Students admitted to the Environmental Science program can elect to focus their studies on an ecological area of the discipline through the Freshwater & Terrestrial Ecology major. The Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecology emphasis has the same prerequisites and the same required areas and credit requirements as the broader Environmental Science major. The Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecology emphasis is accomplished by selecting from courses that have been approved to meet the requirements for this major. These courses serve to fulfill the credit requirements in the four general areas that are part of all the Environmental Science majors: a capstone course, two lecture-lab combinations, an environmental applications experience, and any additional credits needed to fulfill the total credit requirement. The courses that can be applied to the Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecology emphasis have been selected because they are relevant to meet the needs for a career and for graduate study that engages with freshwater and terrestrial ecology.
Students wishing to complete the Environmental Science Freshwater & Terrestrial Ecology major in four years should complete the general chemistry series and the general biology series during their freshman and sophomore years. Prospective environmental science majors are strongly advised to take additional preparatory courses that provide a strong background in chemistry, biology and mathematics. The preparatory courses are listed with the major; preparatory classes may also be used to fulfill GURs. All preparatory courses required for admission should be completed on a lettered or numeric grading scale, not P/NP, and must be completed with a grade of C- or better.