Get Ready to Change the World

Environmental scientists work to solve our most challenging issues — global climate change, biodiversity conservation, and balancing resource use and preservation.

About the Degree

The environmental sciences degree builds on the interdisciplinary strengths in the natural and social sciences at OSU. Our students learn broadly about environmental sciences from a variety of perspectives, while deeply exploring one area of specialization. Experiential learning is a key part of the degree program since participating in research or an internship provides an opportunity to actively engage in the field of environmental sciences outside the classroom.

Degree Requirements

Options in the Environmental Sciences Major

Taking root as a field of inquiry independent from biology, geography, and other related disciplines in the 1960s, environmental sciences developed with ecology at its base. This science-based option takes an applied ecology approach and therefore includes field and geographic methods for collecting and measuring data on ecological change at various scales.

This option provides environmental sciences students the opportunity to explore the many course offerings at OSU in the areas of conservation, resource management, and sustainability. The option features broad course choices and flexibility in response to diverse student interests and changing environmental science applications.

Sample Courses

  • Environmental Economics and Policy
  • Environmental Case Studies
  • Issues in Natural Resources Conservation
  • Rangeland Ecology and Management
  • Systematics of Mammals
  • Climate Science
  • Environmental Justice
  • Biodiversity: Causes, Consequences, and Conservation
  • Ecological Restoration
  • Ecosystems of Wildland Soils
  • Forest Ecology
  • Wildland Plant ID
  • Introduction to Water Science and Policy
  • Principles of Fish & Wildlife Conservation

Career Options

Job opportunities for graduates of this degree program include:

Arboriculturist
Conservation Officer
Ecologist
Environmental Lawyer
Farmer/Rancher
Fire Scientist
Fisheries Biologist
Forester
GIS Specialist
Naturalist
Park Ranger
Plant/Soil Scientist
Surveyor
Water Quality Specialist
Wildlife Biologist
Urban/Regional Planner

and many more

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We're here to help! Future students can connect with an OSU-Cascades admissions advisor for admission and program questions.