Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy & Planning

About

In the Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy and Planning, you’ll build a strong foundation in the political, economic and cultural approaches to studying the environment and identify the causes, as well as consequences, of unsustainable development. You’ll take courses about:

  • International political economy
  • Environmental politics and policy
  • Urban environments
  • Indigenous rights
  • Politics of development, scarcity and security

Curriculum & Requirements Curriculum Map

Curriculum & Requirements

Environmental Policy and Planning Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Fight climate change and protect the environment. Policy makers determine policy and planning which shapes the world in which we live. Change policy and planning, change the world!

Required Foundational Core
PLAN 201INTRODUCTION TO URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING5
POLI 100INTRODUCTION TO US POLITICS5
POLI 203INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS5
POLI 204INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL POLITICS5
Required Disciplinary Core
PLAN 430ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING5
POLI 322INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY5
POLI 324COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL WATER POLICY5
POLI 327POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY5
POLI 420GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS5
Methods Requirement–choose two 9-10
FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES THEORY
STATISTICS FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
GIS FOR URBAN AND REGIONAL ANALYSIS
Electives–choose one course from each category 15
Climate Change and Sustainability
COMPARATIVE URBANIZATION
LAND USE PLANNING
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS (variable title)
Environmental Law and Policy
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS
PLANNING, POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
TOPICS IN POLITICAL THEORY (variable title)
TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS (variable title)
Social and Environmental Justice
TRIBAL GOVERNANCE
CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PROBLEMS
TOPICS IN POLITICAL THEORY (variable title)
Capstone and Portfolio Assessment6
SENIOR CAPSTONE
and PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
Total Credits75-76

Catalog Listing

Sample Courses

CSBS 310. FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES THEORY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: completion of the general education core course requirements in the social sciences as specified in this catalog or permission of the instructor.
This course is intended to expose the philosophic choices and historical constraints that underlie all of the social and behavior sciences. In terms as simple as possible, we explore foundational alternatives (which may include idealism vs. materialism, individualism vs. holism, structure vs. agency, value neutrality vs. social critique) and the impact of history on the social and behavioral science. By emphasizing the controversiality and diversity within the disciplines, and the social contexts that shape them, we encourage students to discover sharply critical perspectives on the social and behavioral theories that claim to tell us how the world works.

Catalog Listing

PLAN 376. COMPARATIVE URBANIZATION. 4 Credits.

Pre-requisites: PLAN 201 or permission of the instructor.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
A review of the nature of urbanization in developed and developing countries, examining planning-related issues associated with urbanization, overurbanization and counterurbanization in a variety of natural settings.

Catalog Listing

POLI 327. POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
This course explores major theories and practices of unsustainable economic growth models, which have created various forms of ecological, political, social, economic, and security crises. These crises have affected both the rich and poor nations, though in different ways. They have also produced a series of destabilizing resource, knowledge, technology, and capital gaps between and within the global north and south. This course examines these ecological crises and the varied responses to them.

Catalog Listing

PLAN 435. PLANNING, POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY. 4 Credits.

Notes: may be stacked with PLAN 535.
“Planning, Politics and Public Policy” studies planning as a profession permeated with political dilemmas in a context marked by social, political and economic disparities. The course reviews planning in light of the politics of policy-making and questions the role of urban and regional planning in a democratic governance process.

Catalog Listing