Capitalizing on the unique and varied environmental settings in southern Oregon, the Environmental Science, Policy, and Sustainability program effectively prepares its students for success in a broad range of environmental careers and fosters in them, by example, a commitment to serving the community. The program curriculum provides students with the interdisciplinary academic knowledge and the practical experiences necessary for them to successfully address complex environmental issues, both regional and global. The program serves as a resource to our community by providing student and faculty expertise for specific projects affecting the environmental health of our region.
By recognizing that environmental issues are becoming more complex as our population places demands on limited resources and capitalizing on the unique environmental setting in southern Oregon, the Environmental Sciences and Policy聽program will:
The Environmental Science, Policy, and Sustainability program provides the opportunity to apply principles from various scientific fields to environmental issues within the social, political, and economic framework of our society. The degree program includes courses designed to provide students with the following:
The above goals lead to outcomes (what our majors will be learning at SOU). These outcomes can be listed under the categories of 鈥渒nowledge鈥 (what students will know and understand), 鈥渟kills鈥 (what students will be able to do), and 鈥渄ispositions鈥 (what values the students will develop about the environment and working relationships while at SOU). Examples of each outcome are listed below:ESP Majors have opportunities to participate in international exchange programs to environmentally significant areas, including:
Knowledge Outcomes:
Skill Outcomes:
Disposition Outcomes:
What we do here is entirely about our students. In the Environmental Science, Policy, and Sustainability department, we specialize in working with undergraduate students, and doing so in a very personal and individual way.
We know our students. We work with them on a daily basis. We have tables and workspaces across the hall from the faculty offices; they walk across the hall to talk with us鈥.and we walk across the hall to talk with them. Our department has a long history of (and takes great pride in) personal attention to our students 鈥 who they are, where they come from, and what they wish to accomplish. This attention extends beyond our majors. We鈥檙e recognized annually as one of the best departments on campus for assisting students with disabilities.
This commitment to our students extends to our research efforts. Most research activities in the department involve our students, normally with the student having a leading role in her/his particular research project, and including a lead position on publications and presentations.
Our focus on students, in combination with the natural setting of southern Oregon 鈥 the rivers, lakes, valleys, mountains (both the Cascades and the Klamaths), and the incredible southern Oregon coast 鈥 is a dream for field-based study in the natural sciences.
ESP Majors have opportunities to participate in international exchange programs to environmentally significant areas, including:
Environmental Science, Policy, and Sustainability Program
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.552.6802
鈥 Questions About Environmental Science? 鈥