BS in Environmental Sciences with Emphasis in Land and Soil
Degree Program Description
The Environmental Science degree with an emphasis in Land and Soil combines interests in monitoring environmental change, conserving and managing soil and biological organisms, sustainably managing soil, improving environmental quality with the shaping of new policies and educating others about the natural environment and environmental issues. Example careers include Environmental Specialist, Environmental Technician, Land Manager, and Soil Scientist. Employment may occur in a variety of sectors, including federal, state, county and city government agencies, non-government agencies (NGOs), and private consulting firms.
Major Program Requirements
The degree combines interests in monitoring environmental change, conserving and managing soil and biological organisms, sustainably managing soil, and improving environmental quality with the shaping of new policies and educating others about the natural environment and environmental issues. Example careers include Environmental Specialist, Environmental Technician, Land Manager, and Soil Scientist. Employment may occur in a variety of sectors, including federal, state, county and city government agencies, non-government agencies (NGOs), and private consulting firms.
Students earning a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences are required to complete all University general education, University graduation, and degree requirements, including selected foundational courses, which may fulfill some University general education requirements.
Foundational
| MATH 1100 | College Algebra | 3-5 |
| or MATH 1160 | Precalculus Mathematics | |
| MATH 1400 | Calculus for Social and Life Sciences I | 3-5 |
| or MATH 1500 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | |
| CHEM 1320 | College Chemistry I | 4 |
| Business Elective (select from ABM, FINPLN, MANGMT, MRKTNG) | 3 | |
| ABM 2123 | Quantitative Applications in Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences | 3 |
| or STAT 1200 | Introductory Statistical Reasoning | |
| ENV_SC 1100 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3 |
| AGSC_COM 2220 | Verbal Communication in Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources | 3 |
| ATM_SC 1050 | Introductory Meteorology | 3 |
| NAT_R 2325 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| or GEOG 3040 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems GIS | |
| ENV_SC 4560 | Observing the Earth from Space | 3 |
| or ABM 1200 | Applied Computer Applications | |
Core Emphasis Area
| Biological Science | ||
| BIO_SC 1200 | General Botany with Laboratory | 3 |
| or PLNT_SCI 2110 | Plants and their Cultivation | |
| BIO_SC 1500 | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory | 5 |
| FOREST 4320 | Forest Ecology | 5 |
| or BIO_SC 3650 | General Ecology | |
| Chemistry | ||
| CHEM 1330 | College Chemistry II | 4 |
| Geology | ||
| GEOL 1100 | Introduction to the Earth with Laboratory | 4 |
| or GEOL 1200 | Environmental Geology with Laboratory | |
| GEOL 2400 | Surficial Earth Processes and Products with Laboratory | 4 |
| Policy/Regulation | ||
| NAT_R 4353 | Natural Resource Policy/Administration | 3 |
| or ENV_SC 4400W | Environmental Law, Policy, and Justice - Writing Intensive | |
| Soil Science | ||
| SOIL 2100 | Introduction to Soils | 3 |
| SOIL 2106 | Soil Science Laboratory | 2 |
| Physics | ||
| SOIL 4305 | Environmental Soil Physics | 3 |
| SOIL 4306 | Environmental Soil Physics Laboratory | 4 |
| or PHYSCS 1210 | College Physics I | |
| Additional Emphasis Area Requirements | ||
| FOREST 2151 | Dendrology | 4 |
| ENV_SC 2600 | Sustainability Foundations: An Introduction to Sustainability | 3 |
| ENV_SC 3250 | Pollutant Fate and Transport | 3 |
| SOIL 4313 | Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition | 3-4 |
| or FOREST 4330 | Practice of Silviculture | |
| or F_W 4600 | Ecosystem Management | |
| ENV_SC 4940 | Environmental Science Internship | 3 |
| UpperLevel Disciplinary Electives | 15 | |
| Select from the following courses to achieve an additional 15 credits. Must take at least one Atmospheric, Environmental, or Soil Science course, and one course that involved computer modeling. | ||
| ATM_SC 3600 | Climates of the World | |
| AG_S_TCH 4360 | Precision Agriculture Science and Technology | |
| AG_S_TCH 4420 | Surface Water Management | |
| ENV_SC 4305 | Environmental Soil Physics | |
| ENV_SC 4306 | Environmental Soil Physics Laboratory | |
| ENV_SC 4312 | Environmental Soil Microbiology | |
| ENV_SC 4318 | Environmental Soil Chemistry | |
| ENV_SC 4320 | Hydrologic and Water Quality Modeling | |
| ENV_SC 4450 | Environmental Hydrology | |
| F_W 4500 | Animal Population Dynamics and Management | |
| ENV_SC 4600W | Sustainability Science Problem Solving - Writing Intensive | |
| F_W 4600W | Ecosystem Management - Writing Intensive | 3 |
| FOREST 3207 | Forest Fire Control and Use | |
| FOREST 4380 | Forest Resource Management | |
| FOREST 4390 | Watershed Management and Water Quality | |
| GEOG 3610 | Physical Geography of the United States | |
| GEOG 3630 | Earth Surface Systems | |
| GEOG 3830 | Remote Sensing | |
| GEOG 4710 | Spatial Analysis in Geography | |
| GEOG 4940 | Advanced Geographic Information Systems (GIS II) | |
| NAT_R 4110 | Natural Resource Biometrics | |
| NAT_R 4385 | Landscape Ecology and GIS Analysis I | |
| PLNT_SCI 3270 | Forage Crops | |
| PLNT_SCI 3275 | Grain Crops | |
| SOIL 4313 | Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition | |
| Capstone Experience | 4 | |
| SOIL 4320 | Genesis of Soil Landscapes | |
| Electives approved by professional advisor to complete 120 total credits. | ||
Semester Plan
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| HIST 1100 or POL_SC 1100 | 3 | ENGLSH 1000 | 3 | ||
| ENV_SC 1100 | 3 | MATH 1100 | 3 | ||
| BIO_SC 1200 | 5 | BIO_SC 1500 | 5 | ||
| ATM_SC 1050 | 3 | SOIL 2100 | 3 | ||
| 14 | 14 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| CHEM 1320 | 4 | CHEM 1330 | 4 | ||
| AGSC_COM 2220 | 3 | Emphasis Area Elective | 3 | ||
| FOREST 4320 | 5 | GEOL 1200 | 4 | ||
| ENV_SC 2600 | 3 | SOIL 2106 | 2 | ||
| Business Elective | 3 | ||||
| 15 | 16 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| STAT 1200 | 3 | NAT_R 2325 | 3 | ENV_SC 4940 | 3 |
| FOREST 2151 | 4 | ENV_SC 3250 | 3 | ||
| ABM 1200 | 3 | MATH 1400 | 3 | ||
| ENV_SC 3290 | 3 | Humanities Elective-Lower Level WI | 3 | ||
| Emphasis Area Elective | 4 | ||||
| 13 | 16 | 3 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| SOIL 4320 | 4 | FOREST 4330 | 4 | ||
| ENV_SC 4305 | 3 | Emphasis Area Elective-Upper Level WI | 3 | ||
| ENV_SC 4306 | 2 | Humanities Elective | 3 | ||
| Emphasis Area Elective | 3 | NAT_R 4353 | 3 | ||
| GEOL 2400 | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 13 | ||||
| Total Credits: 120 | |||||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.