Environmental Studies Program

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Environmental Practicum class in Spring Valley-Fall 08

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY INQUIRY into the relationship between humans and the environment. It draws on work in natural science, life science, social science, humanities and the arts, to help students gain a deeper understanding, both of the environmental problems facing the world and of proactive opportunities for change.

Among issues of concern and investigation are:

  • resource utilization
  • the impact of technology on ecosystems
  • relationships between the environment and sociocultural systems
  • geographic information systems analysis
  • environmental economics and policy
  • conservation of biological diversity
  • nature writing, alternative dispute resolution
  • environmental psychology
  • environmental ethics
  • and many others


The Environmental Studies major and minor

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Field Trip to West Virginia as part of the People & Environment class- Fall 08

Both a major and a minor are available to students who have an interest in rigorously studying these issues. The major requires students to develop a specific environmental focus as a concentration, in addition to the environmental core and distribution courses. The minor allows students to integrate an environmental perspective into their major field of study. 

In 2009, the University instituted slight changes to the Environmental Studies (ENVS) major and minor.  These changes aim to extend the range of perspectives and approaches students acquire as part of their Environmental Studies coursework.  Instead of requiring specific courses, the revised requirements provide a broader range of courses for students to choose from in order to complete an ENVS major or minor. Please note:  These changes are NOT reflected in the official 2009-2010 Course Catalog. 

Please see updated Environmental Studies major and minor requirements [pdf] and Frequently Asked Questions about the new ENVS major and minor requirements [pdf] for additional information about the ENVS major and minor. 

For any further questions please contact Brenda Franks

+ Mission of the Environmental Studies Program

The Mission of the Environmental Studies Program is Threefold:
  1. To educate our students in the interdisciplinary framework of understanding and responding to global, regional, and local environmental challenges
   2. To help our students delineate topical specialties where they can become familiar with the knowledge base of the interdisciplinary framework
   3. To develop in our students the problem-solving skills necessary to frame, analyze, describe, and ultimately offer realistic solutions to environmental challenges

As an interdisciplinary inquiry, it is neither practical nor appropriate for ENVS to itemize specific theoretical foundations that students are universally expected to master. Students whose orientation is in the social sciences, for instance, will approach the issues with a different perspective than will those in the natural sciences; it would be unrealistic, and indeed, unwise, to portray the field as a monolithic entity.

The interdisciplinary framework inherently means that we promote no single avenue to impart basic knowledge, to solve problems, or to develop particular skills. Rather, under this heading, ENVS fosters a "bridging" function that utilizes the best of many traditional disciplines. For instance, there is no single perspective that can be employed adequately to understand an issue like water pollution: it involves biology, chemistry, sociology and anthropology, geology and geography, economics, political science, communication, etc. Our job is to involve the relevant specialties and to equip our students with literacy in the intersection of these specialties for the problem at hand.

In order to prevent the obvious dangers of superficial dabbling in numerous disciplines, ENVS requires its students to identify particular areas, either by topical interest or disciplinary boundaries, within which they develop depth of understanding. In particular, students are responsible for:

    * a fundamental comprehension of philosophical roots,
    * theoretical positions,
    * essential arguments,
    * methodologies, and
    * fundamental assumptions in that area.

They are able to apply that field to environmental issues in a thoughtful and useful manner. This knowledge base in a particular specialty is imperative to help students parse out research questions for senior research projects and other culminating experiences in the major.

Perhaps most importantly, ENVS emphasizes the integration of problem-solving into the basic interdisciplinary framework and the depth component so that our students are qualified to:

    * develop research questions,
    * operationalize hypotheses,
    * design and carry out empirical research,
    * perform statistical tests,
    * evaluate alternative solutions, and
    * both document and defend policy options through clear written and spoken presentations.

With these critical skills, our students will have the rigorous and multifaceted education that will enable them to contribute usefully to the environmental field.


What do environmental studies majors do after college?

