Bachelor of Arts (BA Environmental Studies)

The B.A. in Environmental Studies is designed to provide an opportunity for UA undergraduates with an interest in the environment from a social science and policy perspective to obtain a degree that provides exciting career opportunities, takes advantage of world-class UA expertise in the environmental social sciences, and prepares them to live and work as environmentally informed professionals and citizens. The B.A. in Environmental Studies focuses on human-environment interactions and environmental policy with coursework that combines topical, methods, theoretical and field-based instruction and encourages the understanding of environmental issues from the regional (Southwest US) to global scales. Course choices include social science and policy courses on water, land use, food, energy, the built environment, environmental history, gender and the environment, and climate-related issues in both urban and rural contexts. Students are expected to take selected courses in environmental science that provide a basis for understanding environmental policy. Methods training will cover basic statistical and qualitative analysis as well as geographic information science and remote sensing, with the option to take advanced courses in this area. Core courses will introduce students to a variety of social science theories for understanding human-environment interactions with options for advanced coursework in areas such as political ecology, risk assessment, institutions, and environmental economics.