1. Carolina Core (32-44 hours)

Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written — CMW (6 hours)

must be passed with a grade of C or higher and completed in the first 60 hours

• any CC-CMW courses

Analytical Reasoning and Problem Solving — ARP (6-8 hours) 

• MATH 122 - Calculus for Business Administration and Social Sciences  OR MATH 141 - Calculus I   
• STAT 201 - Elementary Statistics  OR STAT 205 - Elementary Statistics for the Biological and Life Sciences  (Students may also take STAT 509  or STAT 515  to fulfill the statistics requirement, but would be required to complete an approved Carolina Core ARP course to fulfill the second ARP requirement.)

Scientific Literacy — SCI (8 hours)

• BIOL 101 - Biological Principles I  & 101L  OR MSCI 101 - The Ocean Environment  
• BIOL 102 - Biological Principles II  & 102L  OR MSCI 102 - The Living Ocean   

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.

• CC-GFL courses

​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) 

• any CC-GHS course

Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Social Sciences — GSS (3 hours) 

• POLI 201 - American National Government  

Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding —  AIU (3 hours)

• any CC-AIU course

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)

• any overlay or stand-alone CC-INF course

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

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 and Fine Arts or Humanities (12 hours)

Select one (3 hours of Social Science) from:

• ECON 221 - Principles of Microeconomics  
• ECON 223 - Introduction to Economics   
• ECON 224 - Introduction to Economics  

Select 9 hours of Fine Arts or Humanities from:

• Courses Acceptable for Social Science and Fine Arts or Humanities Credit in Degree Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences  

3. Program Requirements (21-37 hours)

Supporting Courses (7-8 hours)

• CHEM 111 - General Chemistry I  & 111L 
• Select one (3-4 hours): 
  • ENVR 101 - Introduction to the Environment  & 101L  
  • GEOL 101 - Introduction to the Earth  
  • GEOL 103 - Environment of the Earth  
  • GEOL 201 - Observing the Earth  

Minor (18 hours) optional

A student in the Environmental Studies 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 (13-30 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 (36-37 hours)

a minimum grade of C is required in all major courses

Major Courses (27 hours)

All majors must complete at least 36-37 hours of approved courses, including the core requirements of 27 hours. Majors must complete enough additional hours from the selected courses to bring them to the required 36-37 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.

* Please see current University of South Carolina undergraduate course catalog for information about prerequisites required to enroll in many of these courses.

• ENVR 201 - Environmental Science and Policy I  
• ENVR 202 - Environmental Science and Policy II  
• ENVR 590 - Environmental Issues Seminar   
• BIOL 301 - Ecology and Evolution  & 301L  
• Select 4 of the following 6 options (12 hours):
  • ENVR 548 - Environmental Economics /ECON 548  OR ECON 509 - Economics of Sustainable Development  
  • ENGL 434 - Environmental Literature  
  • GEOG 343 - Environment and Society 
  • HIST 360 - Into the Wild: Global Conservation since 1800  OR HIST 448 - American Environmental History  
  • PHIL 322 - Environmental Ethics /ENVR 322  
  • POLI 477 - Green Politics  OR POLI 478 - Environmental Policy  

Major Electives (9-10 hours)

Students, in consultation with their advisor, will develop a program of study to meet their educational goals in environmental studies courses. All courses may be selected from the ENVR courses below, but if not ENVR courses, then no more than 2 courses should be selected from a single discipline. The list of courses from which students may select their additional 9-10 hours, in consultation with their advisor, includes:

ENVR courses:

• ENVR 231 - Introduction to Sustainability Management and Leadership  
• ENVR 295 - Green Technology in Germany   
• ENVR 321 - Environmental Pollution and Health  
• ENVR 322 - Environmental Ethics   
• 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  

Other courses:

