Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies- Policy, Politics, and Governance

Western Washington University - International Study Center (StudyGroup)

Environmental Studies takes an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to understanding human-environment systems and environmental challenges. The Environmental Studies major includes core classes in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities to prepare our students to integrate knowledge from multiple fields of study. Our students learn to analyze and interpret complex environmental data and communicate environmental information for diverse stakeholders. The Environmental Studies major equips students to succeed as environmental professionals through experiential learning and advanced coursework in each student’s choice of an emphasis.An Environmental Studies – Environmental Policy, Politics, and Governance emphasis is a future-oriented degree that trains students to understand the roots of political disagreement surrounding environmental policies and to bypass those entrenched framings by identifying mutually-agreeable approaches. Students will become familiar with a range of modes of change, including traditional regulatory processes, deliberative ways of engaging across difference, grassroots activism, and corporate governance. Coursework will emphasize how these processes can be used to promote environmental justice and community resilience in our changing world. With an Environmental Policy, Politics, and Governance Emphasis, you can make a difference working at non-profits, in the private sector, as a consultant, or in the government. Graduates with this emphasis often go on to work in environmental agencies at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels in emergency management in consulting and non-profit sectors or in the business and corporate world. In all these sectors, graduates are empowered with ethical frameworks, skills, and insights to work towards a more just and sustainable world. Some students go on to graduate studies in science studies, political ecology, natural resource management, environmental law, and related fields.