70 Science Hall
550 North Park Street
Madison, WI 53706
608-262-7996
fax 608-262-2273
www.nelson.wisc.edu
The Institute for Environmental Studies was created in 1970 to promote and enhance interdisciplinary environmental instruction, research, and outreach at UW-Madison. In 2002, it was renamed in honor of former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day and a lifelong champion of environmental stewardship.
Approximately 170 faculty members from more than 50 natural and social science, engineering, and humanities departments are affiliated with the Nelson Institute, which offers scores of undergraduate-level courses in cooperation with the university's schools and colleges. Although the institute does not offer undergraduate degree programs, it does offer an interdisciplinary certificate program open to all UW-Madison undergraduates.
Undergraduate Study in the Nelson Institute
Environmental Studies Certificate Program
Why Earn a Certificate?
Eligibility
Application
The Curriculum
Sample Curriculum
Academic Regulations
Information
Courses
Undergraduate Committee: Alatout, Allen, DeWitt, Dunwoody, Harrington, Holloway, Jacobs, Kanarek (chair), Kloppenburg, Langston, Mathews, McCown, Ventura, Zedler
The Environmental Studies Certificate Program offers a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to broaden their studies through interdisciplinary course work related to the environment. In this program students can learn about society's environmental problems and issues; study environmental science, policy, literature, art, and philosophy; and take part in environmental research, field work, and case studies.
This program is not a major. Participating students pursue bachelor's degrees through the university's regular academic departments. But the certificate program can provide a valuable complement to any major, and it may enhance the value of a bachelor's degree. Students who complete both the certificate curriculum and an undergraduate degree program earn Environmental Studies Certificates with their degrees, and completion of the certificate program is noted on their academic transcripts.
Perhaps the best reason for pursuing an Environmental Studies Certificate is a student's own personal interest in learning more about the environment. In some cases, earning a certificate can also make a graduate more "marketable."
In today's world many academic programs, even in environmental fields, encourage students to specialize by focusing on relatively narrow subject areas. Yet "real-world" problems often require understanding beyond that of a single academic discipline. For this reason, more and more employers seek people with interdisciplinary training. The Environmental Studies Certificate Program exposes students to a broad range of knowledge. It helps put other courses into perspective. The Environmental Studies Certificate is evidence to employers that the graduate has acquired not only depth in the major field but breadth beyond that field, an excellent combination.
More than 1,600 students have completed the program since its inception in 1979. Many have gone on to careers as environmental planners, analysts, and scientists for government agencies; environmental consultants; environmental lawyers; researchers, writers, and activists for private environmental organizations; or teachers and outreach specialists.
Any undergraduate student enrolled at UW-Madison is eligible to participate in the Environmental Studies Certificate Program. Because the certificate is designed to complement a student's academic major, it must be completed together with one of the university's bachelor's degree programs.
The certificate program has attracted students from dozens of majors in the College of Letters and Science, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, College of Engineering, School of Business, School of Human Ecology, School of Nursing, and School of Education. Students from all majors may participate. Approximately 200 undergraduates are currently enrolled.
Pursuit of an Environmental Studies Certificate need not add extra semesters to a student's time at the university, particularly if a student begins the certificate curriculum as a freshman or sophomore. Students are advised to apply early and plan their courses wisely. All applicants must be currently enrolled undergraduates at UW-Madison. Application forms are available from the Nelson Institute's Academic Programs Office in 70 Science Hall or online.
Students must complete at least 26 credits of courses. (Many, if not all, of these credits also may be counted toward a student's major and/or degree. Students should follow their school or college policies and requirements as they elect courses in the certificate program.) A minimum number of credits is required in each of the following four categories.
