Whatcom Community College
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Environmental Studies Pathway
This pathway assumes:
- You will be a full-time student.
- You will start in the fall.
- You are ready to take 100- and 200-level classes.
If not, you can still complete the pathway! You will just need to make adjustments. Talk with your advisor to customize your plan.
Follow this recommended pathway to earn the AAS/DTA degree and prepare for a university major in one of the fields that make up "environmental studies." You are encouraged to customize your plan.
Talk with your advisor about adapting it for your individual goals.
Scroll to the end for course suggestions.
| Description | Designed for students new to the college environment. Introduction to college services; study skills and time management; educational planning and career exploration; and skills necessary to become a successful student. Lectures, small group discussion, and experiential exercises. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | This course helps students become more effective writers in academic and professional settings. Students learn to enter ongoing academic conversations, analyze and use secondary sources to formulate, develop, revise, and communicate ideas in writing, and shape their message to different purposes, audiences, and media. (CC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of ENGL 95 or placement in ENGL& 101. |
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| Description | An interdisciplinary, introductory course designed to expose studentsto the history, concepts, and practices of sustainability in three general areas: environmental (ecology), economic (business), and social (community). Includes a practical application of the concepts learned in the class as well as an exploratory section on environmental careers. (SSwgs) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Placement in ENGL& 101 |
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| Description | Fundamental course in communication theory. Students will apply knowledge in variety of settings including interpersonal, public speaking, and small group communication. Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Introduction to communication theory and public speaking emphasizing organization, audience analysis, oral styles, and use of visual aids. Includes presentation of various types of public speeches and analyses of contemporary speeches. Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Introduces students to the theory and practice of small group communication. Course covers interpersonal relationships in groups, leadership, decision-making, problem solving, and presentations speaking in a variety of settings. Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Formerly CMST 145. This course is designed to introduce students to the field of organizational communication. Students will examine a range of perspectives, theories, and issues exploring the ways communication affects and is affected by the organizational context. Topics will include technology, diversity, and ethics in organizations; sexual harassment, negotiating/conflict management. The course involves theory application with a primary focus on the development of effective communication skills (e.g., interviewing, professional presentations, teamwork, responding non-defensively to criticism, leadership). Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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Total credits this quarter: 12-17
Course note: EDPL 100 is optional, but it can be very helpful if you don't have much college experience. Take it with either two or three of the other courses. You could also add 1-2 credits of PE.
Career exploration: Find your people! Attend area-of-study activities and connect with clubs related to your career goals.
Action item: Meet with your advisor to build your degree plan.
Action item: Have your transfer-in credits officially evaluated.
| Description | Rigorous introduction to statistical methods and hypothesis testing. Includes descriptive and inferential statistics. Tabular and pictorialmethods for describing data; central tendencies; mean; modes; medians; variance; standard deviation; quartiles; regression; normal distribution; confidence intervals; hypothesis testing, one and two-tailed tests. Applications to business, social sciences, and sciences. (QSR,MS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of MATH 088 or MATH 099 with a minimum grade of C. |
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| Description | Outlines the main structure and function of American government. Also deals with politics in theory and in practice emphasizing political concepts, protest and reform movements. (SS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | How humanity conceives of its environment is central to an understanding of how humans should act and think of themselves as part of planet Earth. Topics to be covered include: the fundamentals of ethical reasoning, the moral status of non-human animals, land use dilemmas, and anthropocentrism and ecocentrism in the context of current environmental problems. (Hdgs) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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Total credits this quarter: 15
Career exploration: Research the different environmental studies majors at Western Washington University and other universities you're interested in.
Career exploration: Attend presentations by the Environmental Speaker Series at WWU.
| Description | Intended for science majors. Composition and structure of earth, identification of common rocks and minerals, formation of surface features of continents and ocean floor, and interpretation of land forms frommaps. Lab work and field trips included. (MSl) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Fundamentals of news gathering and writing; structure of a news story; the news business as it has evolved in the United States; and the role of the free press in the American political system. (LEw) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Placement in ENGL& 101 |
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| Description | Study of native plants in Northwest Coast Indian cultures. Includes sessions on plant biology, plant identification, and traditional Indian uses of plants for food, medicine, and materials. Field trips included. (SSd) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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Total credits this quarter: 15
Career exploration: Look for a summer job or internship related to your career goals.
Action items: Check the GPA and other entry requirements for your future major. Are you on track?
Summer
If you opted for 12 credits in Quarter 1, this might be a good time to catch up.
| Description | This course helps students become more effective communicators through the production of various forms and mediums of writing. Students develop effective rhetorical strategies through analysis of texts and contexts, as well as engaging in independent research as part of meaningful and ethical scholarship. (CC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of ENGL& 101 with a minimum grade of C-. |
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| Description | This course is an introduction to the social, political, economic, and environmental history of the Pacific Northwest from the eighteenth century to the present. The class will focus on how a diversity of peoples lived in the region and interacted with the land, water, and natural resources in the Pacific Northwest. This course applies to the Social/Behavioral Science (SS) and diversity (d) distribution requirements. (SSd) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | This course is intended to serve as an introduction to day hiking. Course will cover basic concepts and will apply these concepts in the field. Required preparation: must have ability to engage in strenuous exercise. (LE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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Total credits this quarter: 15-16
Course note: PE 126 is optional.
