2019-2020 USC Lancaster Bulletin
Environmental Science, BS
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Learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate their knowledge of fundamental concepts in environmental sciences.
- When presented with a scientific question or hypothesis, students will be able to form an appropriate research plan and identify sources of error in the resulting data or analyses.
- Students will demonstrate strong analytical writing skills.
- Students will demonstrate strong oral communication skills.
Admission, Progression and Transfer Standards
- Any student applying for transfer to the environmental science major from other programs within the University, or from accredited colleges and universities, is required to have a minimum grade point average of 2.80 on a 4.00 scale.
- Environmental Science majors may enroll in an environmental science course a maximum of two times to earn the required grade of C or higher. For the purposes of this standard of progression, withdrawal with a W does not constitute enrollment.
Special Opportunities
The major endorses the use of independent study courses to further students’ intellectual pursuits in alternative ways. Before students may register for an independent study course, they must submit a completed independent study contract which has been approved by the major advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. (No student may apply more than 6 hours of independent study credits toward the degree). A grade-point average of 2.5 or greater is required to enroll in independent study courses.
Major Map
A major map is a layout of required courses in a given program of study, including critical courses and suggested course sequences to ensure a clear path to graduation.
Major maps are only a suggested or recommended sequence of courses required in a program of study. Please contact your academic advisor for assistance in the application of specific coursework to a program of study and course selection and planning for upcoming semesters.
Environmental Science, BS
Degree Requirements (128 hours)
Program of Study
- Carolina Core (34-46 hours)
- College Requirements (15-18 hours)
- Program Requirements (28-45 hours)
- Major Requirements (34-36 hours)
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1. Carolina Core (34-46 hours)
Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written — CMW (6 hours)
must be passed with a grade of C or higher
Analytical Reasoning and Problem Solving — ARP (8 hours)
Scientific Literacy — SCI (8 hours)
Note: Must take either both BIOL or both MSCI.
Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language — GFL (0-6 hours)
Demonstration of proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the minimal passing grade on the exit examination in the 122 course is required. Students can demonstrate this proficiency by successfully completing Phase II of the Proficiency Test or by successfully completing the 122 course, including the exit exam administered as part of that course.
It is strongly recommended that students continuing the study of a foreign language begin college-level study of that language in their first semester and continue in that language until their particular foreign language requirement is completed.
Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Historical Thinking — GHS (3 hours)
Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Social Sciences — GSS (3 hours)
Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding — AIU (3 hours)
Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component* — CMS (0-3 hours)
- any overlay or stand-alone CC-CMS course
Information Literacy* — INF (0-3 hours)
Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility* — VSR (0-3 hours)
- fulfilled through POLI 201 , an overlay course with GSS
*Carolina Core Stand Alone or Overlay Eligible Requirements — Overlay-approved courses offer students the option of meeting two Carolina Core components in a single course. A maximum of two overlays is allowed. The total Carolina Core credit hours must add up to a minimum of 31 hours. Some programs may have a higher number of minimum Carolina Core hours due to specified requirements.
2. College Requirements (15-18 hours)
Foreign Language (0-3 hours)
- only if needed to meet 122-level proficiency
Analytical Reasoning (6 hours)
must be passed with a grade of C or higher
History (3 hours)
The College of Arts and Sciences requires one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History course. Whichever is not fulfilled through the Carolina Core GHS requirement must be fulfilled through this college requirement. Accordingly, please select one of the following:
- One Carolina Core GHS-approved course primarily focused on U.S. History: HIST 111 , 112 , 214 , or another GHS-approved course determined by the College of Arts and Science to fit this geographic category.
OR
- One Carolina Core GHS-approved course primarily focused on non-U.S. History: HIST 101 , 102 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 108 , 109 , GERM 280 , FAMS 300 , or another GHS-approved course determined by the College of Arts and Sciences to fit this geographic category.
Social Science (3 hours)
Select one of the following:
Fine Arts or Humanities (3 hours)
Select one of the following:
- ENVR 322 - Environmental Ethics
- PHIL 312 - Classical Origins of Western Medical Ethics
- PHIL 320 - Ethics
- PHIL 321 - Medical Ethics
- PHIL 322 - Environmental Ethics
- PHIL 323 - Ethics of Science and Technology
- PHIL 324 - Business Ethics
- PHIL 325 - Engineering Ethics
- PHIL 360 - History and Philosophy of Science
- PHIL 514 - Ethical Theory
- PHIL 550 - Health Care Ethics
3. Program Requirements (28-45 hours)
Supporting Courses (27 hours)
*Pre-major course that must be completed before taking major courses.
