ENV 150. Environmental Issues. (3 h)

Topics include environmental literature, environmental history, human populations, resource management, pollution, global change, environmental activism and environmental ethics. (EI, POR)

ENV 160. Environmental Challenges: A Public Health Crisis. (3 h)

Examines how environmental challenges are systemically embedded in economic, social, and political systems that create and reproduce environmental degradation and harm, and how they contribute to health disparities impacting vulnerable communities.

ENV 163. Introduction to Environmental Ethics. (3 h)

An examination of ethical issues concerning the environment as they arise in individual lives and public policy. (D)

ENV 214. Atlantic History to 1800: Science, Empire, and Environment. (3 h)

Explores the ways in which western science and empire developed in tandem to control natural resources in the Americas, Africa, and Europe until 1800. (SWC)

ENV 215. Atlantic History from 1800: Science, Empire, Environment. (3 h)

Inquiry into the ways in which colonialism and the practices of western science have shaped social, political, and terrestrial landscapes in the Americas, Africa, and Europe from 1800.

ENV 220. Introduction to Earth Science. (3 h)

Explores Earth’s origin and history as well as the internal and external forces and processes that shape the planet. Emphasis on plate tectonics, natural hazards, Earth materials, the hydrosphere, climate, and deep time.

ENV 220L. Introduction to Earth Science Lab. (1 h)

Laboratory complement to ENV 220. Provides an opportunity to work with rock and mineral samples, analyze maps, experiment with models, and collect and synthesize geologic data. Includes local field trips. C-ENV 220.

ENV 225. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). (3 h)

Introduces the concepts and use of GIS as a digital mapping and analytical tool with emphasis on environmental applications in modeling, global change, sociodemographic change, site suitability analysis, and restoration. C-ENV 225L. Students may not receive credit for both BIO 379 and ENV 225. (QDA)

ENV 225L. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Lab. (1 h)

C-ENV 225.

ENV 240. Introduction to Remote Sensing. (3 h)

Introduces the principles and applications of remote sensing. Covers the history and evolution of remote sensing, satellite and drone technology, image acquisition and interpretation, and data analysis for human, terrestrial, and aquatic applications. Lab included. (QDA)

ENV 245. Leadership for Sustainability. (3 h)

Develops knowledge and practice for effective change agency. Students articulate their own emerging leadership perspectives, create fundamental elements of a peer education and/or outreach campaign, and identify a range of locally appropriate solutions to systemic problems contributing to global climate change. (EI)

ENV 248. Film and Video Art: Ecological Works. (4 h)

Continues the historical, aesthetic, and technical exploration of contemporary video art and filmmaking in a fine art context. Students will create projects that engage with a local ecological issue. P- ART 114 or prerequisite override required. (EI)

ENV 260. Wilderness, the Anthropocene, and Global Sustainability. (3 h)

Intensive, writing-centered, experiential field course focusing on the relationships between humans and the natural world in the context of sustainability issues. Field components of the course take place in Alaska. P-Prerequisite override required.

ENV 275. Global Environmental Narratives. (3 h)

Exploration of environmental communication strategies used globally and curation of stories for public audiences. Also listed as COM 276.

ENV 280. Water Resources. (3 h)

Examines the quality and quantity of local, national, and global water resources. Topics include hydrology, flooding, and water scarcity, pollution, usage, policy, and management. Emphasizes Yadkin River basin, including how the region’s history influences local water systems and the communities that depend on them.

ENV 290. Field Skills for Environmental Solutions. (3 h)

Exploration and application of various methods and techniques for collecting environmental data. Combines outdoor field experiences with data analysis and interpretation.

ENV 301. Topics in Environmental Studies. (1-4 h)

Seminar and/or lecture courses in selected topics, some involving laboratory instruction. May be repeated if the course title differs.

ENV 302. Topics in Environmental Studies. (1-4 h)

Seminar and/or lecture courses in selected topics, some involving laboratory instruction. May be repeated if the course title differs.

ENV 303. Topics in Environmental Studies. (1-4 h)

Seminar and/or lecture courses in selected topics, some involving laboratory instruction. May be repeated if the course title differs.

ENV 304. Topics in Environmental Studies. (1-4 h)

Seminar and/or lecture courses in selected topics, some involving laboratory instruction. May be repeated if the course title differs.

ENV 305. Topics in Environmental Studies. (1-4 h)

Seminar and/or lecture courses in selected topics, some involving laboratory instruction. May be repeated if the course title differs.

ENV 306. Topics in Environmental Studies. (1-4 h)

Seminar and/or lecture courses in selected topics, some involving laboratory instruction. May be repeated if the course title differs.

