BS in Coastal Environmental Studies
The Coastal Environmental Studies major, leading to a Bachelor of Science degree, provides the skills, knowledge, and preparation for students to assess and address coastal environmental problems. The curriculum integrates principles and methodologies from physical sciences, natural sciences, and physical geography, combined with an understanding of environmental ethics, environmental policy, and environmental law.
The major prepares students for entry-level employment in the public, private, or non-profit sectors concerned with assessment, abatement, or regulation of a wide range of coastal environmental problems. The major prepares students for graduate study in environmental science, marine science, geoscience, environmental planning and related fields.
Coastal zones have always concentrated people and economic activities because of their natural resources and trading opportunities. Many of the world’s largest cities are on seacoasts and at the mouths of the great rivers. The development of coastal zones around the world has created an array of environmental problems and water and land resource issues, further complicated by the sea level rise.
The location of the Southampton campus, which provides access to the Shinnecock Bay, Peconic Estuary, Atlantic Ocean, and the Central Long Island Pine Barrens, as well as the presence of several groundwater wells and rare plant and tree species on campus allows for hands-on instruction in a range of relevant topics. Students will enroll in major-specific courses in their junior and senior year. As part of the degree requirements, students will work in teams with students enrolled in related majors to solve problems collaboratively. Students are encouraged to take advantage of independent research opportunities, internships, and field camps to gain real-world experience.
Requirements
(NOTE: Click on the course number for a full description)
A: Foundation Courses (34-35 credits)
MAT 125/126/127-C or MAT 131/132-C Calculus (8-9 credits)
CHE 131-E/133 General Chemistry
SBC 111 Introduction to Sustainability Studies
SBC 113-E/114 Physical Geography (4 credits)
SBC 201 Systems and Models (1 credit)
SBC 205 Introduction to Geospatial Analysis (1 credit)
BIO 201-E Fundamentals of Biology: Organisms to Ecosystems (3 credits)
BIO 204 Fundamentals of Scientific Inquiry in the Biological Sciences (2 credits)
ENS 119 Physics for Environmental Studies (4 credits)
B: Career Leadership Skills (6 credits)
CSK 102 Career Leadership Skills: Working in Teams (1 credit)
CSK 302 Technical Writing and Communication (3 credits)
Plus two from the following (1 credit each):
CSK 101 Career Leadership Skills: Advocacy and Change
CSK 103 Career Leadership Skills: Behavioral Decision Making
CSK 104 Career Leadership Skills: Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (1 credit)
CSK 105 Career Leadership Skills: Leadership
CSK 106 Career Leadership Skills: Communication Methods and Strategies
CSK 107 Career Leadership Skills: Assessment
CSK 108 Career Leadership Skills: Entrepreneurship
CSK 109 Career Leadership Skills: Forecasting & Planning
C: Core Courses (29 credits)
MAR 333-H Coastal Oceanography (3 credits)
ENV 315 Coastal Groundwater Hydrology (3 credits)
ENV 316 Coastal Zone Management (3 credits)
SBC 313 GIS Applications and Design (4 credits)
ENV 320/321 Chemistry for Environmental Scientists (4 credits)
As part of the Core Requirements students are required to select 9 credits from Group A and three credits from Group B:
- GROUP A: Environmental Studies Electives
BIO 351-H Ecology (3 credits)
BIO 352 Ecology Laboratory (3 credits)
EDP 305 Risk Assessment and Sustainable Development (3 credits)
ENV 304-H Global Environmental Change (3 credits)
ENV 340 Contemporary Topics in Environmental Science (3 credits)
ENV 317 Coastal Pond Algal Ecology (3 credits)
ENV 487 Research in Environmental Science (1-3 credits)
ENV 405 Field Camp (3-6 credits)
MAR 303 Long Island Marine Habitats (3 credits)
MAR 304-E Waves, Tides, and Beaches (3 credits)
MAR 315-H Conservation Biology and Marine Biodiversity (3 credits)
MAR 336 Marine Pollution (3 credits)
MAR 388 Tropical Marine Ecology (4 credits)
EHI 310 Restoration Ecology (3 credits)
ENS 380 Stony Brook in Tanzania: Lake Victoria Environment and Human Health (4 credits)
- GROUP B: Environment, Society and Policy
SBC 309 Global Environmental Politics (3 credits)
SUS 341-H Environmental Treatises and Protocols (3 credits)
SBC 307-K(4) Environmental History of North America (3 credits)
SUS 342-HEnergy and Mineral Resources (3 credits)
EHI 340 Ecological and Social Dimensions of Disease (3 credits)
(One of the following three-credit courses can be used as a substitute for any of the courses in Group B, but each of these courses below has a prerequisite outside the major.
SUS 301 Environmental Ethics
SUS 303 Demographic Change and Sustainability
EDP 301 The Bulit Environment
EDP 309 Planning, Policies, and Regulations
SBC 308-K American Environmental Politics
SBC 311-F Disasters and Society: A Global Perspective
SBC 312-F Environment, Society, and Health
SBC 330-G Extreme Events
D: Systems Course (3 credits)
One integrative, collaborative systems project course:
GEO 301 Sustainability of the Long Island Pine Barrens
SBC 401 Integrative, Collaborative Systems Project
With permission of the Program Director, a student is allowed to take SBC 488 Internship in lieu of a Systems Course
E: Upper Division Writing Requirement
Proficiency in writing, oral communication, and computer literacy will be encouraged in all students. In addition to CSK 302, these skills will be developed within the context of other formal coursework and no additional credits are required. To meet the upper-division writing requirement, students must submit two papers from any 300-level or 400-level course in the major to the Director of the SUS Undergraduate Program.