About the Major
Created
in 1974, Ramapo’s pioneer Environmental Studies major was
created in the spirit of the landmark National Environmental
Policy Act and has matured around the theme of environmental
sustainability, a college-wide commitment reflected in the Ramapo
College Mission Statement. Accordingly, the major offers a systematic,
interdisciplinary approach to education, insuring the integrated
use of the natural and social sciences and the environmental
design arts to understand the profound impacts of human activity
upon the interrelations of all components of the natural environment
and the critical importance of restoring and maintaining environmental
quality. Our focus is simultaneously global and local, our approach
heavily experiential and participatory. We seek to prepare our
students to be leaders in forging an environmentally, economically,
and socially sustainable society, one that balances the needs
of people today with those of future generations and of a diverse
biota.
The Environmental Studies major builds upon foundational coursework
in environmental studies and the basic sciences, placed in an
historical, social, and policy context through our core program,
and then focused on key elements of a sustainable society: earth
and resources, place and communities, sustainable economics,
and ecological practice. Elective courses allow the student
to tailor their education within one of multiple "pathways"
through the major, reflecting combinations of courses that help
prepare the student for specific career goals, such as environmental
policy, education, environmental enterprise, community leadership,
and environmental communication. The pathway preparation culminates
in an appropriate field placement in a real world setting. Field
placement and hands-on courses teach students how to bridge
theory into real world application, both the scientific and
physical aspects of the natural world and the human institutional
and community settings that have transformed it. Two challenging
capstone courses further prepare students to assess environmental
impact from a scientific, social science, and policy perspective
and to do advanced research and communication.
This balance of required courses and tailored alternatives allows
students to exert choice within a structure that guides their
preparation for the diverse field of environmental studies.
The emphasis upon communication skills, critical thinking, interdisciplinary
synthesis, and group cooperation allows graduates to move in
many directions as interest and opportunity emerge. Many graduates
earn advanced degrees, the diversity of which illustrates the
program’s breath. Similarly, while most graduates choose
to work in environmental careers, those careers are varied,
ranging from work in small businesses concerned with solar construction,
in utilities working on energy conservation, on small farms
producing organic produce, to communities running recycling
programs, in engineering firms working on pollution mitigation,
and so on. Graduates work for regulatory agencies, non-profit
corporations, planning departments, environmental education
centers, consulting firms, and corporations. Many become teachers,
park rangers, and environmental specialists. Students are instilled
with a sense of community responsibility and are provided with
the skills to contribute as citizens.
The program offers the opportunity for close faculty-student
relationships through advisement, independent study, small classes,
and student organizations. A unique, cutting-edge, hands-on
learning site, the Ramapo College Sustainability Center has
been developed to demonstrate the components of a sustainable
community, including solar, wind, and other renewable forms
of energy, recycling and composting, and ecological agriculture.
The Center has resulted from long-term community action, having
originally been built by students and faculty in 1974. Through
the faculty’s Institute for Environmental Studies and the
student’s Environmental Alliance, many other opportunities
for collaboration occur, including work on yearly conferences,
and the annual Earth Day celebration, as well as promoting the
ecological management of the Ramapo campus.
Study abroad and travel programs augment on-campus work, including
the study of tropical ecosystems in Costa Rica and national
parks and forests in the American west and southwest. Cooperative
assignments offer the opportunity for paid work on assignment
to local or global placements. Illustrative of scholarship opportunities
is the Weiss Fellowship, based at the Audubon Ecology Center.
Two schools offer the major: The School of Theoretical and Applied
Science (TAS) and the School of Social Science and Human Services
(SSHS). The major leads to a B.A. degree. The major or the alternative
minor both complement other areas of study, ranging from Social
Work, Psychology, Anthropology, to Business Administration,
Communications, Law and Society, and International Studies.
A unique program additionally links the major to the social
science secondary and elementary teacher certification program
at Ramapo, so students can earn a teaching certification while
completing their Environmental Studies degree. |
