CSU Channel Islands offers a unique undergraduate degree program with two different emphases.
What is Environmental Science and Resource Management?
Today’s environmental problems call for individuals who are educated in more than one discipline, highly trained in technical skills, and aware of the political, economic, and social dimensions of environmental decisions. The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) provides solid training in basic physical, biological, and social sciences, and application of management science to reduce adverse impacts of human activity on the environment and to maximize the benefits that accrue from environmental resources.
In the narrowest sense, Environmental Science is the study of the impact of human systems on physical and biological systems, and the dependence on natural resources by human systems. In a broader sense, Environmental Science is the study of the interaction and co-evolution of human, physical, and biological systems. Resource Management is concerned with the most effective means of avoiding damage to environmental assets and extracting beneficial uses of environmental resources, within the context of social institutions. Effective Resource Management considers benefits and costs, uncertainties and risks, limits of knowledge, institutional constraints, and social and political forces.
Senior Capstone
Students spend an entire academic year developing, revising, and executing an independent research project. Various faculty or external collaborators may assist with elements of their projects, but each student is responsible for managing all aspects of their scholarship and seeing it through to completion by May of each year. Their work is independently evaluated by external reviewers. This course guides students into real world application post graduation.