B.A. in Environmental Studies: Concentration in Environmental Sustainability and
Social Justice
B.A. in Environmental Studies: Concentration in The Urban Environment
B.A. in Environmental Studies: Concentration in Humanities and the Environment
B.S. in Environmental Studies: Concentration in Earth System Science
B.S. in Environmental Studies: Concentration in Natural Resource Management
and Conservation
The Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies are interdisciplinary degrees for students interested in studying and working within the environmental field. The objective of the program is to produce exceptional graduates who are grounded in the study of contemporary environmental problems and solutions that transcend the existing academic disciplines and programs at San Francisco State University. The program provides students with the knowledge and skills required for understanding relationships between humans and the physical world. It examines how the environment is being used, abused, and perceived, and what individuals and organizations are doing and can do to protect it for themselves, future generations, and other living beings and ecosystems.
The major offers two degrees: a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies. The major consists of a group of courses that will be required for all students declaring this major (36-46 units) and five areas of concentration from which the student will choose one. Two of these concentrations will lead to the Bachelor of Science (82-95 units in the major) and three will lead to the Bachelor of Arts (57-66 units in the major).
The environmental studies field is diverse and includes opportunities for employment at many different venues. Private industry opportunities include solid waste management, resource recovery and recycling, hazardous waste management, water treatment and delivery, and air pollution control. Major local corporations have employment opportunities in environmental health and safety and environmental management. Environmental consultants who specialize in creating or reviewing environmental impact reports and statements and environmental regulations are needed at the federal and state agency level as well as in the private sector. Other employment opportunities include government agency level resource scientists and planners. In addition, local nonprofit activist groups provide a small number of full time positions in the environmental field.
Online course descriptions are available.
| Core Curriculum | Units | |
| ENVS 300 | Introduction to Environmental Studies | 3 |
| CHEM 380 | Chemistry of Environmental Pollution | 3 |
| GEOG 600 | Environmental Problems and Solutions | 3 |
| ENVS 680 | Internship | 1 |
| ENVS 690 | Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies | 3 |
| Select units from each category as indicated. | ||
| Physical Environment | 3 | |
| GEOG 101 | Our Physical Environment | |
| GEOL 270 | Environmental Geology | |
| Human Environment | 3 | |
| GEOG 102 | The Human Environment | |
| ANTH 120 | Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology | |
| Environmental Justice/Urban Issues | 3-4 | |
| ANTH 321 | Endangered Cultures | |
| ANTH 557 | Ethnography of the Inner City (4) | |
| RAZA 450 | Indigenisimo: Indigenous Cultures and Personality | |
| URBS 514 | Sustainable Development in Cities (4) | |
| URBS 515 | Race, Poverty, and the Urban Environment (4) | |
| Economics and Public Policy | 3-4 | |
| ECON/GEOG 425 | Economic Geography (4) | |
| ECON 550 | Economics of Energy and the Environment | |
| IR 331 | Global Environmental Crisis: Challenges and Responses (4) | |
| Ecology | 3-10 | |
| BIOL 230 | Introductory Biology I (5) and | |
| BIOL 240 | Introductory Biology II (5)1 | |
| BIOL 313 | Principles of Ecology | |
| Environmental Chemistry | 5 | |
| CHEM 111 | General Chemistry I (5) | |
| Human Values and Environmental Ethics | 3-4 | |
| BECA 502 | Environmental Communication on the Electronic Media | |
| ENG 630 | Literature and Ecology | |
| NEXA 392 | Nature, Culture, and Technology | |
| PHIL 470 | Environmental Ethics | |
| PLSI 354 | Politics, the Environment, and Social Change (4) | |
| Total for core | 36-46 | |
This concentration enables students to participate in the conceptualization and design of institutions and social practices appropriate for an environmentally sustainable and just future. The communication of the role of values in the environmental crisis and the required transformation of both dominant values and social structures are objectives in this concentration.
