B.A. In Environmental Policy and Economics

The Environmental Studies and Sciences program at Moravian University acquaints students with the myriad environmental issues that face us today. It seeks to develop a framework in which students can work closely with faculty and one another to analyze problems, test assumptions, and debate issues as they affect our lives as citizens of our community, our nation, and the world. The perspective we seek to develop is strongly interdisciplinary, incorporating the natural sciences as well as economics, history, philosophy, and political science. In addition, it is designed to transcend national boundaries. All students in the program, regardless of their area of concentration, will share important common experiences, including a unique capstone course in which they will work in teams to investigate environmental issues.

Why Moravian?

It's all about the experience! The opportunities here are life-changing. Here’s a preview of what you’ll experience as a Moravian University student:

• A tech-friendly campus: Every student receives a MacBook Pro and an iPad as soon as they deposit
• Personalized learning: We have an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio and an average class size of 17 students
• Classic college town: Moravian is located in historic downtown Bethlehem, PA
• Lifetime support: Say hello to the Center for Career and Civic Engagement!
• Global education: Choose from more than 20 study abroad programs
• Opportunities beyond the classroom: Participate in research, civic engagement, scholarship programs, internships, and more.
• A vast and active network: There are more than 20,000 Moravian alumni across the world, ready to help you get a job

Students who pursue Environmental Studies and Sciences at Moravian have the option of earning either a B.S. in Environmental Science or a B.A. in Environmental Policy and Economics. All students in both majors will have a shared body of knowledge through common coursework before the upper-level courses in their respective tracks, and through the capstone seminar course, which B.S. and B.A. students will take in combined sections. The balance of shared experience and field-specific knowledge is designed to foster cooperative work and learning among students and faculty.

Course Work

As prerequisites to the program, all students must take Economics 152 and a course in statistics (Mathematics 107 or Economics 156), preferably before the spring term of the sophomore year.

The Common Environmental Studies and Sciences Core

Students in both tracks are required to take six-course units in a common core of the study. Five courses are designed to create a foundation that fosters an understanding of this interdisciplinary field. The final writing-intensive course, which should be taken in the senior year, is intended specifically to teach and demonstrate research methods through integrative group research projects and presentations.

Students completing one of the majors within the Moravian University Environmental Studies & Sciences Program will demonstrate:

• An understanding of major local, regional, and global environmental and resource challenges, their causes, and possible solutions
• Knowledge of local, state, federal, and international environmental policies, along with the role of the policy-making process in environmental problem solving
• Acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for environmental decision making
• A critical and ethical approach to environmental problem solving, based on scientific methodology and an understanding of ecological principles
• Comparative philosophical, religious, cross-cultural, and historical perspectives on global resource and environmental issues
• An understanding of the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability and an ability to apply concepts of sustainability to the campus and globally
• Written, verbal, and graphical communication skills appropriate for professional and public audiences