Career exploration: Volunteer with a local environmental organization or on a campaign related to issues you support.
Action item: Meet with your advisor about applying to universities. Start your transfer applications.
Action item: Apply for next year's financial aid.
| Description | An introduction to the cultural, economic, and environmental factors that influence the spatial distribution of people on local and global scales. Emphasis will be placed on problems of population growth and sustainable resource use as well as studies of populations in disaster-prone areas. (SSgs) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Use interdisciplinary methods to evaluate and compare the uses of different key resources, using methodologies from science, economics and politics. Students will learn about resources, such as energy or water, in the context of scarcity, depletion, climate change and impact on the environment. Students will learn why these three disciplines must be considered by voters and decision makers as they try to formulate policies and make choices regarding sustainable resource use that are scientifically feasible as well as economically and politically acceptable. Recommended preparation: Math 98. Prerequisite: placement in ENGL& 101. (SS,MSwgs) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Placement in ENGL& 101 |
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Total credits this quarter: 15
Action item: Apply to graduate by week 3 of this quarter.
| Description | This course introduces students to literature as a vehicle for international environmental awareness emphasizing the relationship between a writer, the environment, and sense of place. (Hwdgs) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | An introduction to the complex ecologies and human experiences of theSalish Sea region. This interdisciplinary course introduces students to content in the natural and social sciences, and integrates experiential learning through local regional field trips, including cross-border experiences. (SSdgs) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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ELECTIVE from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
ELECTIVE from suggested list below or click for complete list (1-5 credits)
Total credits this quarter: 15-20
Course note: You need 90 credits in 100- and 200-level courses. Take the final elective credits only if you need them to reach 90. If you need 1-2 credits, consider taking a PE course. You can use up to 3 credits of activity PE in your AAS/DTA degree.
Action item: Attend the spring job fair.
Course Suggestions
Recommended core courses for all variations of the Environmental Studies BA at WWU
MATH& 146 Intro to Statistics
GEOL 211 Physical Geology
or GEOG 110 Physical Geography
GEOG& 200 Human Geography
Economics/Environmental Studies BA
In addition to the above core courses, take these courses for this major. The ECON courses can serve as social science or elective courses in the pathway.
POLS& 202 American Government
ECON& 201 Micro Economics
ECON& 202 Macro Economics
Consider taking MATH& 141/ MATH& 142 (Precalculus I and II) and MATH& 151(Calculus I)
Environmental Studies-Elementary BAE (with teaching certification)
In addition to the above core courses, take these courses for this major.
POLS& 202 American Government
or ECON& 201 Micro Economics
CHEM& 121 Intro to Chemistry
or CHEM& 161 General Chemistry with Lab
Note: either chemistry course will serve as the prereq/co-req for BIOL& 160, but BIOL& 221 requires CHEM& 161 as a prereq/co-req
BIOL& 160 General Biology with Lab
or BIOL& 221 Majors Ecology and Evolution
Environmental Studies-Geography Emphasis BA
In addition to the above core courses, take these courses for this major.
SALI 201 Intro to the Salish Sea
Environmental Studies-Geographic Information Science Emphasis BA
In addition to the above core courses, take these courses for this major.
POLS& 202 American Government
Environmental Studies-Education and Eco Social Justice Emphasis BA
In addition to the above core courses, take these courses for this major.
POLS& 202 American Government
Environmental Studies-Journalism BA
In addition to the above core courses, take these courses for this major. ECON& 201 can serve as a social science or elective.
POLS& 202 American Government
JOURN 210 Writing for the Mass Media
ECON& 201 Micro Economics
Environmental Studies-Policy, Politics and Governance Emphasis BA
In addition to the above core courses, take these courses for this major.
POLS& 202 American Government
Environmental Studies-Justice and Community Resilience Emphasis BA
Other courses to consider where your program allows:
Humanities
ART 106 Art of the Pacific Northwest Native Americans (3 cr)
Science/Math
BIOL 159 Marine Biology
BIOL& 160 General Biology with lab
CHEM& 121 (Introduction to Chemistry with lab)
ENVS& 101 Intro to Environmental Science with lab
or ENVS& 100 Survey of Environmental Science (no lab)
GEOL 100 Intro to Earth Science
GEOL 110 Environmental Geology
GEOL 140 Natural Disasters
MATH& 141 Precalculus
OCEA& 101 Intro to Oceanography with lab
Social Science
GEOG& 250 Pacific Northwest Geography
HIST& 147 US History II
HIST& 148 US History III
HIST& 128 World Civilizations III
SOC 210 Urban sociology
Other options