Note: Fifteen units from the core curriculum must be completed prior to beginning courses in this concentration.
| Program | Units | |
| Core requirements (see above) | 36-46 | |
| PLSI 354 | Politics, The Environment, and Social Change [if not taken in core] | 0-4 |
| SS 510 | Socio-cultural Change: An Interdisciplinary Analysis | 3 |
| URBS 514 | Sustainable Development in Cities (4) | 3 |
| Elective Courses Units are to be selected so that each of the three themes below are represented with at least one course. |
15 | |
| The Study of Values | ||
| AIS 310 | American Indian Religion and Philosophy | |
| CST 300 | Introduction to Critical Social Thought | |
| GEOG 422 | Environmental Perception | |
| HUM 430 | Postmodern Criticism | |
| GPS 315 | Introduction to Global Peace Studies | |
| NEXA 200 | Science and Culture | |
| NEXA 281 | Mythic and Scientific Thought | |
| NEXA 394 | Split Brain: Mythos and Logos | |
| PHIL/PLSI 150 | Contemporary Moral/Political Issues | |
| PHIL 470 | Environmental Ethics | |
| SOC 362 | The Social Construction of Deviance and Conformity (4) | |
| WOMS 621 | Feminist Thought | |
| Possibilities and Limits of Technology | ||
| BIOL 349 | Bioethics | |
| BECA 390 | The Age of Information | |
| BECA 502 | Environmental Communication on the Electronic Media | |
| BUS 450 | The Greening of Business | |
| GEOG 666 | Geography of Garbage: Recycling and Waste Reduction | |
| CIS 300 | New Horizons in Science | |
| NEXA 392 | Nature, Culture, and Technology | |
| PHIL 365 | Science and Civilization | |
| PHYS 600 | Science and Society | |
| Building a Global Sustainable and Just Future | ||
| ECON 620 | Economic Development | |
| GEOG 421 | Future Environments | |
| GEOG 427 | Agriculture and Food Supply (4) | |
| GEOG 647 | Geography of Water Resources (4) | |
| GEOG 655 | Urban Environmental Design (4) | |
| IR 334 | International Organizations: New World Order (4) | |
| IR 520 | Modernization and Third World Countries | |
| NEXA 350 | Explorations of the Future | |
| SOC 471 | Societal Change and Development (4) | |
| SOC 483 | Global Sociology (4) | |
| SW/PLSI/URBS 660 | The Roles of Non-Profit Organizations in Urban Life | |
| TPW 460 | Grant Writing | |
| URBS/HED/SW 456 | Urban Community Organizing and Citizen Action | |
| WOMS 541 | Women Writers and Social Change | |
| WOMS 578 | Third World Women and Ecology | |
| Total for concentration | 22-26 | |
| Total for degree | 58-72 | |
This concentration provides students with a strong interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical foundation for understanding and dealing with environmental issues in urban settings. Courses provide students with the knowledge, information, skills, and fieldwork experience needed to establish this foundation. The concentration is designed to build on the university's mission as the city's urban university by developing linkages between students in the concentration and institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Students graduating with an urban environment concentration will have the opportunity to prepare themselves to work in the public, private, and non-profit sectors on local, national, and global environmental issues related to urban environments.
Note: Fifteen units from the core curriculum must be completed prior to beginning this concentration.
