Wittenberg's mission, in part, is to create a participatory citizen who recognizes his or her obligation to the natural environment. Students engaged in environmental studies at Wittenberg recognize that the environmental problems confronting society transcend traditional academic boundaries. Consequently, coursework and co-curricular activities often bring together faculty and students from diverse fields and interests to explore the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues.

Society's actions increasingly affect the natural environment, and our participation in understanding, assessing and minimizing the impact of these actions is critical. Although our attention is generally focused on the global impact of our use of natural resources, the causes are inherently local. Wittenberg offers several opportunities for students to be part of the solution to these problems.

Degrees Offered

Environmental Studies Minor: Students need a broad range of courses to understand thoroughly and work successfully on environmental problems that are inherently interdisciplinary. This minor gives an environmental focus to any major and offers the breadth of knowledge that complements the in-depth study required of a traditional discipline. Our graduates develop the problem-solving skills and critical-thinking ability that make them more appealing to prospective employers and graduate schools. Interdepartmental Major: With the approval of the Provost and the Environmental Studies Program Committee, students can create an interdepartmental major composed of courses selected from several departments but all contributing to some unified purpose or theme.

3-2 Program with Duke University: For exceptional students, Wittenberg has a cooperative program with Duke Universitys School for the Environment. Students spend three years at Wittenberg completing the courses required for a major concentration and Wittenbergs general education program. After two additional years of study in an environmental program at Duke, students receive a B.A. from Wittenberg and an M.A. from Duke.

Requirements Environmental Studies Minor: Requirements include Environmental Studies 101 plus 20 semester hours distributed in two division: the Natural Sciences and the Mathematics division and the Humanities and Social Sciences division. At least 12 semester hours must be selected from a minimum of two departments outside the division of the students major and at least eight semester hours from within the division of the students major but outside his or her major department.

Facilities
Students who minor in environmental studies have access to:

-portable water quality laboratories,
-advanced global positioning systems,
-the latest Geographic Information System applications and databases, computer-imaging equipment, and an energy-dispersive scanning electron microscope.