Student/Faculty Designed, BA (College of the Environment)

Department of Environmental Studies, College of the Environment

Introduction

Students who wish to design their own majors within the College of the Environment should obtain complete guidelines from the Undergraduate Advisors located in ES 539, the College of the Environment office. The major must be developed with faculty advisement and must be approved by two faculty members and the College of the Environment Curriculum Committee at least four quarters before the student’s anticipated graduation.

Why Consider a College of the Environment Student/Faculty Designed Major?

How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):

You can declare yourself as an Environmental Studies (ENVS) pre-major at any time.  There are several advantages to declaring during your freshman or sophomore year. Once you are declared as a pre-major you are assigned a College of the Environment faculty advisor based on your interests at the time of declaration. You can then meet with your faculty advisor to discuss which courses to take and when, how to prepare for graduate school or a future career, or simply to get assistance navigating through the College of the Environment curriculum. Your email is added to an email distribution list for College of the Environment majors so you will begin to receive notifications and general announcements, as well as information about jobs, internships, or research opportunities.

Some important information about the ENVS major:

1. Admission to the student faculty design major is a competitive process and requires the coursework above and a grade of B- or better in ENVS 201 and ENVS 203, as well as a satisfactory GPA in all other coursework. Applications can be found at cenv.wwu.edu/undergraduate-applications-college-environment. 
2. Student faculty design majors must submit their plan of study and a brief written justification to the College of the Environment Curriculum Coordinating Committee at least four quarters before graduation. Their major must have a unique title and the support of two faculty members. The Academic Coordinating Commission, a standing committee of Western’s Faculty Senate, must provide final approval of a Student/Faculty Designed Major title.
3. Changes to your major, plan of study or requests for a change of advisor require completing a new declaration card.

If you have any questions, please contact a professional advisor at the central College of the Environment office in Environmental Studies Building 539, or by phone (360-650-2817), or (360-650-3748).

Grade Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required for a student’s major or minor courses, and supporting courses for majors and minors.