| Program | Units | |
| Core requirements (see above) | 36-46 | |
| IR 331 | Global Environmental Crisis: Challenges and Responses | 4 |
| URBS 492 | Research Methods | 4 |
| URBS 515 | Race, Poverty, and the Urban Environment (if not taken as part of the core) | 0-4 |
| Elective Courses Units selected from the following |
12-16 | |
| Urban Land Use Planning | ||
| GEOG 432 | Urban Geography (4) | |
| GEOG 648 | Management of National Parks and Resources (4) | |
| GEOG 652 | Environmental Impact Analysis (4) | |
| GEOG 655 | Urban Environmental Design (4) | |
| GEOG/URBS 658 | Land-use Planning (4) | |
| GEOL 270 | Environmental Geology | |
| URBS 530 | Alternative Urban Futures | |
| Urban Environmental Public Policy | ||
| BUS 450 | The Greening of Business | |
| ECON 550 | Economics of Energy and the Environment | |
| GEOG 666 | Geography of Garbage: Recycling and Waste Reduction | |
| HED 418 | Environmental Health | |
| PLSI 354 | Politics, The Environment, and Social Change (4) | |
| URBS 535 | Urban Economics | |
| The Urban Environment in Global Perspective | ||
| ANTH 555 | Urban Anthropology | |
| BIOL 318 | Our Endangered Planet | |
| GPS 315 | Introduction to Global Peace Studies | |
| IR 302 | International Political Economy (4) | |
| SOC 480 | City in a Global Society (4) | |
| SOC 484 | Population Problems (4) | |
| SS/IR 560 | Energy in Global Perspective | |
| URBS 514 | Sustainable Development in Cities (4) | |
| Total for concentration | 20-28 | |
| Total for degree | 56-74 | |
This concentration has two components: Ways of Viewing the Environment and "Communicating About the Environment." The first explores the varied and complex ways that different cultures--past and present--view the environment. In the second, students will develop a forum for communicating ecological knowledge and wisdom. Each has its own requirements and goals.
Ways of Viewing the Environment examines questions such as: What do we mean by the word "nature" and what attitudes does it reveal about our surroundings? How has the concept of wilderness changed over time? How has it been possible for some cultures to idealize nature on one hand yet neglect the environment on the other? How do metaphors of the land influence the way we treat it? To what extent does our view of culture impede ecological progress? How do different arenas of public life--politics or the media, for example--view the environment? How is science open to the kind of analysis practiced in the Humanities? What cross-fertilization is possible between cultural and scientific studies?
The goal of Communicating About the Environment is to prepare students to educate, enlighten, or persuade others regarding environmental issues. Working closely with an adviser, students develop an individualized study plan in a form of verbal or visual communication, including a culminating project in that same discipline. Students might choose to work in speech and communication studies, technical and professional writing, creative writing, journalism, photography, design and industry, cinema, or any other discipline dealing with verbal or visual communication.
| Program | Units | |
| Core requirements (see above) | 36-46 | |
| Ways of Viewing the Environment | ||
| BECA 502 | Environmental Communication on the Electronic Media or | 3-4 |
| PHIL 470 | Environmental Ethics or | |
| ENG 630 | Literature and Ecology (4) | |
| Courses selected from the following on advisement | 9-12 | |
| AIS 450 | American Indian Science | |
| AMST 410/HUM 450 | California Culture | |
| ANTH 557 | Ethnography of the Inner City (4) | |
| BECA 502 | Environmental Communication on the Electronic Media | |
| ENG 514 | Age of the Romantics | |
| ENG 525 | Modern American Mystics | |
| ENG 526 | Age of the American Renaissance: 1830-1860 | |
| GEOG 421 | Future Environments | |
| GEOG 422 | Environmental Perception | |
| GEOG 651 | San Francisco Bay Area Environmental Issues (4) | |
| PHIL/PLSI 150 | Contemporary Moral and Political Issues | |
| HH 382 | Holistic Health and Human Nature | |
| HH 383 | Chinese Perspectives in Holistic Health | |
| RAZA 590 | Environmental Justice: La Raza Issues | |
| NEXA 392 | Nature, Culture, and Technology | |
| PHIL 383 | Ethics in Medicine | |
| PHIL 520 | Modern Religious Thought | |
| PLSI 354 | Politics, The Environment, and Social Change (4) | |
| REC 230 | Growth Through Adventure | |
| REC 430 | Ecology of Outdoor Recreation | |
| URBS 515/GEOG 667 | Race, Poverty, and the Urban Environment (4) | |
| WOMS 578 | Third World Women and Ecology | |
| Communicating About the Environment Students take at least nine (9) units of upper division courses from the department of focus (on advisement) and a three (3) unit culminating project. |
12 | |
| Total for concentration | 24-28 | |
| Total for degree | 60-74 | |
Online course descriptions are available.
