A minor Environmental Science and Policy is not available; however, non-ENSP students may be interested in the Sustainability Studies Minor, which is closely related to but not the same as "science" or "policy." The Sustainability Studies Minor is co-sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the School of Public Policy.
To delcare a minor
If you are interested in declaring a minor then you should contact the appropriate advisor in the department in which the minor is housed. For example, if you wish to declare a minor in Spanish, you should reach out to the Spanish department’s advising office. If you wish to declare a minor in Math, contact that Math department. I cannot add minors to your record, nor to I oversee the requirements for them; again, the Minor department will handle those tasks.
To prepare, you should take your ENSP graduation plan and incorporate the courses required for the minor into it. Keep in mind you can overlap two courses (6 credits) between a major and a minor. Work with both your major and minor advisors to make sure you’re not overlapping too much!
Note: University policy says that if you wish to have a Minor, then you need to declare it NO LATER THAN A YEAR BEFORE YOU INTEND TO GRADUATE.
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Please note: Any major can prepare you for an environment- or sustainability-related career, with appropriate supporting courses and practical experience (internships):
Major + (Supporting Courses or Minor) + Internships/experience = Environmental Careers
To prepare for an environment- or sustainability-oriented career...
1. Develop your knowledge base:
- Take every opportunity to write papers about environment- or sustainability-related topics -- Here, you are "self-teaching," which is what most of us do all the time in "The Real World."
- Consider registering for minors that relate to your interests or that may not be offered through your primary major. It would not be in your best interest just to declare a minor because it's "convenient" or "basically already built into my major". A minor should be declared to supplement and further your knowledge base in a subject other than your major. Note that only 6 credits may overlap between a major and minor; and if you choose two minors, there can be no overlap at all between them.
2. Choose "supporting courses," including 15+ credits of meaningfully-related courses, including 9 upper-level courses that support your interests.
- You can list supporting courses under your degree information as "Supporting courses include: (course titles here)." Be sure you can talk in detail about what you learned in job interviews!
3. Acquire experience:
- Practical experience is much more important to your career than your major, per se. Take any and all opportunities to participate in related campus clubs, accumulate volunteer experience and complete internships.
- Most students are better served by adding internships and experience than by adding a second major, since completing a second major often limits the time needed for experience and taking supporting courses.