Minor (18 hours) optional
A student in the Environmental Science major may choose a minor consisting of at least 18 credit hours of prescribed courses. (Some minors in the sciences require a minimum of 16 hours.) The subject area of the minor may be related to the major. Students pursuing interdisciplinary minors who wish to use courses in their major department for minor credit must petition the College Committee on Scholastic Standards and Petitions for permission to do so.
The minor is intended to develop a coherent basic preparation in a second area of study. Interdisciplinary minors can be designed with the approval of the assistant dean for academic affairs and advising.
Courses applied toward general education requirements cannot be counted toward the minor. No course may satisfy both major and minor requirements. All minor courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher. At least half of the courses in the minor must be completed in residence at the University.
A list of minor programs of study can be found at Programs A-Z .
Electives (1-18 hours)
No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences allows the use of the Pass-Fail option on elective courses. Further clarification on inapplicable courses can be obtained from the College of Arts and Sciences.
4. Major Requirements (34-36 hours)
A minimum grade of C is required in all major courses.
Major Courses (17-18 hours)
All majors must complete at least 34-36 hours of approved courses which must include the core requirements of 17-18 hours. Majors must complete 17-18 additional hours in major elective courses to bring them to the required 34-36 hours total. Students are required to develop a program of study in consultation with their advisor. A minimum grade of C is required for all courses used to fulfill major requirements. Any modifications to the program of study require the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
- BIOL 301 - Ecology and Evolution & 301L
- ENVR 590 - Environmental Issues Seminar
- Select 3 of the following 4 courses (10-11 hours)
- ECIV 350 - Introduction to Environmental Engineering
- ENHS 660 - Concepts of Environmental Health Science
- GEOG 202 - Weather and Climate
- GEOL 315 - Surface and Near Surface Processes
Major Electives (17-18 hours)
Students, in consultation with their assigned advisor, must develop a program of study which either provides a broad set environmental science courses or allows students to focus in a defined area. Given the current course offerings and faculty expertise at the University, if a student wanted to focus their elective course work, possible areas include: Natural Systems, Climate and Weather, Water Resources, Energy, or Humans and the Environment. All Students’ selective courses should include at least 6 hours taken at the 400 level or above. All courses may be selected from ENVR designator classes, but if not ENVR classes, then no more than 3 should be from a single discipline and no more than one Research Methods course.
Courses Acceptable for Major Credit:
From the Environment and Sustainability Program:
- ENVR 321 - Environmental Pollution and Health
- ENVR 323 - Global Environmental Health
- ENVR 331 - Integrating Sustainability
- ENVR 352 - Energy, Society and Sustainability
- ENVR 399 - Independent Study
- ENVR 460 - Congaree National Park: Field Investigations in Environmental Science
- ENVR 490 - Special Topics in Sustainability and the Environment
- ENVR 499 - Research in Environmental Science
- ENVR 500 - Environmental Practicum
- ENVR 501 - Special Topics in the Environment
- ENVR 531 - Sustainability Management and Leadership Strategies
- ENVR 548 - Environmental Economics
- ENVR 571 - Conservation Biology
- ENVR 572 - Freshwater Ecology
From the Life Sciences:
From the Earth and Marine Sciences:
- GEOL 302 - Rocks and Minerals
- GEOL 305 - Earth Systems through Time
- GEOL 315 - Surface and Near Surface Processes
- GEOL 335 - Processes of Global Environmental Change
- GEOL 371 - A View of the River
- GEOL 524 - Environmental Radioisotope Geochemistry
- GEOL 548 - Environmental Geophysics
- GEOL 557 - Coastal Processes
- GEOL 560 - Earth Resource Management