6 credits, including both of the following courses:
Envir St 112 Environmental Studies: The Social Perspective, 3 cr
Envir St 113 Environmental Studies: The Humanistic Perspective, 3 cr
8 credits, including one course or group of courses from each of the following two categories:
Biocore/Biology 301 Evolution, Ecology, and Genetics, 3 cr, and Biocore/Biology 302 Evolution, Ecology, and Genetics Laboratory, 2 cr
Botany/Biology 130 General Botany, 5 cr
Geog/Envir St 127 Physical Systems of the Environment, 5 cr
Soil Sci/Atm Ocn 132 Earth's Water: Natural Science and Human Use, 3 cr, and Soil Sci/Geog/ Envir St 230 Soil: Ecosystem and Resource, 3 cr
Zoology/Biology 101 Animal Biology, 3 cr, and Zoology/Biology 102 Animal Biology Laboratory, 2 cr
Zoology/Botany/Biology 151 Introductory Biology, 5 cr
Zoology/Botany/Biology 152 Introductory Biology, 5 cr
Botany/Zoology 260 Introductory Ecology, 3 cr
*Botany/F&W Ecol/Zoology 460 General Ecology, 4 cr
*Envir St 126 Principles of Environmental Science, 4 cr
*F&W Ecol 550 Forest Ecology, if taken at the 4-credit level, which includes the lab.
9 credits, with at least one course from each of the following three categories:
Atm Ocn/Envir St/Physics 472 Scientific Background to Global Environmental Problems, 3 cr
Atm Ocn/Envir St 520 Bioclimatology, 3 cr
Atm Ocn/Envir St/Geog 528 Past Climates and Climatic Change, 3 cr
*Botany/F&W Ecol 455 The Vegetation of Wisconsin, 3 cr
*Botany/F&W Ecol/Zoology 460 General Ecology, 4 cr
*Envir St/Land Arc 361 Wetlands Ecology, 3 cr
*Envir St 375 Field Ecology Workshop, 3 cr
Envir St/Botany/F&W Ecol 461 Environmental Systems Concepts, 3 cr
Envir St/Pop Hlth 471 Introduction to Environmental Health, 3 cr
Envir St/Pop Hlth 502 Air Pollution and Human Health, 3 cr
Envir St/Soil Sci 575 Assessment of Environmental Impact, 3 cr
Envir St/Botany/F&W Ecol/Zoology 651 Conservation Biology, 3 cr
F&W Ecol 318 Principles of Wildlife Ecology, 2 cr
*Geog/Envir St 325 Analysis of the Physical Environment, 4 cr
Geog/Atm Ocn/Envir St 331 Climatic Environments of the Past, 3 cr
Geog/Atm Ocn/Envir St 332 The Global Warming Debate, 3 cr
Geog 338 Vegetation: Stability and Change, 3 cr
Geology/Envir St 410 Minerals as a Public Problem, 3 cr
Geology/Envir St 411 Energy Resources, 3 cr
*Land Arc 666 Restoration Ecology, 3 cr
*Land Arc 667 Field Study: Native Plant Communities, 3 cr
Soil Sci/Envir St 324 Soils and Environmental Quality, 3 cr
Soil Sci/F&W Ecol 451 Environmental Biogeochemistry, 3 cr
Soil Sci/Atm Ocn 532 Environmental Biophysics, 3 cr
Zoology/Envir St 315 Limnology: Conservation of Aquatic Resources, 2 cr
*Zoology 316 Laboratory for Limnology: Conservation of Aquatic Resources, 2 cr
Zoology/Envir St/F&W Ecol 360 Extinction of Species, 3 cr
Zoology/Anthro/Botany 410 Evolutionary Biology, 3 cr
AAE/Econ/Envir St 343 Environmental Economics, 3-4 cr
AAE/Envir St 344, The Environment and the Global Economy, 3 cr
Anthro 470 Ecological Anthropology, 3 cr
Econ/Soc 663 Population and Society, 3 cr
Envir St/M&Env Tox/Pl Path 368 Introduction to Environmental Law, 2 cr
Envir St/Poli Sci/Urb R Pl/Econ 449 Government and Natural Resources, 3-4 cr
Envir St/Urb R Pl 668 Green Politics: Global Experience, American Prospects, 3 cr
F&W Ecol/Envir St 515 Renewable Resources Policy, 3 cr
Geog 303 The Human Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, 3 cr
Geog 319 International Dimensions of Environmental Justice, 3 cr
Geog/Envir St 339 Environmental Conservation, 3-4 cr
Geog/Rur Soc/Envir St 434 People, Wildlife and Landscapes, 3 cr
Geog 535 Environmental Geography and Conservation in Developing Countries, 3 cr
