Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science
Website: https://twu.edu/sciences/
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary major offered through the School of the Sciences. The B.S. in Environmental Science provides broad training in multiple scientific disciplines, as well as technology and communication, to prepare students for a range of careers in the environmental sciences. The program also engages with community stakeholders through strong external partnerships that enrich students’ educational experiences and provide new pathways to employment in STEM fields following graduation.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Effectively communicate scientific and technical information to an interdisciplinary audience.
- Apply qualitative and quantitative research methods to scientific problems.
- Think critically about environmental problems and propose effective solutions.
Effective November 7, 2024: Correction to Degree Requirements - Students are only required to take 7 SCH of Elective coursework identified in the Major Requirements. Students are not required to take 30 SCH of Additional Electives.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 120
Major: 73 SCH; Required Minor: 18 SCH
Program Code: ENVSCIENCE.BS; CIP Code: 03.0104.00
Texas Core Curriculum
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | 3 |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Life & Physical Sciences | 6 | |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture | 3 | |
| Creative Arts | 3 | |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | 3 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | 3 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | 3 |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| CAO: Women's Studies | 3 | |
| CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 42 | |
Courses Required for Major
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 2113 & BIOL 2111 | Plant Biology and Plant Biology Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOL 4223 & BIOL 4221 | Ecology and Ecology Laboratory | 4 |
| CSCI 3373 | Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| ENG 3253 | Technical Writing | 3 |
| or BIOL 4293 | Scientific Communication | |
| ENVS 1213 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3 |
| ENVS 4933 | Capstone in Environmental Science | 3 |
| POLS 4813 | Seminar in Public Policy | 3 |
| SCI 2113 | Earth Science: Global Perspectives | 3 |
| SCI 3013 | Community Conversation in Sustainability | 3 |
| SCI 3033 | Water in a Changing Environment | 3 |
| SCI 3133 | Climate Change: A Human Perspective | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Choose 8 SCH from the following | 8 | |
| General Microbiology and General Microbiology Laboratory | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Undergraduate Research | ||
| Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | ||
| Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | ||
| Quantitative Chemical Analysis and Quantitative Chemical Analysis Laboratory | ||
| Biochemistry I and Biochemistry I Laboratory | ||
| Environmental Chemistry I and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory I | ||
| Special Topics (with advisor permission) | ||
| Undergraduate Research (with advisor permission) | ||
| Data Structures | ||
| Fundamentals of SAS Programming | ||
| Advanced Modeling and Visualization | ||
| Networking and Data Communication | ||
| Database Management | ||
| Data Warehousing | ||
| Foundations of Data Science | ||
| Big Data and High Performance Computing | ||
| Interface Design and Development | ||
| Machine Learning | ||
| Principles of Data Mining | ||
| Special Topics (with advisor permission) | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Environmental Health and Safety Education | ||
| Elementary Statistics II | ||
| Data Collection | ||
| Statistical Methods II | ||
| Statistical Methods III | ||
| Probability and Statistics | ||
| Computational Statistics | ||
| Special Topics (with advisor permission) | ||
| Ecology of Foods and Nutrition | ||
| Law, Politics, and Public Policy | ||
| Public Administration | ||
| Animal Behavior | ||
| Additional Electives | 30 | |
| Total SCHs | 73 | |
Departmental Requirements
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 1113 & BIOL 1111 | Principles of Biology I and Principles of Biology I Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOL 1123 & BIOL 1121 | Principles of Biology II and Principles of Biology II Laboratory | 4 |
| CSCI 2003 | Software Systems Design and Tools | 3 |
| or CSCI 2493 | Programming Fundamentals II | |
| MATH 1303 | College Algebra (may be applied from core) | 3 |
| or MATH 2014 | Calculus I | |
| MATH 1703 | Elementary Statistics I (may be applied from core) | 3 |
| Chemistry I Requirement | 4 | |
| General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Laboratory I | ||
| Principles of Chemistry I | ||
| Chemistry II Requirement | 4 | |
| General Chemistry II and General Chemistry Laboratory II | ||
| Principles of Chemistry II | ||
| Physics I Requirement | 4 | |
| Principles of Physics I and Principles of Physics Laboratory I | ||
| General Physics I | ||
| Total SCHs | 29 | |
Minor
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| Selected Minor | 18 | |
| Total SCHs | 18 | |
Recommended Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | TCCN | SCHs | |
| BIOL 1113 & BIOL 1111 | Principles of Biology I and Principles of Biology I Laboratory | BIOL 1406 & BIOL 1106 | 4 |
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | ENGL 1301 | 3 |
| ENVS 1213 | Introduction to Environmental Science | ENVR 1301 | 3 |
| MATH 1303 | College Algebra | MATH 1314 | 3 |
| UNIV 1231 | Learning Frameworks: the First-Year Seminar | EDUC 1100, EDUC 1200, EDUC 1300 | 1 |
| SCHs | 14 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| BIOL 1123 & BIOL 1121 | Principles of Biology II and Principles of Biology II Laboratory | BIOL 1407 & BIOL 1107 | 4 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
| MATH 1703 | Elementary Statistics I | MATH 1342 | 3 |
| SCI 2113 | Earth Science: Global Perspectives | GEOL 1401 | 3 |
| Elective | 2 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| BIOL 2113 & BIOL 2111 | Plant Biology and Plant Biology Laboratory | BIOL 1411 & BIOL 1111 | 4 |
| CHEM 1113 & CHEM 1111 | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Laboratory I | CHEM 1311 & CHEM 1111 | 4 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | GOVT 2305 | 3 |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core | 3 | ||
| Elective | 2 | ||
| SCHs | 16 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| BIOL 4223 & BIOL 4221 | Ecology and Ecology Laboratory | 4 | |
| CHEM 1123 & CHEM 1121 | General Chemistry II and General Chemistry Laboratory II | CHEM 1312 & CHEM 1112 | 4 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | GOVT 2306 | 3 |
| Creative Arts Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 14 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| CSCI 2003 | Software Systems Design and Tools | 3 | |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | HIST 1301 | 3 |
| SCI 3013 | Community Conversation in Sustainability | 3 | |
| Minor Elective | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| BIOL 4293 | Scientific Communication | 3 | |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | HIST 1302 | 3 |
| SCI 3033 | Water in a Changing Environment | 3 | |
| Multicultural Women's Studies CAO Core | 3 | ||
| General or Minor Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| PHYS 1133 & PHYS 1131 | Principles of Physics I and Principles of Physics Laboratory I | PHYS 1301 & PHYS 1101 | 4 |
| POLS 4813 | Seminar in Public Policy | 3 | |
| SCI 3113 | 3 | ||
| Upper-level General or Minor Electives | 6 | ||
| SCHs | 16 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| CSCI 3373 | Geographic Information Systems | 3 | |
| ENVS 4933 | Capstone in Environmental Science | 3 | |
| Social/Behavioral Science Core | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Upper-level General or Minor Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Total SCHs: | 120 | ||