Recent graduates in environmental studies have followed many different paths:

  • Melissa Kennedy '07, Environmental Studies, Graduate student at Wright State University
  • Kathleen McNeill '06, Environmental Studies, Individual Giving Manager from the Environmental Law Institute 
  • Elizabeth Zultoski '07, Environmental Studies, Graduate student at Lewis and Clark University School of Law
  • Laramie Bowron '07, Environmental Studies, Assistant Planner for Moore & Associates 
  • Sarah Kafer '07, Environmental Studies, Environmental Scientist for PANDEY Environmental LLC

Student projects

Seniors who major in environmental studies complete a senior project to fulfill graduation requirements. The following are some of the many research endeavors undertaken by environmental studies majors in recent years:

  • "Environmental Interest Groups: Leadership, Membership and the Policy Making Process"
  • "Food, Faith and Farming: Catholic Involvement in Sustainable Solutions for Hunger"
  • "Growing Foodsheds through Community Supported Agriculture"
  • "An Analysis of Future Land Use Change in Licking County: An Application of an Interactive GIS-Based Planning Support System"
  • "Sustainable Development and Corporate Culture: Green Consideration in Corporate USA"
  • "Evaluating the effect of Genetically-Modified Organisms on Organic Farming: Assessing Issues, Cultivating Solutions"
  • "Rough Waters: North and South Tensions and Environmental Education of the Galapagos Fishing Sector"
  • "Impending Urban Sprawl: Impacts and Responses of Urban Sprawl on Small Colleges and Universities"
  • "The Relationship between Time Spent in Nature and Stress Level: a Case Study of Denison University Students"
  • "Sustainable Urban Development in Asian Mega-Cities"
  • "Economics of Recycling: Denison's Recycling and the External Costs of Using Raw Materials"
  • "A Comprehensive Energy Audit of Olin Hall"
  • "How to Start a Bio-Diesel Pumping Station at Denison University"

Summer internships

Many students pursue off-campus summer internships. Here are some examples of recent internships:

  • Mihkel Allpere '04 - Environmental Education summer intern at The Great Smoky Mountain Institute, teaching natural history and science at summer youth camps and adult and college-level workshops
  • Kathryn Bush '04 - intern with the B-W Greenway Community Land Trust, serving as a liaison between action committees, representing the organization in community-wide meetings and raising community awareness
  • Milica Dzelatovic '05 - intern with the Ministry of Energy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, working with the planning department on environmental and other issues
  • Melanie Houston '04 - coordinator of an organic gardening project for court-involved youth, lesson-planning, educating and gardening and managing the lunch program, speakers and field trips
  • Adam Klein '04 - intern with The Delta Institute, grant writing, implementing a watershed management plan and developing a sustainable development program
  • Elizabeth Jackson '04 - educator with The Blue Ocean Society, working on whale-watch boats with a naturalist, beach-cleaning and doing boater and beach-based education
  • Lindsay Michael '05 - Parks Planning Assistant with Pittsburgh's Natural Systems Study, data collecting, entering GIS data and information spreading

    Who are our professors?

    Department Chair and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Abram Kaplan joined the faculty at Denison in 1994. He earned a B.A. at Oberlin College, an M.S. at the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. His main area of research focuses on the human side of change toward sustainability.

    Visiting Instructor Olivia Aguilar joined the faculty in 2007. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in horticulture at Texas A & M University and is a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University in natural resources. Her research interests include environmental education, environmental attitudes and behavior, environmental justice, science education reform, and multi-cultural education.

    Assistant Professor Sarah Harris joined the faculty in 2007. She earned her B.A. degree at the College of Wooster, her M.A. at the University of Cincinnati, and her Ph.D. at the University of Texas. Her research interests include human/environment interactions, ability of environmental policies to shape community and regional development, the effect of rural to urban population movement on the environmental landscape and the role of environment in conflict and conflict resolution. Her current studies focus on Cyprus.

    Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Doug Spieles joined the faculty at Denison in 2002. He earned a B.S. at University of Dayton and an M.S. and Ph.D. at Ohio State University. In his scholarship, Dr. Spieles focuses on the ecological development of constructed wetlands, primarily from the point of view of community and ecosystem ecology. He also has interests in environmental education and environmental history.

    See Complete List of Environmental Studies Faculty or click on the Faculty & Staff gray navigation bar, top left.