By Tiffany Whitfield
The Earth is a complicated system that is being impacted by human activities in unprecedented ways. To better prepare future scientists to understand our effect on the planet, the Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences (OES) at 51情报站 created a new track in Environmental Sciences.
The Environmental Sciences concentration is designed to target students broadly interested in earth and environmental sciences. "Students pursuing the Environmental Sciences concentration take courses that weave in and out of geology, biology, chemistry, physics, and oceanography, showing their interconnectedness, and showcasing the Earth as a system," said Dreux Chappell, associate professor and associate chair of OES. "This concentration improves the access to the OES major for students that are interested in studying the Earth system that our other concentrations were not serving," said Burdige. The track has enough flexibility to allow students the freedom to focus on the area that they find most compelling, but with enough structure to give them a solid background in basic sciences.
Importantly, the track also ensures that students graduate with marketable skills by requiring courses in geographic information science and data analysis. "The OES Department set about to develop the Environmental Sciences concentration to broaden the scope of our undergraduate program and allow greater flexibility for the varied interests of students electing to pursue our major," said David J. Burdige, OES professor and Eminent Scholar. Depending on their desired career paths, students in this concentration will be encouraged to consider the following options to enhance their marketability: the certificate program in spatial analysis of coastal environments; the Conservation Leadership interdisciplinary minor; and the Environmental Issues and Management Interdisciplinary Minor.
"Because the concentration is designed to ensure that students gain a solid background in basic sciences and important marketable skills, we anticipate that a number of job opportunities will be available for OES graduates that follow this concentration," said Chappell. Graduates of this concentration will be primed not only for scientific pursuits (including graduate studies) but could apply their skills to development and interpretation of public policy. Students interested in careers in local, state, and federal government agencies, environmental consulting firms, and NGOs are the target audience for this concentration.
It is important that a broader swath of the population gain a solid understanding of how the Earth system works, how human activities are altering the environment, and how societies can respond to mitigate environmental impacts. The goal of creating this track was to ensure that students have the scientific background to contribute to the conversation as citizens, researchers, and policy makers.
To learn more about the new OES track in Environmental Sciences contact David Burdige, OES professor and eminent scholar at dburdige@odu.edu.