| Core Curriculum | Units | |
| ENVS 300 | Introduction to Environmental Studies | 3 |
| CHEM 380 | Chemistry of Environmental Pollution | 3 |
| GEOG 600 | Environmental Problems and Solutions | 3 |
| ENVS 680 | Internship | 1 |
| ENVS 690 | Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies | 3 |
| Select units from each category as indicated. | ||
| Physical Environment | 3 | |
| GEOG 101 | Our Physical Environment | |
| GEOL 270 | Environmental Geology | |
| Human Environment | 3 | |
| GEOG 102 | The Human Environment | |
| ANTH 120 | Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology | |
| Environmental Justice/Urban Issues | 3-4 | |
| ANTH 321 | Endangered Cultures | |
| ANTH 557 | Ethnography of the Inner City (4) | |
| RAZA 450 | Indigenisimo: Indigenous Cultures and Personality | |
| URBS 514 | Sustainable Development in Cities (4) | |
| URBS 515 | Race, Poverty, and the Urban Environment (4) | |
| Economics and Public Policy | 3-4 | |
| ECON/GEOG 425 | Economic Geography (4) | |
| ECON 550 | Economics of Energy and the Environment | |
| IR 331 | Global Environmental Crisis: Challenges and Responses (4) | |
| Ecology | 3-10 | |
| BIOL 230 | Introductory Biology I (5) and | |
| BIOL 240 | Introductory Biology II (5)1 | |
| BIOL 313 | Principles of Ecology | |
| Environmental Chemistry | 5 | |
| CHEM 111 | General Chemistry I (5) | |
| Human Values and Environmental Ethics | 3-4 | |
| BECA 502 | Environmental Communication on the Electronic Media | |
| ENG 630 | Literature and Ecology | |
| NEXA 392 | Nature, Culture, and Technology | |
| PHIL 470 | Environmental Ethics | |
| PLSI 354 | Politics, the Environment, and Social Change (4) | |
| Total for core | 36-46 | |
This concentration is for students interested in using scientific tools to address environmental issues. It provides students with a solid background in both quantitative and qualitative problem-solving techniques. Required courses provide basic skills in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and environmental regulations. Elective courses are chosen to reflect students' specific academic goals. Students completing this concentration will be familiar with a broad range of scientific approaches and will also obtain depth in a specific field by appropriate selection of electives. A goal of the concentration is to produce graduates who can understand our planet as an integrated system, and who can address environmental issues in this context.
| Program | Units | |
| Core requirements (see above) | 36-46 | |
| CHEM 113 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| GEOG 652 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 4 |
| MATH 220 | Calculus and Analytical Geometry I | 3 |
| MATH 221 | Calculus and Analytical Geometry II | 3 |
| PHYS 111/112 | General Physics I and Laboratory or | 4 |
| PHYS 220/222 | General Physics with Calculus I and Laboratory | |
| PHYS 121/122 | General Physics II and Laboratory or | 4 |
| PHYS 230/232 | General Physics with Calculus II and Laboratory or | |
| PHYS 240/242 | General Physics with Calculus III and Laboratory | |
| Elective Courses Students must consult with a faculty adviser prior to selection of elective courses in order to determine which courses are most appropriate for their particular program. Courses appropriate for sample specializations are provided below. |
23-25 | |
| BIOL 401/402 | General Microbiology and Laboratory (5) | |
| BIOL 411 | Environmental and Industrial Microbiology (4) | |
| BIOL 582 | Biological Oceanography | |
| BIOL 482 | Animal Ecology (4) or | |
| BIOL 529 | Plant Ecology (4) or | |
| BIOL 585 | Marine Ecology (4) | |
| BIOL 535/GEOG 613 | Remote Sensing of Wetlands (4) | |
| CHEM 114 | General Chemistry II Laboratory (2) | |
| CHEM 320 | Modern Methods of Quantitative Chemical Analysis (4) | |
| CHEM 333/334 | Organic Chemistry I and Laboratory (3/2) | |
| CHEM 335/336 | Organic Chemistry II and Laboratory (3/3) | |
| CHEM 420 | Instrumental Analysis of Environmental Samples and Complex Mixtures | |
| ENGR 434 | Principles of Environmental Engineering | |
| GEOG 317 | Geography of Soils (4) | |
| GEOG 611 | Remote Sensing of the Environment II (4) | |
| GEOG 647 | Geography of Water Resources (4) | |
