DES Curriculum

DES

ESP 101K - Fundamentals of Environmental Science: A lecture course that surveys the impact of human activity on ecosystems, with specific consideration of land, water, and air pollution, resource utilization and degradation, and waste water. Prerequisites: successful completion of the University's writing and mathematics proficiency requirements. Corequisite: ESP 102. Cr 3.

ESP 102K - Fundamentals of Environmental Science Laboratory: A laboratory course that surveys the impact of human activity on ecosystems, with specific consideration of land, water, and air pollution, resource utilization and degradation, and waste water. Pre-requisites: successful completion of the University's writing and mathematics proficiency requirements. Corequisite: ESP 101. Cr 1.

ESP 108/GEO 108 - GIS Applications: An introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), stressing the practical applications of popular graphical user interface (GUI) software packages such as ArcView. Topics covered include displaying, downloading, editing, analyzing, and printing public domain and user-created geographical data sets. The main emphasis of the course is on the acquisition of system operations skills. Cr 3.

ESP 125K - Introduction to Environmental Ecology: This is an introduction to the study of the interactions between organisms and their environments. Students will study the basic principles of ecology and systems and study specific ecosystems including forests, wildlife, freshwater, marine, urban, and humans. Prerequisites: ESP 101/102 or BIO 105/106. Cr 3.

ESP 126K - Introduction to Environmental Ecology Laboratory: This laboratory course surveys the identification, measurement, and function of various ecosystems. A focus will be on the impact of human activity on ecosystems. Prerequisites: ESP 101K/102K or BIO 105K/106K Corequisite: ESP 125K. Cr 1.

ESP 150 - Environmental Science Field Immersion Session: This field immersion session is designed to teach basic natural science field skills and promote community building in an intensive long weekend format. The course includes components on forest, soil, aquatic, wildlife, and urban systems. Basic orienteering and map reading, topographical surveying, global positioning system operation, aerial photo interpretation, and dichotomous key use are emphasized. This course is intended for students in their first year as an DES major. It is required for all DES and transfer students unless prior competency is demonstrated. Cr 3.

ESP 203W - Environmental Communications: A survey of approaches to manage communications and relationships among environmental policymakers, the public, and environmental scientists. Components include technical writing and public speaking, use of scientific and statistical information, public and risk communication, and conflict resolution. This is the first course in a thematic sequence for DES majors.

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