<< Back to Programs of Study

Environmental Studies

What is Environmental Studies?
As the world's population continues to become a more comprehensive global community, the boundaries that once separated peoples and nations become less significant and the importance of understanding and protecting our environment becomes more evident. Encouraging students to explore and understand the many aspects of their environment is the goal of Otterbein's Environmental Studies program. The Otterbein Environmental Studies program uses a multidisciplinary approach to explore environments to understand environmental issues and to work toward solving environmental problems. The purpose of the program is to foster students becoming responsible global citizens who appreciate the complexity of environmental issues and work toward developing realistic solutions that promote the sustainability of our planet.

Not all environmental problem solving skills are founded in the science and engineering disciplines and the Otterbein Environmental Studies program curriculum emphasizes the holistic approach to environmental understanding. To earn an Environmental Studies minor, students can take a mixture of classes from the environmental studies, humanities, social sciences, earth sciences and life sciences curricula.

What is the value of Environmental Studies minor?
Global environmental issues related to climate, agriculture, resource management and sustainability are in the headlines daily. These issues affect political decisions, business decisions and have far-reaching social impacts. Tomorrow's decision-makers need to understand environmental processes and have critical thinking skills related to the analysis and interpretation of impacts related to environmental policies. These skills will enable students to evaluate both the short-term and long-term implications of human actions that affect the earth's environment. Environmental issues are pervasive in society today; it's a perennial political issue (related to the management of wastes and other resources, global warming, etc.), businesses promote their products' environmental benefits to customers and communities strive to have cleaner and greener surroundings. Otterbein's Environmental Studies program strives to challenge students to look beyond the surface of the issues and explore the complexity of what may seem to be simple solutions. Exploring questions like: when isn't recycling good, or why could ethanol cause social and water resource impacts if it replaces hydrocarbons, help students look not just at technical solutions but also at the far-reaching impacts of environmentally motivated changes. Employers and communities value an individual's ability to critically assess, understand and communicate these difficult issues. It is part of Otterbein's overall mission to develop well-informed citizens.

Curriculum for Environmental Studies Minor
To see the requirements and course descriptions for this minor, see the Programs link on our online college catalog.