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Environmental Science Program: Science, Studies and Engineering
The Natural Environment is an exciting and growing area for study that holds a great promise for future career opportunities, Marietta College offers three bachelor degrees and two minors in this area: a B.S. and a minor in Environmental Science, a B.A. and a minor in Environmental Studies, and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering. All three majors are designed to produce broadly and professionally educated graduates able to comprehend, analyze, and solve environmental problems, either in careers in the field or as leaders in society. All three are interdisciplinary with the main difference being in core orientation and long term goals. Environmental Science has its core a strong emphasis in physical and biological science. Focus of the field is in addressing problems that arise in the interaction of humans and their environment. Environmental Science is a degree program aimed at preparing students to be leaders in field analysis of environmental problems and in developing and implementing solutions to those problems. These graduates go on to work in all sectors of our economy, public, private and non-profit, since the demand for environmental expertise spans across these areas. Environmental Studies draws heavily upon the social science disciplines with significant input from the natural sciences and humanities. Students focus on problem solving as a means of addressing conflicts in human social and cultural systems and the environment . Students in this major often pursue careers in government, law, non-profit management and journalism. Environmental Engineering is grounded in the engineering disciplines and prepares students to pursue careers in the highly challenging field of applying technology to prevent and correct environmental problems. Students in this major go on to be leaders in the rapidly expanding area of environmental, industrial, and commercial enterprise. In the Environmental Science Program at Marietta College, all our majors are broadly and professionally educated, Environment Science, Studies and Engineering majors, by the completion of their course of study, are able to comprehend, analyze, and solve environmental problems. This knowledge and these skills enable them not only to be successful in their careers, but also to be citizen leaders within our society. The Environmental Science Program at Marietta presents students with a unique combination of strengths for their education and professional development:
These factors combine to make the environmental majors and minors at Marietta College exceptional ways to prepare for careers in this growing field. In March 1996, Marietta College designated the environmental science program a "peak of distinction" with the commitment to making one of the College's premier programs. Dr Eric Fitch, a highly qualified environmental professional, joined Marietta as Director of the Program in May 1997. He leads a diverse faculty, drawn from across a wide range of disciplines and departments, in the delivery of these strong and exciting majors and minors. The Program: Providing Depth and BreadthA recent survey by the Environmental Careers Organization asked employers what skills graduates needed to begin a career in the environmental area. The top responses were written and oral communication skills,computer skills, practical experience and analytical skills -- in other words, the very skills that Marietta seeks to develop in its environmental science majors. "I did not just learn in one area," said alumnus James Molholm, "I developed writing and speaking skills, and the ethics courses allowed me to look at issues I might not have otherwise seen." Environmental science, studies and engineering by their very nature, are highly interdisciplinary, and specialized knowledge, is not what is called for in the field. Rather, it is the ability to examine issues and solve problems, incorporating a variety of approaches, that is the key to success in this field. For that reason, the "science foundations" part of Marietta's program offers a balanced selection of required and elective courses from the areas of environmental science, biology, chemistry, geology, physics, petroleum engineering, mathematics, computer science, and general engineering. Representative courses required for the environmental science major include Practical Statistics, Scientific Computing and Problem Solving, Environmental Geology, Environmental Biology, Ecology, Earth ( or Water) Resources, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Physics, and Applied Environmental Science.
