LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) – UW-La Crosse students are now able to declare an environmental science major. The major provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to address pressing environmental issues facing society.
“We came up with this idea to add a new environmental science major because there has been an increase in the number of environmental science degrees awarded since 2014 and students are more interested in having degrees with the word environment in the title of their degree,” says UWL geography & environmental science professor Joan Bunbury.
University professors call it a unique major because it’s interdisciplinary across colleges and departments.
“The way that this program is structured is that students need to take an assortment of courses towards the core of the program from across all of those departments, and then they can branch out into different tracks in geospatial techniques, biology, chemistry or microbiology,” says Bunbury.
Professors say there have been calls for this major in the past, and the new addition could lead to students staying enrolled at UWL.
“We certainly over the years have heard from students that are interested in doing an environmental science major. That was part of the impetus for us to move forward with the development of this. We potentially have students that might go to another university if that wasn’t an option here,” says UWL geography & environmental science department chair Colin Belby.
The environmental science major became available this semester, and the university hopes interested students will take advantage of the opportunity.
UWL officials say those who earn a bachelor’s degree in environmental science will be positioned for careers in climate change mitigation, natural resource management, and more.
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