- GEOL 570 - Environmental Hydrogeology
- GEOL 571 - Soil Hydrology
- GEOL 575 - Numerical Modeling for Earth Science Applications
- GEOL 581 - Estuarine Oceanography
- Other GEOL courses may be selected as approved by student’s advisor
- MSCI 305 - Ocean Data Analysis
- MSCI 311 - Biology of Marine Organisms
- MSCI 313 - The Chemistry of the Sea
- MSCI 450 - Principles of Biological Oceanography
- MSCI 521 - Introduction to Geochemistry
- MSCI 552 - Population Genetics
- MSCI 566 - Ecosystem Analysis
- MSCI 575 - Marine Ecology
- MSCI 579 - Air-Sea Interaction
- MSCI 582 - Marine Hydrodynamics
From the Geographical Sciences:
- GEOG 202 - Weather and Climate
- GEOG 343 - Environment and Society
- GEOG 346 - Climate and Society
- GEOG 347 - Water as a Resource
- GEOG 348 - Biogeography
- GEOG 349 - Cartographic Animation
- GEOG 360 - Geography of Wind
- GEOG 363 - Geographic Information Systems
- GEOG 365 - Hurricanes and Tropical Climatology
- GEOG 371 - Air Pollution Climatology
- GEOG 530 - Environmental Hazards
- GEOG 545 - Synoptic Meteorology
- GEOG 546 - Applied Climatology
- GEOG 547 - Fluvial Geomorphology
- GEOG 549 - Water and Watersheds
- GEOG 551 - Principles of Remote Sensing
- GEOG 554 - Spatial Programming
- GEOG 562 - Satellite Mapping and the Global Positioning System
- GEOG 563 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems
- GEOG 564 - GIS-Based Modeling
- GEOG 567 - Long-Term Environmental Change
- GEOG 568 - Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
- GEOG 569 - International Development and the Environment
- GEOG 570 - Geography of Public Land and Water Policy
- GEOG 571 - Microclimatology
- GEOG 573 - Climatic Change and Variability
- GEOG 575 - Digital Techniques and Applications in Remote Sensing
- Other GEOG courses may be selected as approved by the student’s advisor
From Mathematics, Statistics, and Engineering:
- CSCE 206 - Scientific Applications Programming
- CSCE 567 - Visualization Tools
- ECHE 300 - Chemical Process Principles
- ECHE 310 - Introductory Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
- ECHE 311 - Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
- ECHE 567 - Process Safety, Health, and Loss Prevention
- ECHE 573 - Next Energy
- ECHE 589 - Special Advanced Topics in Chemical Engineering
- ECIV 350 - Introduction to Environmental Engineering
- ECIV 350L - Introduction to Environmental Engineering Laboratory
- ECIV 362 - Introduction to Water Resources Engineering
- ECIV 405 - Systems Applications in Civil Engineering
- ECIV 551 - Elements of Water and Wastewater Treatment
- ECIV 555 - Principles of Municipal Solid Waste Engineering
- ECIV 556 - Air Pollution Control Engineering
- ECIV 557 - Sustainable Construction for Engineers
- ECIV 558 - Environmental Engineering Process Modeling
- ECIV 560 - Open Channel Hydraulics
- ECIV 562 - Engineering Hydrology
- ECIV 563 - Subsurface Hydrology
- ECIV 570 - Land Development for Engineers
- EMCH 290 - Thermodynamic Fundamentals
- EMCH 529 - Sustainable Design and Development
- EMCH 553 - Nuclear Fuel Cycles
- EMCH 592 - Introduction to Combustion
- EMCH 594 - Solar Heating
- EMCH 597 - Thermal Environmental Engineering
- ENCP 290 - Thermodynamic Fundamentals
- ENCP 540 - Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing
- MATH 241 - Vector Calculus
- MATH 242 - Elementary Differential Equations
- MATH 523 - Mathematical Modeling of Population Biology
- STAT 516 - Statistical Methods II
- STAT 518 - Nonparametric Statistical Methods
- STAT 520 - Forecasting and Time Series
- STAT 528 - Environmental Statistics
- STAT 540 - Computing in Statistics
From the Health Sciences:
- ENHS 321 - Environmental Pollution and Health
- ENHS 660 - Concepts of Environmental Health Science
- ENHS 665 - Biofilms in Environmental Health and Disease
- ENHS 670 - Environmental Pollutants and Human Health
Research Methods Courses
Not required, but if selected, only one of these three may be taken for credit towards the major.
- CSCE 145 - Algorithmic Design I
- ECIV 111 - Introduction to Engineering Graphics and Visualization
- EMCH 111 - Introduction to Engineering Graphics and Visualization
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