Expand mobile version menu

Environmental Science

Interviews

Insider Info

What to Expect

While environmental science students do spend a fair amount of time in the lab and in the field, they should also be prepared to do some writing.

Students working towards an environment-related career should be good at multi-tasking. Their post-secondary program will have them working in the lab and field, and writing a fair share of papers. Since the required studies are multidisciplinary, students will be taking classes from departments all over campus.

Environmental science students usually take a combination of the earth sciences: physics, geology, geography, meteorology, mathematics, chemistry and biology. Computer science classes are also common. In the larger picture, a diverse range of courses gives students the tools to develop scientific solutions to the earth's problems.

Environmental studies programs, on the other hand, look at ways humans interact with the environment. Students concentrate on political, social, economic, legal, cultural and ethical factors related to the environment. They also learn about the scientific basics of environmental issues.

Derreck Seidler is an environmental studies student. After graduation, he hopes to become a policy advisor in the government or a green consultant in the private sector. His ambition is to help develop a more sustainable way of building our homes and cities.

Seidler enjoys the interdisciplinary approach of the environment program. "It pulls courses from different departments, allowing for a very unique experience in education not common in other faculties," he says.

Arushi Sharma is an environmental studies student at the University of Pennsylvania. She wants to pursue public policy and law. "I'd like to work for international agencies dealing in environmental policymaking, human rights and development," she says.

As a student of environmental studies, Sharma is majoring in economics and international relations and minoring in organizations and environmental management. "I think about the same issue from three different angles, all of which are equally relevant," she says.

Financial, human and environmental impacts all factor into her education. "This minor really helps me understand the triple bottom line -- humans, the environment, and interactions between them."

Sharma's classes range from environmental risk analysis in engineering to environmental politics and law. Taking such varied classes means a lot of study time. Seidler studies about three to six hours a week for each course.

"Outside of classes, I spend about five to 11 hours per day [studying]. That's actually much less than the time spent by many of my peers," Sharma says.

Textbooks can be expensive, especially for science classes. You can save a lot of money by buying books used or from online bookstores.

How to Prepare

Sharma advises that fundamental skills will help you out in college more than subject knowledge in a specific field.

"Take part in classes that involve analytical thinking, math, voicing different opinions, dealing with heavy material in short amounts of time, writing research papers. In activities, look for things where you have leadership, not just a member role," she advises.

There may be science prerequisites necessary to enter programs, so check admission requirements carefully.

"Almost any interest can be developed [in] the environmental faculty, so bring what interests you the most and find your niche in the program," says Seidler.

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

Support