Geog/Envir St 537 Culture and Environment, 4 cr
Geog 538 The Humid Tropics: Ecology, Subsistence, and Development, 4 cr
History/Envir St/Geog 460 American Environmental History, 4 cr
History/Amer Ind 490, American Indian History, 3-4 cr
Nutr Sci/Agronomy/Inter-Ag/AAE 350 World Hunger and Malnutrition, 3 cr
Poli Sci/Geology/Envir St 512 Science and Government, 4 cr
Rur Soc/Soc 541 Social Behavior and Natural Resources, 3 cr
Rur Soc/Soc 573 Community Organization and Change, 3 cr
Envir St 307 Literature and the Environment: Speaking for Nature, 3 cr
Envir St/Philos 441 Environmental Ethics, 3-4 cr
F&W Ecol/History/Envir St 452 World Forest History, 3 cr
History/Envir St/Geog 460 American Environmental History, 4 cr
History/Chic Std 461 The American West to 1850, 4 cr
History/Chic Std 462 The American West Since 1850, 4 cr
History/Amer Ind 490 American Indian History, 3-4 cr
Hist Sci/Envir St 353 History of Ecology, 3 cr
L Sc Com/Amer Ind 444 Native American Environmental Issues and the Media, 3 cr
Med Hist/Hist Sci/Envir St 513 Environment and Health in Global Perspective, 3 cr
Philos/Envir St 453 Aesthetics of the Natural Environment, 3 cr
Philos/Envir St 523 Philosophical Problems of the Biological Sciences, 3 cr
3 credits, one of the following courses:
Botany 468 Patterns in Biological Design: An Introduction to Systems Biology, 3 cr
Envir St/Botany/F&W Ecol 461 Environmental Systems Concepts, 3 cr
Envir St/Soil Sci 575 Assessment of Environmental Impact, 3 cr
Envir St 600 Environmental Studies Certificate Seminar, 3 cr
F&W Ecol/AAE/Envir St 652 Decision Methods for Natural Resource Managers, 3-4 cr
At least one course completed for the certificate must include field exercises. Those in the preceding list that count as field courses are marked with an asterisk (*).
Students in the Environmental Studies Certificate Program must (1) maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 among courses taken for the certificate and (2) earn a minimum grade of 3.0 in both Envir St 112 and Envir St 113.
Courses listed under more than one category in the curriculum may be used to satisfy only one of the categories. For example, a student who selects Envir St/Soil Sci 575 as the integrative course cannot also use this course to satisfy the certificate's natural science breadth requirement. However, double counting credits toward a student's major and/or degree requirements is acceptable.
No more than two courses completed successfully on a pass/fail or credit/no credit basis may be counted toward the certificate requirements, and these two courses are allowed only within the certificate breadth areas (i.e., natural sciences, social studies, humanities). All other courses must be taken for letter grades.
Substitutions of courses substantively equivalent to those listed for the certificate are considered on a case-by-case basis. Except for transfer courses, requests for course substitutions should be made before a course is taken. In most cases substitutions are considered only in the breadth categories of the certificate curriculum. Although the Nelson Institute recognizes the value of precollege Advanced Placement (AP) courses, these courses may not be used to fulfill the requirements of the certificate, either as courses or as substitutions for courses.
For further details about the Environmental Studies Certificate Program, visit the Nelson Institute Web site or contact the institute's Academic Programs Office, 70 Science Hall, 608-262-7996.
For a list of courses that meet the requirements, see the Curriculum section of the Environmental Studies Certificate Program description.