS 150. Students cannot receive credit for this course and for ENVS 150.

Credits

5

ENVS263 Plant Disease Ecology

Introduction to ecological roles of plant diseases, including their importance in regulating plant populations dynamics, community diversity and system function in natural ecosystems, considerations of plant diseases in conservation ecology, and ecological approaches to managing diseases in agroecosystems. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 163.

Credits

5

ENVS268 Biogeochemistry and the Global Environment

Studies biogeochemical cycles and related environmental issues such as global environmental change, eutrophication, ecosystem degradation, and agricultural sustainabilty. Discusses transformation and movement of major nutrient elements in context of watershed ecology and societal implications. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 168.

Credits

5

ENVS271 Valuing the Environment

Intensive seminar examining the normative underpinnings of environmental values. Draws on tools from analytical, ethical, and political philosophy to develop normative arguments concerning environmental inequality and justice, environmental preservation, and risk evaluation. Involves team projects in which students develop cases on controversial contemporary issues such as biotechnology. Prerequisite(s): interview only. Enrollment restricted to graduate students.

Credits

5

ENVS272 Qualitative Field Methods

Introduces qualitative research approaches in environmental studies. Focuses on philosophies of science, epistemological debates, and specific approaches to qualitative methods. Course components include: field safety, research ethics, human subjects, training, research design and sampling, field observation and ethnographies, key informants, field notes, focus groups, oral histories, narrative research, archival research, questionnaires, discourse analysis, participatory research, and qualitative data analysis techniques.

Credits

5

ENVS280 Advanced Topics in Environmental Studies

Intensive research seminar, including reading and critique of primary research literature and research in progress. Topics vary and are announced in advance; students should consult with faculty prior to enrolling. Enrollment by permission of instructor. Enrollment restricted to graduate students.

Credits

5

ENVS283 Environmental Studies Internship

Graduate level internship focuses on integrating interdisciplinary academic theory with practical, specialized experience in a professional setting. Course intended for environmental studies graduate students; students must complete paperwork and meet with coordinator prior to first day of instruction.

Credits

5

ENVS290 Interdisciplinary Research Seminar

Research seminars presented weekly throughout the year by environmental studies and affiliated faculty, by visiting scholars, and by graduate students. Students discuss the content and methodology of research presented following each seminar.

Credits

2

ENVS290L Graduate Research Seminar

Graduate student presentations of doctoral research proposals, dissertation work-in-progress, grant applications, and conference papers. This weekly laboratory meeting seeks to develop professional skills, teach constructive criticism, and foster effective discussion among peers.

Credits

2

ENVS291 Advanced Readings in Environmental Studies

Focusing on a recently published volume or on a topic of current interest, this seminar requires a rigorous analysis of the principles and methods employed in the four core areas of the program: sustainable agriculture and agro-ecology; conservation biology; environmental policy analysis; and political economy.

Credits

3

ENVS291C Advanced Readings in Risk and Public Policy

Advanced readings and research on environmental risk and public policy. Explores environmental decision making given the question of the burden of proof and scientific uncertainty and grapples, in an advanced manner, with emergent policy alternatives, such as the precautionary principle. Also offered as course 281C for 5 credits.

Credits

3

ENVS291D Advanced Readings in Tropical Ecology, Agriculture, and Development

Analyzes recent publications in ecology, conservation, agroecology, and development in tropical and subtropical regions, particularly Latin America. Discussions place special emphasis on integration across natural and social science disciplines to address issues of sustainability in tropical regions.

Credits

3

ENVS291M Advanced Readings in Biogeochemistry

Course consists of three parts: fundamental biogeochemistry of the Earth, global cycles of nutrient elements, and societal and scientific issues of global change. Class activities include (1) presentation of summary statements based on reading assignments; (2) discussion of theories, concepts, methodologies, and applications; (3) computer simulation and modeling of elemental cycles using STELLA; and (4) integration of scientific information on global change with social issues by writing.

Credits

3

ENVS291P Advanced Readings in Environmental History and Anthropology

Course of readings systematically surveying the theoretical contributions of the disciplines of environmental history, historical ecology, environmental anthropology, and geography. After an overview of the evolution of 20th-century thought on the relationship between environment and culture as seen through the lenses of these disciplines, explores emerging research hybrids and new research frontiers.

Credits

3

ENVS292 Topics in Research in Environmental Studies

Seminar in which students give critically evaluated presentations regarding current research in environmental studies and issues in research design. Students should consult with faculty prior to enrolling.

Credits

2

ENVS297A Independent Study

Independent study and research under faculty supervision. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

5

ENVS297B Independent Study

Independent study and research under faculty supervision. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

10

ENVS297C Independent Study

Independent study and research under faculty supervision. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

15

ENVS297F Independent Study

Independent study and research under faculty supervision. Intended to be taken in conjunction with a 5-credit course. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

2

ENVS299A Thesis Research

Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

5

ENVS299B Thesis Research

Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

10

ENVS299C Thesis Research

Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

15