Society and the Environment

Overview
Society and the Environment is an interdisciplinary track for completing the Master of Humanities or the Master of Social Science. It emphasizes the human side of environmental issues, while also emphasizing that human issues are never separate from issues of ecology. It challenges students to apply knowledge from the social and biological sciences to environmental problems across a broad spectrum of institutional sectors and geographic locations. Applications include environmental hazards and disasters, environmental impact assessment, protected area management and interpretation, collaborative conservation, ecoregion conservation, conservation policy, and international development. This track provides students with courses in critical social theory, participatory qualitative methods, quantitative methods, human ecology, and topical issues. It also provides training in important technologies, especially geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and digital film.

Target Audience
This program is relevant for students who are interested in future careers in environmental planning, the implementation of environmental programs, environmental impact assessment in the public and private sectors, or environmental policy making in government agencies and international development agencies. Students may go directly into the job market or use the track/option as background and stepping stone toward a PHD or other advanced degrees.

Suggested Advisors

Communication: Dr. Larry Erbert
Geography: Dr. Brian Page, Dr. Gregory Simon
Interdisciplinary Studies: Dr. Omar Swartz
Political Science: Dr. Sasha Breger-Bush
History: Dr. Dale Stahl

Master of Social Science Core Requirements
Required Core MSS courses
IDST 5020 Foundations and Theories of Interdisciplinary Studies (every Fall)*
IDST 5013 Methods and Practices of Interdisciplinary Studies (every Spring)**
IDST 5023 Research Perspective in Interdisciplinary Studies (once a year)***

Society and the Environment Track Requirements
In addition to the program’s core required courses, the following are required:
Required courses for this track total 18 credit hours. The core social science courses required of those admitted to the Master of Social Science Program comprise 9 credit hours. The remaining 9 credit hours consist of methods courses offered by several departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. All courses must be taken in residency at the University of Colorado Denver.

1. In addition to the program’s core requirements, a minimum of 12 credit hours of society and environment related courses,
2. A final project (3 credit hours) or thesis (6-credit hours) on a society and environment topic must be completed successfully.

Methods Courses (one course required from each category)
Qualitative (choose one)
BSBT 6063 Speaking and Presenting for Scientists and Educators
GEOG Geo-Humanities, GIS, and Critical GIS

Quantitative (choose one)
ANTH 5053 Quantitative Methods in Anthropology
ENVS 5600 Applied Statistics for the Natural Sciences

Technical (choose one)
GEOG 5060 Remote Sensing I: Intro to Environmental Remote Sensing
GEOG 5080 Introduction to GIS
GEOG 5235 GIS Applications in the Health Sciences
ENVS 6200 Risk Assessment