• ANTH 208 - Anthropology of Globalization and Development  
• ANTH 212 - Food and Culture  
• ANTH 213 - Ethnobotany: Plants and Peoples  
• ANTH 513 - Anthropological Ethnobotany  
• ANTH 525 - Ethnoecology  
• ANTH 569 - International Development and the Environment  
• BIOL 524 - Mycology  
• BIOL 525 - Marine Plants  
• BIOL 526 - The Fall Flora  
• BIOL 527 - The Spring Flora  
• BIOL 528 - The Summer Flora  
• BIOL 534 - Animal Behavior  
• BIOL 536 - Ichthyology  
• BIOL 570 - Principles of Ecology  
• BIOL 575 - Marine Ecology  
• ECON 500 - Urban Economics  
• ECON 508 - Law and Economics  
• ECON 509 - Economics of Sustainable Development  
• ECON 548 - Environmental Economics  
• ECON 594 - Introduction to Econometrics  
• EMCH 529 - Sustainable Design and Development  
• ENGL 434 - Environmental Literature  
• ENGL 462 - Technical Writing  
• ENHS 492 - Special Topics in Environmental Health Sciences  
• ENHS 555 - Conservation and Health in Marine Systems  
• ENHS 592 - Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Health  
• ENHS 660 - Concepts of Environmental Health Science  
• ENHS 670 - Environmental Pollutants and Human Health  
• GEOG 202 - Weather and Climate  
• GEOG 321 - Sustainable Cities  
• GEOG 324 - Landscapes of the United States  
• GEOG 330 - The Geography of Disasters  
• GEOG 341 - Cartography  
• GEOG 343 - Environment and Society  
• GEOG 345 - Interpretation of Aerial Photographs  
• GEOG 346 - Climate and Society  
• GEOG 347 - Water as a Resource  
• GEOG 348 - Biogeography  
• GEOG 360 - Geography of Wind  
• GEOG 363 - Geographic Information Systems  
• GEOG 511 - Planning and Locational Analysis  
• GEOG 516 - Coastal Zone Management  
• GEOG 521 - Landscapes of South Carolina  
• GEOG 530 - Environmental Hazards  
• GEOG 541 - Advanced Cartography  
• GEOG 549 - Water and Watersheds  
• GEOG 563 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems  
• GEOG 564 - GIS-Based Modeling  
• GEOG 566 - Social Aspects of Environmental Planning and Management  
• 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 573 - Climatic Change and Variability  
• GEOL 302 - Rocks and Minerals  
• GEOL 315 - Surface and Near Surface Processes  
• GEOL 335 - Processes of Global Environmental Change  
• GEOL 371 - A View of the River  
• GEOL 520 - Isotope Geology and Geochronology  
• GEOL 560 - Earth Resource Management  
• GERM 295 - Green Technology in Germany 
• HIST 360 - Into the Wild: Global Conservation since 1800  
• HIST 448 - American Environmental History  
• HRTM 383 - Ecotourism  
• HRTM 428 - Sustainable Foodservice Systems  
• HRTM 482 - Sustainable Tourism Planning and Policy  
• HRTM 485 - Sustainable Tourism  
• JOUR 205 - History and Philosophy of the Mass Media  
• JOUR 303 - Law and Ethics of Mass Communications  
• JOUR 306 - Theories of Mass Communications  
• JOUR 311 - Minorities, Women, and the Mass Media  
• JOUR 501 - Freedom, Responsibility, and Ethics of the Mass Media  
• JOUR 506 - Mass Media Criticism  
• JOUR 540 - Magazine Article Writing  
• JOUR 542 - Public Opinion and Persuasion  
• JOUR 562 - Communicating Science, Health and the Environment  
• JOUR 571 - Faith, Values, and the Mass Media  
• MART 321 - Media Writing  
• MART 371 - The Moving Image  
• MART 380 - New Media Art  
• MSCI 311 - Biology of Marine Organisms  
• MSCI 390 - Policy and Marine Science  
• 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 535 - Ecofeminism  
• POLI 365 - State Government  
• POLI 368 - Interest Groups and Social Movements  
• POLI 370 - Introduction to Public Administration  
• POLI 373 - Regulatory Policies  
• POLI 374 - Public Policy  
• POLI 431 - Science, Technology, and Public Policy  
• POLI 452 - The Judicial Process  
• POLI 462 - The Legislative Process  
• POLI 463 - The American Chief Executive  
• POLI 465 - Psychology and Politics  
• POLI 470 - Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations  
• POLI 477 - Green Politics  
• POLI 478 - Environmental Policy  
• PSYC 487 - Community Psychology  
• SOCY 308 - Community Organization  
• SOCY 310 - Social Demography  
• SOCY 311 - Ecology of Human Social Systems  
• SOCY 315 - Global Population Issues  
• SOCY 514 - Urbanization  
• SPCH 331 - Organizational Communication  
• SPCH 380 - Persuasive Communication  
• SPCH 464 - Speechwriting