ENV 310. Methods for Environmental Community Collaboration and Justice. (3 h)

Provides approaches and experiential learning on how to work with communities on socio-environmental issues. Draws from social justice work, participatory action research, citizen science, Indigenous methods, and anticolonial activism to build collaboration with community partners and cultivate a more equitable society.

ENV 312. Plants of Empire: Power and Pleasure. (3 h)

Study of the social, cultural, and political meaning of plants grown to finance and maintain empires since 1500. Includes analysis of both production and use of plant products like sugar, coffee, and opium. (POR)

ENV 320. Earth’s Dynamic Surface. (3 h)

Investigation into the formation and evolution of Earth’s landscapes. Major themes are mountains, rivers, coasts, and glaciers. Course activities include digital and field-based data collection and analysis. P-ENV 220.

ENV 322. Environmental Solutions. (3 h)

Learn how to improve our environment by identifying and exploring innovative environmental solutions. Counts towards Environmental Minor requirements.

ENV 325. Contemporary Environmental Writing. (3 h)

Study and practice of various modes of contemporary nature and environmental writing. Examines the innovations, rhetorical techniques, and representational practices of modern environmental writers with particular emphasis on efforts to grapple with climate change and ecological crises. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111 or POI. Also listed as WRI 325.

ENV 341. Economics of the Environment. (3 h)

Introduces environmental economics both in theory and in practice. The efficiency of policy instruments to deal with market failures, non-market valuation methods, and estimation of climate change/pollution effects will be addressed. P- ECN 205 or 210; and ECN 209 or 215. (D)

ENV 345. Advanced Remote Sensing. (3 h)

Focuses on advanced principles, methods, and applications of remote sensing. Emphasis includes image processing, multispectral and hyperspectral analysis, LiDAR, radar, and emerging satellite, drone, and AI technologies. Applied projects provide hands-on experience in data integration, modeling, and interpretation of remote sensing data.

ENV 355. Circular Economy and Environmental Business. (3 h)

The circular economy seeks a world where nothing goes to waste, where products, materials, and systems are regeneratively and sustainably designed. This course introduces those principles and explores circular design by interacting with business leaders for sustainable solutions that enhance well-being and reduce environmental impacts.

ENV 359. Environmental Ethics. (3 h)

An advanced exploration of ethical principles and their application to environmental sustainability, preparing participants to navigate ecological issues with effective strategies for ethical decision-making. Also listed as ENV 305. PHI 359. P-one course in PHI.

ENV 360. Climate Change. (3 h)

Explores the socio-ecology of climate change, pursuing the topic through the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Includes how to affect change and climate justice. (EI)

ENV 361. Career Development Workshop. (1 h)

Explores environment and sustainability careers, including private firms, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations. Guest speakers will address topics from office practice and structure to core skills and necessary credentials. Students will refine their application materials and portfolios for their professional context and post-graduation careers.

ENV 365. People and Ecology. (3 h)

Builds theoretical and applied knowledge about complex socio-ecological systems and climate change. Topics include collaborative science and knowledge co-production, nature-based solutions, just transitions on climate, planetary and human health, and transforming food systems through decarbonization. Student projects will use scientific communication for sustainable futures. C-ENV 365L.

ENV 365L. People and Ecology Lab. (1 h)

C- ENV 365.

ENV 372. Environmental Communication: Risk & Crisis. (3 h)

Explores scholarship and practice of environmental risk and crisis communication for attitude and behavior change. Applies theory to strategic environmental risk and crisis communication plans for community organizations.

ENV 380. Cultivating Food Justice. (3 h)

Explores how global and local pressures on land and food systems affect local experiences of food access, sovereignty and justice, and impact local agroecosystems. Emphasis on community engagement and experiential learning.

ENV 390. Ethnoecology. (3 h)

Surveys the complex interrelationships of people and plants throughout space and time. Uses experiential and embodied approaches to learning about plants in landscapes and labs. (POR, SWC)

ENV 390L. Ethnoecology Lab. (1 h)

C- ENV 390.

ENV 391. Individual Study. (1-4 h)

A field study, internship, project or research investigation carried out under the supervision of a member of the environmental program faculty. Pass/fail or for a grade at the discretion of the instructor. Pass/fail is not an option if used as an elective for the environmental science or environmental studies minor. May be repeated for credit.

ENV 394. Environmental Internship. (1-4 h)

Supervised internships with governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations and businesses. P-Prerequisite override required.

ENV 395. Sustainability Lab/Clinic. (4 h)

Focuses on practical solutions to sustainability problems, and includes the use of makerspace, the fabrication lab, and the visualization lab.