Environmental Biology and Climate Change

Major Requirements: The BS in Environmental Biology and Climate Change requires 71 hours of major courses, including courses in subjects such as Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Mathematics and Philosophy.

General Education Requirements: In addition to the major program requirements, all students must satisfy the general education requirements. Talk with your success coach and faculty advisor about which courses are right for you.

Examples of major courses:

• General Biology I and II
• Ecology and Global Change
• Terrestrial and Plant Ecology
• Expeditionary Ecosystem Studies
• General Chemistry I and II
• Climate Change Science, Impacts & Responses
• Chemistry in the Environment

Examples of electives:

• Ecophysiology
• Vertebrate Biology
• Environmental Controversies in Austin
• Environmental Politics and Policy

View and download the full degree plan for the BS in Environmental Biology and Climate Change degree plan (PDF)

What You Will Learn

Majoring in Environmental Biology and Climate Change provides a broad understanding of the world around you. You’ll study the fundamental principles of biology at work in ecosystems and their role in climate change. Here’s a sample of what you’ll learn and experience:

• Use foundational studies in biology, chemistry, mathematics and analysis to inform and solve critical environmental issues related to climate change. 
• Conduct one-on-one research and apply geographic information systems as you develop solutions to this existential threat.
• Study the effect of climate change on ecosystems in Texas and around the world, with extensive field experience locally and beyond. 
• Identify critical components of climate change issues, analyze them and offer sustainable solutions.

Skills You Will Gain

Your classroom studies and experiential learning activities prepare you with skills that are valuable across many workplaces and employment scenarios. You’ll learn to …

• Collect data in the field
• Use cutting-edge technology to study climate change
• Write scientific grant proposals
• Read scientific literature critically
• Solve problems in teams
• Practice communicating science to a broad audience

Experiential Learning 

Hands-on learning is a strong component of the Environmental Biology and Climate Change major, which is seen in courses like these:

• In Ecology and Global Change, you’ll take two or more field trips to different ecosystems such as the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma, the Four Corners of the U.S. Southwest or the Texas coast.
• Entomology, which focuses on the evolutionary adaptations and biodiversity found among insect groups, includes a field-based collection component. You’ll travel to different sites and learn how to collect, preserve and identify insects. 
• A hallmark of the Environmental Biology and Climate Change major is the course in Expeditionary Ecosystem Studies, in which you’ll visit local examples of the course’s focal ecosystem.

Research

All Environmental Biology and Climate Change students will complete at least a year of research individually mentored by a professor. You’ll have the opportunity to complete fieldwork at Blunn Creek, right next to campus; at Wild Basin, an urban preserve in West Austin; or at the St. Edward’s ecolab in Spicewood, in the Hill Country. Along with fellow students, you’ll attend professional conferences to network with professionals in the field, learn about others’ research and present your own work.

Outstanding students complete Research Experiences for Undergraduates, in which they join the lab of a professor at a major research university over a summer. These competitive experiences, funded by the National Science Foundation, introduce you to research with different mentors and help you evaluate whether a research career is right for you.

Internships

As a student in the Environmental Biology and Climate Change program, you have access to the funding programs, including paid internships, offered exclusively to STEM students at St. Edward’s University by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4). For more information on these programs please visit the Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4).

Student Organizations

Students for Sustainability educates the St. Edward’s community about eco-friendly practices and works with the St. Edward’s administration to implement environmental initiatives. Members help maintain the campus garden, learn about biking and public transportation, encourage fellow students to reduce their use of plastic water bottles, and have clothing swaps and upcycled craft nights.

The St. Edward’s chapter of the Texas Academy of Science supports student research, including presentation and publication opportunities. Members also tutor in the sciences and complete other service projects.

Students with strong academic achievement in the sciences are eligible to join the St. Edward’s chapter of Beta Beta Beta, the National Biological Honor Society.

You can contribute to the launch of new organizations like the St. Edward’s student chapters of the Ecological Society of America and The Wildlife Society.

Through the Environmental Biology and Climate Change minor, you’ll learn about the impacts of global change on ecosystems in Texas and around the world. You’ll gain the tools needed to identify, understand and analyze climate change issues with the goal of developing solutions to the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.

In addition to fundamental topics in environmental biology and climate change, this program combines courses that will broaden your knowledge and participation in the sub-disciplines of ecology, conservation and evolution.

This minor is designed to dramatically enhance your connection to the Austin community through an experiential learning-based curriculum in which you will help implement meaningful environmental projects at the local, regional and global scales. For example, students in Environmental Conservation and Climate Change are helping local researchers understand the impacts of urbanization on vegetation at different locations within Austin and the nearby Texas Hill Country. Our faculty also support student opportunities to investigate environmental problems internationally — e.g., to investigate the impacts of climate change on South African savannas.

Based in the Department of Biological Sciences, the minor in Environmental Biology and Climate Change is available to all St. Edward’s undergraduates. 

Outcomes

This type of training supports professionals in field research, GIS (geographic information system) analysis and biostatistics. However, the experience and skills you gain can be leveraged in any major, whether it’s business, communication or political science. 

Climate change is a pervasive problem that has dramatic impacts on many aspects of human life — e.g., infectious diseases, social justice, food security and the global economy. Furthermore, fields such as technology, public policy and business enterprises will be central to helping mitigate these impacts. This minor is relevant to those who are interested in a wide range of fields such as medicine, public health, biotechnology, environmental law, sustainable agriculture, sustainable business practices and more.

Minor Requirements

Minor Core Courses (16 credit hours)

• General Biology II, Lab (4 credit hours)
• Ecology and Global Change / Environmental Conservation / Climate Change: (4 credit hours) 
• Terrestrial and Plant Ecology (4 credit hours)
• Population Biology and Ecology, Lab (4 credit hours) 

Minor Electives

Choose a minimum of 5 credit hours from the following courses:

• Biostatistics (3 credit hours)  
• Biological Programming (3 credit hours)
• Geographic Information Systems (3 credit hours)
• Ecophysiology (3 credit hours)
• Expeditionary Ecosystem Studies (4 credit hours) 
• Research in Biology (1–3 credit hours)
• Evolution (3 credit hours)
• Natural Resources Conservation & Management (3 credit hours)
• Environmental and Ecological Field Methods (3 credit hours)
• Environmental Controversies in Austin (3 credit hours)

At St. Edward’s University, all curricula in the Biological Sciences are founded upon evolutionary theory. As a subject of scientific inquiry, the theory of evolution provides opportunities for testing of hypotheses that strengthen our understanding of the processes that account for the diversity of life on earth, and existing data overwhelmingly support the theory as scientifically sound. We regard any non-scientific or teleological attempts that distract from the scientific processes that underlie science as, at best, a diversion to our mission to provide exceptional education to our students in the Biological Sciences. We stand with the numerous scientific societies that have issued statements on the subject of evolution and intelligent design, confirming the demonstrated success of the former and rejecting the scientific viability of the latter.