| GEOL 102/103 | Introduction to Oceanography and Laboratory (3/1) | |
| GEOL 450 | Geomorphology (4) or | |
| GEOG 312 | Geography of Landforms (4) | |
| GEOL 452 | Coastal Processes | |
| GEOL 454 | Quaternary Geology | |
| GEOL 465 | Introduction to Physical Oceanography | |
| GEOL 475 | Hydrogeology | |
| GEOL 476 | Groundwater Contamination | |
| MATH 250 | Probability and Statistics with Computing | |
| METR 100/101 | Introduction to Meteorology and Laboratory (3/1) or | |
| METR 200 | Introduction to Atmospheric Physics and Thermodynamics (4) | |
| METR 201 | Introduction to Dynamic and Synoptic Meteorology (4) | |
| METR 206 | Introduction to Use of Computers in Meteorology (1) | |
| METR 401 | Introductory Atmospheric Physics (4) | |
| BIOL/CHEM/ENGR/ GEOG/GEOL/METR 699 | Special Study (1-3) | |
| Total for concentration | 44-46 | |
| Total for degree | 80-92 | |
Some examples of possible electives for specialization within the concentration are provided. Students consult with a faculty adviser in selecting appropriate courses.
| Coastal Studies | Units | |
| BIOL 585 | Marine Ecology | 4 |
| GEOG 611 | Remote Sensing of the Environment | 4 |
| GEOL 102/103 | Introduction to Oceanography and Laboratory | 4 |
| GEOL 452 | Coastal Processes | 3 |
| GEOL 465 | Introductory Physical Oceanography | 3 |
| GEOL 475 | Hydrogeology | 3 |
| ENGR 434 | Principles of Environmental Engineering | 3 |
| Hydrologic Studies | Units | |
| CHEM 114 | General Chemistry II Laboratory | 2 |
| GEOG 647 | Geography of Water Resources | 4 |
| GEOL 450 | Geomorphology or | 4 |
| GEOG 312 | Geography of Landforms | |
| GEOL 475 | Hydrogeology and | 6 |
| GEOL 476 | Groundwater Contamination | |
| ENGR 434 | Principles of Environmental Engineering | 3 |
| METR 100/101 | Introduction to Meteorology and Laboratory (3/1) or | 4-8 |
| METR 200 | Introduction to Atmospheric Physics and Thermodynamics (4) and | |
| METR 201 | Introduction to Dynamic and Synoptic Meteorology (4) | |
| Climate Studies | Units | |
| GEOG 611 | Remote Sensing of the Environment II | 4 |
| GEOL 450 | Geomorphology (4) or | 7-8 |
| GEOG 312 | Geography of Landforms (4) and | |
| GEOL 454 | Quarternary Geology or | |
| GEOL 475 | Hydrogeology or | |
| GEOG 647 | Geography of Water Resources (4) | |
| GEOL 465 | Introduction to Physical Oceanography | 3 |
| METR 200 | Introduction to Atmospheric Physics and Thermodynamics | 4 |
| METR 201 | Introduction to Dynamic and Synoptic Meteorology | 4 |
| METR 206 | Introduction to Use of Computers in Meteorology | 1 |
| METR 401 | Introductory Atmospheric Physics | 4 |
| Chemical Analysis | Units | |
| CHEM 114 | General Chemistry II Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM 320 | Modern Methods of Quantitative Chemical Analysis | 4 |
| CHEM 420 | Instrumental Analysis of Environmental Samples and Complex Mixtures | 3 |
| CHEM 333/334 | Organic Chemistry I and Laboratory | 5 |
| CHEM 335/336 | Organic Chemistry II and Laboratory | 6 |
| GEOL 476 | Groundwater Contamination | 3 |
| Remediation | Units | |
| CHEM 114 | General Chemistry II Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM 320 | Modern Methods of Quantitative Chemical Analysis | 4 |
| BIOL 401/402 | General Microbiology and Laboratory | 5 |
| BIOL 411 | Environmental and Industrial Microbiology | 4 |
| GEOL 475 | Hydrogeology and | 6 |
| GEOL 476 | Groundwater Contamination | |
| ENGR 434 | Principles of Environmental Engineering | 3 |
This concentration is for students interested in using natural science and geographic tools to address environmental issues. It provides students with a solid background in both quantitative and qualitative problem-solving techniques. This concentration is designed to provide students with the theoretical and applied biological, geographic, and technical information and skills they will need to tackle problems and issues that involve natural resource use and management. Students completing the concentration will be familiar with a broad range of scientific approaches and will also obtain depth in a specific field by appropriate selection of courses. A goal of the concentration is to produce graduates who can understand our planet as an integrated system, and who can address environmental issues in an ecological and political context.
