The broad spectrum of environmental studies at CSU is uniquely dispersed in 100 majors and concentrations housed in departments throughout CSU. As a land-grant institution, a key component of CSU’s mission is to provide education in environmental management, science, and policy. It is difficult to find a degree or department that does not directly address environmental issues at local, national, and international scales. Campus-wide participation in environmental science and management is a result of fundamental linkages between basic science and management of critical environmental issues. Consequently, a unique strength of CSU is a tradition of interdisciplinary research, teaching, and service, which is essential in understanding the environmental issues of today’s world.

Programs engaged in environmental studies at CSU have goals that include:

  • Understanding that scientific knowledge, policy considerations, and ethical issues are necessarily joined;
  • Comprehending the interrelationships among the environment, natural resources, and human society.
  • Perceiving the need to integrate diverse social, political, legal, institutional, and scientific considerations inherent in attaining environmental goals;
  • Educating students to be articulate, sensitive, and knowledgeable about the complexity of environmental issues facing society;
  • Providing a balanced understanding of the natural and social processes as they relate to the environment.

Some examples of the many areas in environmental studies at CSU are: agricultural business; air pollution assessment and management; air quality; biological control and pest management; global climate change; biodiversity and conservation biology; biomedical engineering; ecology and ecosystem management; ecotourism; ecotoxicology; environmental communication; environmental engineering; environmental ethics; environmental history and policy analysis; environmental horticulture; environmental soil science; environmental geology, land ethics, and stewardship; environmental sociology; natural resource economics; natural resources and environmental management; natural resource tourism; occupational health and workplace management/control; park and protected areas management; pesticide management; pollution control; reproductive and environmental risk factors; risk assessment and management; solid and hazardous waste management; sustainable building design and construction; and water chemistry, quality, and management.

The programs at CSU that engage in environmental studies are incorporated within existing programs in the following colleges/departments:

Agricultural Sciences (Agricultural and Resource Economics; Agricultural Biology; Horticulture and Landscape Architecture; Soil and Crop Sciences)

Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering (Atmospheric Science; Chemical and Biological Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Mechanical Engineering)

Health and Human Sciences (Construction Management)

Liberal Arts (Anthropology; English; Environmental Studies in the Liberal Arts; History; Philosophy; Political Science; Sociology)

Warner College of Natural Resources (Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; Forest and Rangeland Stewardship; Geology; Human Dimension of Natural Resources; Natural Resources Management, Restoration Ecology; Watershed Science & Sustainability)

Natural Sciences (Biology; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Chemistry; Physics; Psychology)

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (Biomedical Sciences; Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences; Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology)

In addition, CSU offers an Exploratory Studies: Environmental/Natural Resource Interest for students who first wish to explore options with environmental studies campus-wide before selecting a major (contact the Warner College of Natural Resources for more information on the Exploratory Studies option). For further information about specific environmental studies-focused majors, please contact the respective college/department and see their program descriptions within this catalog.

School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES)

Office in Johnson Hall, Room 108
(970) 491-4070

The School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES) seeks to prepare students to meet today’s pressing environmental challenges. Using an interdisciplinary approach within a framework of sustainability, students will be led in innovative research leading to the knowledge and understanding needed to approach and solve problems of the human-environment interaction. SoGES’ vision encompasses laying the foundation and defining the principles and practices that will ensure long-term environmental sustainability, while continuing to meet the needs of people around the earth.