Do you love the natural world but also love thinking about culture, people, politics, media, economics, history, literature, art, and identity? Do you want to save the planet and also make the world a more equitable place for all its inhabitants? Do you want to develop a wide range of skills to address the world’s most pressing environmental and social dilemmas? Consider an interdisciplinary Environmental Studies degree at Cal Poly Humboldt.
The Environmental Studies major provides students with tools for understanding the complex relationships between human communities and both “natural” and built environments. The program cultivates critical analysis of environmental problems using tools from a variety of disciplines, helps students analyze environmental messages and communicate them effectively, and enables them to act as informed citizens and professionals. This requires knowledge of earth systems science as well as human systems, informed by careful reflection upon ethical concerns and societal values. Students tailor their focus in the degree by choosing a suite of applied courses in one of the “emphasis area” options: Ecology and Conservation Science, Geospatial Analysis, Media Production, Community Organizing, or Appropriate Technology.