Note: Fifteen units from the core curriculum must be completed prior to beginning courses in this concentration.
| Program | Units | |
| Core requirements (see above) | 36-46 | |
| CHEM 113/114 | General Chemistry II and Laboratory | 5 |
| BIOL 240 | Introductory Biology II | 5 |
| BIOL 530 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| GEOG 652 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 4 |
| One course in statistical methods | 3-4 | |
| Elective Courses Students must consult with a faculty adviser prior to selection of elective courses in order to determine which courses are most appropriate for the student's particular program. Within each theme, other courses may be selected on advisement. At least one course from each of the following themes must be included. Within each theme other courses may be selected on advisement. |
23-27 | |
| Ecology | ||
| BIOL 482 | Animal Ecology (4) | |
| BIOL 529 | Plant Ecology (4) | |
| BIOL 585 | Marine Ecology (4) | |
| BIOL 582 | Biological Oceanography | |
| Biodiversity | ||
| BIOL 460 | General Entomology (4) | |
| BIOL 470 | Natural History of Vertebrates (4) | |
| BIOL 478 | Ornithology (4) | |
| BIOL 480 | Mammalogy (4) | |
| BIOL 504 | Biology of the Fungi (4) | |
| BIOL 514 | Plant Taxonomy (5) | |
| BIOL 556 | Natural History of Marine Invertebrates (4) | |
| BIOL 570 | Biology of Fishes (4) | |
| GEOG 316 | Biogeography (4) | |
| Resources | ||
| GEOG 317 | Geography of Soils (4) | |
| GEOG 427 | Agriculture and Food Supply (4) | |
| GEOG 647 | Geography of Water Resources (4) | |
| GEOG 666 | Geography of Garbage: Recycling and Waste Reduction | |
| GEOL 305 | Energy and its Environmental Issues | |
| SOC 484 | Population Problems (4) | |
| Economics Policy | ||
| BUS 450 | The Greening of Business | |
| IR 302 | Introduction to International Political Economy (4) | |
| PLSI 354 | Politics, The Environment, and Social Change (4) | |
| GEOG 425 | Economic Geography (4) | |
| ECON 550 | Economics of Energy and the Environment | |
| Applied Methodology/Techniques | ||
| GEOG 685 | Field Methods in Geography (4) | |
| GEOG 658 | Land-use Planning (4) | |
| GEOG 610/611 | Remote Sensing of the Environment I or II (4/4) | |
| GEOG 613 | Remote Sensing of Wetlands (4) | |
| GEOG 620 | Geographic Information Systems (4) | |
| ENGR 434 | Principles of Environmental Engineering | |
| BECA 502 | Environmental Communication on the Electronic Media | |
| Additional Electives | ||
| GEOG 422 | Environmental Perception | |
| GEOG 606 | Cartography (4) | |
| GEOG 699/ BIOL 699 | Special Study | |
| Any course listed in the above themes | ||
| Total for concentration | 43-48 | |
| Total for degree | 79-94 | |
1. This choice is appropriate for those pursuing the B.S. degree.