Bachelor of Environmental Studies at University of Manitoba

Geoscience programs at Winona State University prepare students for a broad spectrum of careers and/or entry to graduate school through a discovery-based undergraduate curriculum rich with field and research opportunities. 

Geoscience graduates solve a broad range of environmental problems as consultants in both industry and government; they discover and manage our planet’s mineral and energy resources; they teach in our elementary schools, high schools and colleges; they work in museums and national parks; they practice environmental law and write for newspapers and magazines; they even explore other planets. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Geoscience is an interdisciplinary field that connects with many other disciplines in virtually unlimited ways.

The Environmental Health Science Program is the appropriate choice for students who want to become health inspectors (i.e., registered environmental health specialists, REHS), industrial hygienists, hazardous waste control experts, air pollution control specialists, or vector control specialists. For those who plan on becoming registered environmental health specialists (REHS), this program is approved by the Environmental Health Specialist Registration Committee of the California Department of Public Health.  Students who are certified by the Environmental Health Coordinator will have met the academic and experience requirements for admittance to the California Environmental Health Specialist Registration Examination. The program is also accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council, making its graduates eligible for job opportunities as environmental health officers in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Service.

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary B.A. degree program that examines interactions of human society and nature through approaches of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.  Courses introduce foundation principles of ecology and environmental science in relation to issues of policy, politics, law, economics, social aspects, planning, pollution control, and natural resources management.  Two degree concentrations are designed to prepare students for a broad field of environmental career pathways: Environmental Sustainability and Environmental Systems.  Upon successful completion of the Environmental Studies B.A. degree program, students who want further training may go to graduate school in the natural sciences, public administration, planning, environmental law, environmental health, or education.

The Environmental Studies B.A., Environmental Sustainability Concentration, focuses on the concept of sustainability from an interdisciplinary perspective. This concentration includes instruction in sustainable development, environmental policies, ethics, ecology, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, economics, natural resource issues, sociology, and anthropology.  Career pathways explored by this concentration include the work of government agencies and non-governmental organizations, natural resource planners and managers, environmental regulators, K-12 educators, and advocates. This concentration is recommended for students that want a broad and flexible liberal arts program that allows them follow diverse interests.

The Environmental Studies B.A., Environmental Systems Concentration, focuses on the application of biological, chemical, and physical principles to the study of environmental problems and solutions, including subjects such as abating or controlling environmental pollution and degradation; physical interactions between human society and the natural environment; and approaches to natural resources management. This concentration provides a science intensive background with instruction in biology, chemistry, physics, geosciences, environmental health, climatology, statistics, and mathematical modeling.  Career pathways explored by this concentration include the work of environmental specialists in consulting firms, governmental agencies that monitor and protect environmental quality, as well as in multiple fields of scientific research on human impacts to the environment.  This concentration is recommended for students preparing to pursue a graduate degree in the natural sciences, or preparing for an environmentally related technical career.