Environmental Studies

 
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Core Coursework

As part of the Environmental Studies concentration, you take courses in each of the following six subject areas. Courses can be taken for 3-4 credits. You choose one course for each core area and the remaining courses or other learning experiences count as electives. Transfer credits can be used in both core and elective areas; prior learning credits are often used as electives.

Environmental Science
Courses meeting this requirement teach you current field and laboratory procedures in air, water and land science. Examples might include determining dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate/phosphate levels in stream systems, or diameter breast height (DBH) of trees in a Northwest forest. You look for correlations in their data and submit findings in a scientific paper or class presentation. Sample coursework includes:

  • Water Quality Assessment   
  • Field Based Environmental Analysis
  • Cascade Geology/Hydrology

Bio-regional Studies and Nature Awareness Skills
Classes in this area will introduce you to naturalistic skills and content knowledge related to the study of the flora and fauna of our local geographic area, the Pacific Northwest. This place-based approach will serve as a foundation for the development of naturalistic skills and content knowledge transferable to virtually any geographic region. Examples includes:

  • Flora and Fauna of the Pacific Northwest
  • Bio-regional Studies: The Dynamic Duwamish
  • Old-growth Forest Ecology
  • Birds in the Imagination and the Field
  • Nature Awareness Skills

Global Environmental Justice Issues
You become knowledgeable and award of global environmental justice issues such as biodiversity, conservation, global warming and sustainability. Examples of courses meeting this competency include:

  • Global Environmental Problems
  • Environmental Policy
  • Environmental Justice Issues
  • Global Warming
  • History of the Environmental Movement
  • Urban Sustainability

Eco-psychology and/or Eco-spirituality
You are introduced to ways of thinking about how nature relates to matters of psyche and spirit. The sacred dimension of nature is explored through dreams, ritual and indigenous ways of knowing while the psychological dimension is explored through the study of nature-based practices for psychological health. Courses include:

  • Ecopsychology
  • Wilderness Therapy
  • Dreams and the Earth
  • Ritual Process and Ceremonial Design
  • The Spiritual Psychology of the Human Heart

Environmental Leadership, Education and Advocacy
One of the objectives of this concentration is to become an educator and/or advocate for the environment. You develop skills in experiential education and leadership including facilitating group dynamics, conflict resolution and building community in the wilderness. In addition, you learn how to teach environmental principles in an outdoor setting and advocate for urban sustainability. Examples in this area include:    

  • Games for Leaders: Facilitation of Low Risk to High Element Activities
  • Methods of the Environmental Educator 
  • Survey of Outdoor Education
  • Expeditionary Leadership

Eco-art
These classes help you explore nature through the arts, such as photography, poetry, painting, etc. Courses are designed to develop the artistic imagination of the student while granting them an opportunity to reflect on their work in a natural setting. You will also gain a sense of the history and methods of eco-art criticism. Courses include:

  • Nature Writing/ Poetry
  • Eco-literature
  • Nature Photography
  • Digital Storytelling

Sample Electives

You choose from a variety of electives that may include:

  • The Nature of Wilderness First Aid
  • Oceanography and Marine Science  
  • Environmental Justice and Racism
  • Women in the Wilderness
  • Alchemy and Science: Toward the Re-imagination of Nature

Community and Capstone Projects

All students do a project in the community during their time at Antioch. The project supports your learning goals and your area of concentration. You may choose your own project or work with an organization that is already involved with Antioch students. Your adviser will help you determine the best choice for your education and career goals. You finish your studies with a capstone project that brings various elements of you learning together.

Sample Community-based Field Experiences

  • Develop a project to enhance the sustainability of Antioch University Seattle
  • Volunteer with Seattle Parks service-learning projects, NYSD, Earth Day
  • Internship with Outward Bound schools in Mazama, WA (summer)
  • Course work with Wilderness Awareness School
  • Internship with Passages Northwest (women) or Center for Wooden Boats
  • Lead an outdoor trip with Rite of Passage Journeys

Sample Capstone Projects

  • Develop a business plan for a new environmental start-up
  • Compare and contrast wilderness first aid programs (OEC, WFR, MOFA, etc.)
  • Develop a project on local, sustainable agriculture in the Seattle area
  • Give a multimedia presentation on the effects of climate change on the skiing industry in Washington state
  • Design an advocacy project promoting outdoor recreation and experiential education for troubled youth in public high schools
  • Undertake a wilderness vision quest and write a quest narrative
  • Give a public presentation on global warming
  • Use digital story-telling to establish an environmental presence on the web
  • Compare and contrast different farming systems (agri-business, organic, bio-dynamic, and permaculture)