In addition the "social issues" part of the program draws from the areas of environmental studies, economics, philosophy, and leadership. Students may select courses such as Environmental Policy and Politics, Environmental Impact and Resource Assessment, Environmental Economics, Environmental Ethics, Business Ethics, Science and Public Policy, Leaders in Environmental Activism, and Organizational Leadership. A number of additional courses throughout the curriculum also contain environmental components. Students who are interested in studying the environment and pursuing a career in this area have a number of options at Marietta College. Students can not only choose from the three majors and the two minors, but we can also pursue specialization within their majors. The Environmental Science major has three tracks that offer a greater intensity of knowledge and understanding in an area of interest. These tracks are in the areas of Waste Management, Biological Resource Management, and Energy and Minerals Management. Environmental Studies majors can focus their study in political, economic or social institutional arrangements for managing environmental conflict. Students who choose to pursue the Environmental Engineering major immerse themselves in an intense pursuit of knowledge, skill and understanding of the technical aspects of pollution control, management and prevention. Marietta's nationally recognized and accredited Department of Petroleum Engineering makes us one of only a handful of liberal arts colleges in the U.S. with an engineering program, and the only with petroleum engineering. Interaction with this program will give environmental science majors at Marietta College a perspective that is not readily available in environmental programs at similar schools. Hand-on ExperiencePractical experience is an integral part of the environmental science major. Each student takes one-credit-hour experience learning course that provides a minimum of 40 hours of skill-building work, often over the course of the summer between junior and senior year. Alumna Jaime Wallace spent her summer in Vermont tracking the number and species of fish being caught, helping devise soil conservation methods to prevent river bank erosion, and correlating the water temperature near dams with fish populations. Closer at hand, Marietta's location provides numerous opportunities for meaningful hand-on experiences in environmental areas. Situated at the confluence of two rivers, Marietta is in close proximity to a national forest, the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and recreation areas, as well as strip mines, oil and gas wells, and numerous major industries, including petrochemical, plastic, and ferroalloy manufacturing. Another environmental science alumna, Anna Ziegler, helped to found RECOVER, an important grassroots community group dedicated to the improvement of the environmental quality of the Mid-Ohio River valley. Senior Capstone ProjectThe Senior Capstone of the environmental science major brings student teams together to investigate and contribute to the solution of real-life environmental problems. Recent capstone projects have included a study of waste-water treatment system, research conducted for the Ohio EPA of other states' policies regarding forested wetlands, and an investigation into the extent to which a local industry is in compliance with the Clean Water Act. The nearby DuPont Polymers plant has also sponsored a senior project by an environmental science major who developed an alternative means for disposal for a manufacturing waste product that was considerable less expensive for DuPont and also more environmentally sustainable. Students Environmental OrganizationsMarietta offers a variety of opportunities for environmentally conscious students to become involved in both campus and community activities. Marietta's chapter of Students for Environmental Action (SEA) and an ad hoc task force recently started the campus-wide institutionalized Marietta College Recycling Program. Eligible students may earn work-study income by helping with the recycling program. One of the small residence halls is designated the ECO House. Residents of the House have sponsored Earth Day celebrations and Green Up Day at Marietta, taking part in a national initiative at campuses throughout the country. They also sponsor speakers and programs for the campus community on environmental topics. Environmental science majors are in the process of creating a professional club for students interested in pursuing environmental careers. One of the goals of the environmental science program is for the faculty to work together to develop a comprehensive environmental policy and management plan for the College. As one Marietta student asserts. "There aren't too many schools where students have been given the kind of responsibility we have." FacilitiesBecause the environmental science major represents the collaborative effort of the entire science division, students use classrooms, laboratory, computer, and student-faculty research facilities in the Selby Science Center (composed of the Selby Chemistry Building and the Bartlett Biology Building), Mills Hall (Departments of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics), and the Edwy R. Brown Building (Departments of Geology and Petroleum Engineering), Facilities in Selby include a computer-based molecular modeling lab and an instruments room with a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, gas and liquid chromatographs, and a mass spectrometer, among other equipment. A roof-top greenhouse, animal rooms, and a herbarium, climate chambers, and a photographic darkroom are located in Bartlett. The computer lab in Mills features up-to-date computing facilities and mathematics software. Among the laboratories in Brown is the geology department's paleontology laboratory, which houses exceptionally fine fossils and stratigraphic collections. The petroleum department is home to laboratories for drilling and completion fluids; natural gas; and reservoir, rock and fluids.Computer facilities in Brown include a laboratory equipped with Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Career OpportunitiesEnvironmental science graduates have a range of opportunities open to them upon graduation. Environmental science graduates are prepared for graduate school, law school, or immediate careers in the field. For example, opportunities exists for environmental science, studies, and engineering graduates to work as:
Since the field of environmental science is so pervasive in society today, environmental science, studies and engineering graduates have opportunities to use their education to work in many other capacities in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
LeadershipLeadership skill -- the ability to motivate and provide direction, build a team, and know when to take charge -- are of vital importance where environmental issues are concerned. Students have an unparalleled opportunity develop these skills through Marietta's distinctive interdisciplinary McDonough Leadership Program, which provides formal education in the theory and practice of leadership. Students examine leadership by studying literature, history, culture, and political and ethical issues. Offered as either a minor or certificate program, the Leadership Program combines course work with the chance to experience leadership through community service, internships, and other opportunities with local and national corporations, government bureaus, and interesting non-profit agencies. For example, Nathan Reid, an environmental science major with a major in leadership, was one of two Ohio students selected to serve on Citizens Advisory Board Council on Nuclear Power Safety (CAC). The CAC, which in a statewide group consisting of local government officials, engineers, scientist, industry representatives, and environmental group representatives, advises the Utility Radiological Safety Board of Ohio on issues affecting the safety of Ohio's two nuclear power plants.
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