Located on the edge of the Berkshire Mountains, Westfield State offers an exceptional opportunity to learn environmental science through hands-on field work. 

  • Students enter the major and develop as a cohort, so you become very connected to your classmates
  • We have highly credentialed faculty, including an expert wildlife biologist and president of the wildlife society, ecological restoration professional, researcher studying tropical forest restoration, dam removal expert, and more
  • Our Natural History and Field Techniques course is taught almost entirely outside
  • Our students are passionate about the environment
  • Science-based major offering many more science classes than similar programs
  • Students are encouraged to conduct research and present their findings at local, regional and national conferences
  • The Massachusetts Department of Ecological Restoration is located on campus and many student work with them on projects
  • Hands-on

    in outdoor labs 

  • Study abroad

    opportunities in Costa Rica and Ecuador 

Requirements

Program Description

The Environmental Science Major consists 53-68 credits, depending on advising and the interests of the student. Courses denoted with an asterisk (*) also satisfy the University's Common Core requirements. All students must take at least 21 credit hours from the list below at Westfield State University. A minimum grade point average of 2.7 in the Environmental Science major is required to be eligible to graduate with a degree in Environmental Science.

Required Environmental Science Courses (26-28 credits)
Required Fundamental Lab Science Classes (15-16 credits)
Areas of Study - Dimensions

12-16 credits, by advisement; must choose one from each of the three dimensions, plus one additional course from any of the three areas.

Natural Dimensions

Human Dimensions

Methods/Technology Dimensions

Upper-Level Course Requirements
Capstone Senior Thesis/Seminar
Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in the Common Core.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand fundamental ecological concepts such as cycles, systems, ecosystems, food webs, biodiversity, trophic levels, energy flow in ecosystems, sustainability, etc.
  • Have a basic knowledge of environmental issues such as resource consumption, water use, energy, climate change, species population trends, the tradeoffs between human development and the environment, etc.
  • Have advanced knowledge in an area of their choice (ex. GIS, Wildlife Conservation, etc.)
  • Have a basic understanding of the relationships between developing and developed countries and their effects on the environment and each other
Environmental Science students in the field
Environmental Planning Club
The Environmental Planning Club encourages members to enrich the environment.

Advisor

Environmental Planning Club