Minor in Environmental Sciences
The undergraduate minor in environmental sciences was revised for 2024-2025. To see former versions of the curriculum please visit the archived version at the Iowa Digital Library.
The undergraduate minor in environmental sciences requires a minimum of 15 s.h. in University of Iowa environmental sciences coursework. Students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.00 in all courses for the minor and in all UI courses for the minor. Coursework in the minor may not be taken pass/nonpass.
The minor in environmental sciences requires the following coursework.
Foundation Courses
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| ENVS:1080/EES:1080 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 4 |
| ENVS:1085/EES:1085 | Fundamentals of Environmental Science | 4 |
| One of these: | ||
| ENVS:2673/BIOL:2673 | Ecology | 3 |
| ENVS:3020/EES:3020/GEOG:3020 | Earth Surface Processes | 3 |
Electives
Students complete at least 8 s.h. from the following courses, including at least one course from each category.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least one of these: | ||
| ENVS:3110/EES:3110 | Chemical Evolution of the Oceans | 3 |
| BIOL:1261 | Introduction to Botany | 4 |
| BIOL:1411 | Foundations of Biology | 4 |
| BIOL:1412 | Diversity of Form and Function | 4 |
| BIOL:2246 | Entomology Lab | 4 |
| CEE:4150/CBE:4420 | Environmental Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM:3120 | Spectroscopy and Separations | 3 |
| CHEM:4760 | Radiochemistry: Energy, Medicine, and the Environment | 3 |
| EES:1050 | Introduction to Geology | 4 |
| EES:3070 | Marine Ecosystems and Conservation | 3 |
| EES:3220 | Evolution of the Vertebrates | 4 |
| EES:3300 | Sedimentary Geology | 4 |
| EES:3360/GEOG:3360 | Soil Genesis and Geomorphology | 3 |
| EES:4490 | Elements of Geochemistry | 3 |
| EES:4630 | Hydrogeology | 4 |
| EES:4640 | Contaminant Hydrogeology | 3 |
| EES:4790 | Applied Environmental Geology | 3 |
| GEOG:2374/BIOL:2374 | Biogeography | 3 |
| GEOG:2950 | Environmental Conservation | 4 |
| GEOG:3315 | Ecosystem Ecology | 3 |
| GEOG:3350 | Urban Ecology | 3 |
| At least one of these: | ||
| ENVS:2001/EES:2001 | Second-Year Field Trip for Earth and Environmental Sciences | 1 |
| ENVS:3001/EES:3001 | Third-Year Field Trip for Earth and Environmental Sciences | 1 |
| ENVS:3095 | Field Ecology | 4 |
| ENVS:3096 | Winter Ecology | 2 |
| ENVS:3097 | Introduction to Bird Study | 2 |
| ENVS:3230 | Special Topics (when topic is Prairie Restoration, or with advisor approval) | 0-4 |
| ENVS:4001/EES:4001 | Fourth-Year Field Trip for Earth and Environmental Sciences | 2 |
| CHEM:3430 | Analytical Measurements | 3 |
| EES:1180 | Geology of National Parks: Field Trip | 2 |
| EES:2831 | Geologic Field Methods | 3 |
| EES:4680 | Field Methods in Hydrologic Science | 3 |
| GEOG:4010 | Field Methods in Physical Geography | 3 |
| Approved Iowa Lakeside Laboratory courses (prefix IALL) | ||