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Environmental Studies at Wells College

A MAJOR FOR STUDENTS WHO...

• Are interested in environmental issues, in natural ecosystems, and in the interactions between the human race and the natural environment

 
• Like studying and working in outdoor settings as well as with state-of-the-art computer mapping programs

 
• Are excited by internship and study abroad opportunities that focus on the environment

 
• Want to put their interest in environmental issues to work and participate in local and global efforts to raise environmental awareness and encourage environmental stewardship

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY MAJOR

• In the major the science of environmental problems is analyzed in the broader context of environmental policy and human value systems. This multidisciplinary approach enables students to better understand the complexity of the human-environment relationship and to use that knowledge to improve our world for this generation and for generations to come.

 
• In her second or third year of study each student chooses to concentrate either in environmental science, or in environmental policy and values.

A PROGRAM WHERE LOCAL MEETS GLOBAL

• The Wells environmental program is intimately linked to the spectacular natural environment that surrounds the Wells campus.

 
• We are involved with the Cayuga Watershed Restoration and Protection Plan, a regional program for local environmental protection.

 
• The unique "Cayuga Basin Project" entails the study of Cayuga Lake and its watershed in many classes and research projects.

 
• We are also affiliated with environmental programs around the world.

 

 

Through our School for Field Studies affiliation, environmental students have spent semesters and summers in:
 

• Baja, Mexico, on a program that focuses on Coastal Studies,
• South Caicos Island in the Caribbean, on a Marine Resource Studies Program,
• Costa Rica, on a program that focuses on Sustainable Development,
• Kenya, at a Center for Wildlife Studies,
• Australia, on a Rainforest Studies Program.

We have a new affiliation with University College, Cork, Ireland, which has courses in environmental areas that are particularly appealing to Wells environmental majors. In particular, a course in Irish ecosystems is especially designed to introduce visiting students to the ecology of Ireland.
 

INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNTIES

• Recent Wells environmental majors have done internships that involved working on wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education, pollution monitoring, and watershed analysis, just to name a few.

 
• Organizations with which recent environmental students have done internships include the US Geological Survey, the Cornell University Center for the Environment, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the Archbold Biological Station in Florida.

AFTER GRADUATION

Our major in Environmental Studies prepares graduates for a wide range of opportunities in...

• Government agencies that focus on environmental science and policy,

 
• Graduate programs in many areas of environmental studies,

 
• Careers in environmental education,

 
• Many career fields that require skills in critical thinking, quantitative analysis and good communication.

THE FACULTY OF THE WELLS ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM

The Web addresses below are to self-maintained pages on Aurora.wells.edu [unofficial pages; the faculty member is responsible for content].
 
• Niamh O' Leary, Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Studies (noleary@wells.edu; http://aurora.wells.edu/~noleary)

 
• Tom Vawter, Professor of Biology (tvawter@wells.edu)

 
• Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo, Professor of Political Science and International Studies (tl-k@wells.edu; http://aurora.wells.edu/~tl-k)

 
• Chris Bailey, Professor of Chemistry (cbailey@wells.edu; http://aurora.wells.edu/~ctb)

 
• Ernie Olson, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Religion (eolson@wells.edu)

 
• Milene Morfei, Associate Professor of Psychology (mzmorfei@wells.edu; http://aurora.wells.edu/~mzmorfei)

 
• Kent Klitgaard,  Professor of Economics (kentk@wells.edu)

 
• Scott Heinekamp, Professor of Physics (scotth@wells.edu)

 

THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES CURRICULUM

• All students in the major take two semesters of environmental science, beginning with ENVR101L in the fall semester of their freshman year.

 
• All students in the major also take courses in economics, statistics, and sustainable agriculture

 
• In their junior and senior years all students also undertake an individual original research project in collaboration with a faculty member.

 
• All students also take a course in anthropology or philosophy or religion.

 
• Students who choose to concentrate in environmental science choose a variety of courses from the areas of environmental science, biology, chemistry, physics, and math.

 
• Student who choose to concentrate in environmental policy and values choose a variety of courses from the areas of international studies, economics, anthropology, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES MAJOR

Contact Niamh O' Leary, Chair, Environmental Studies Major.
Phone: 315.364.3279; email: noleary@wells.edu