Environmental Science and Technology Major

Notice of Addendum: The requirements for this program were updated effective Spring 2024 and have been published on ADDENDA TO THIS CATALOG.

Program Director: Paul Leisnham, Ph.D.

The Environmental Science and Technology major prepares students for graduate study and careers focusing on understanding the natural and built environments and resolving environmental problems and concerns for the benefit of humans and ecosystems. Specifically, the program encompasses impacts of human society on the natural environment, the effects of environmental conditions on humans and ecosystems, science-based management of ecosystems, watershed and soil-related processes related to environmental quality, and designing solutions to sustainably improve environmental quality of air, water, soil, and biological communities. The ENST major is a science- and math-based curriculum leading to a B.S. degree in Environmental Science and Technology with concentrations in Ecological Technology Design, Ecosystem Health, Soil and Watershed Science, or Natural Resources Management. These concentrations share a foundation in science and mathematics, offer specialization through required concentration core courses, and provide flexibility in course selection in concentration depth and technical elective categories.  The concentrations are designed to provide students with a fundamental understanding of environmental systems and issues and the multidisciplinary quantitative design and analytical tools necessary to solve complex environmental problems.

For future updates and exciting changes, please visit our website at http://enst.umd.edu. 

Concentrations:

Ecological Technological Design

The ENST concentration in Ecological Technology Design prepares students for integrating natural systems with the built environment to solve environmental problems while achieving economic, ecological and social sustainability. The science and applications of using natural systems, processes and organisms to address environmental issues has evolved during the last few decades to a mature level whereby there are strong employment opportunities for graduates that are cross-educated in ecology and technology. Examples of ecological technology design applications include restoration of urban and rural streams, creation of wastewater treatment wetlands, design of rain gardens and bioretention systems for low-impact stormwater management, design of eco-industrial parks, life cycle assessment of products for improved environmental performance, bioremediation and phytoremediation of contaminated groundwater, ecological systems for by-product recovery, and filtration of contaminated air with bioreactors. The curriculum consists of a broad set of background courses in environmental science, electives in applications of Ecological Technology Design, and upper-level courses that synthesize the major. Hands-on design experience is included in required internship and practicum courses.

Ecosystem Health

The ecosystem health concentration is a broad and increasingly important field with wide ranging applications in the environmental science and public health fields. The field encompasses environmental factors and ecosystem functions that affect human health and the effects of human activities on the ecosystem products and services we depend on. Example topics within the field include ecological risk analysis, environmental toxicology, environmental impact assessment, chemical fate and transport, human health risk assessment, industrial hygiene, air quality, environmental microbiology, food safety and security, biodiversity and human health, and children's environmental health. The Ecosystem Health concentration within the Department of Environmental Science and Technology offers a science-based curriculum that includes advanced studies in ecosystem health and environmental protection and the impacts of environmental degradation on human health.

Natural Resources Management

The goal of the Natural Resources Management concentration is to teach students concepts of the environmentally sound use and management of natural resources. Ecosystems and human societies are linked in complex cycles and relationships between vegetation and wildlife, forests and cities, conservation and development. By learning to participate effectively within these cycles, we will help sustain a harmonious relationship between the environment and human activities. This concentration provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to work in such positions as wildlife biologists, environmental consultants, wetland scientists, forest managers, fisheries biologists, aquatic biologists, and nature interpreters.

Soil and Watershed Science

The Soil and Watershed Science concentration enables students to understand the complex ways in which aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are influenced by soil properties and processes and land management decisions. The soil performs such critical ecological functions as supplying and purifying water, recycling wastes, nurturing plants, modifying the atmosphere by emitting or sequestering gases and particulates, providing habitat for the most diverse biological communities on Earth, and serving as a medium for human engineering projects.

The concentration in Soil and Watershed Science in ENST provides students with one of the top soil science programs in the nation. The curriculum prepares graduates for work in variety of careers addressing natural resource and environmental issues and provides a rigorous science background for those planning to pursue post-graduate degrees in environmental sciences, soil science, watershed processes, and related fields. Students graduating from this program will make valuable contributions to society as they pursue challenging careers critical to the protection of the environment. In addition to pursuing advanced degrees, graduates may work in both the private and public sectors performing such services as soil mapping, wetland delineation, land conservation planning, forestry, waste management, farm advising, international development, and consulting in environmental, construction, and landscape architecture areas. Graduates from the Soil and Watershed Science concentration will be qualified to take the national exam to become a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS).

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Science and Technology Application. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply natural science principles and technology methods (particularly in ENST), and be able to express scientific questions and findings in the context of relevant socio-environmental dimensions.
2. Quantitative Reasoning. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply basic mathematical and quantitative reasoning in the context of relevant socio-environmental dimensions.
3. Written and Oral Communication. Students will be able to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively in writing and speech to scientific, management, policy, or general audiences.
4. Information Literacy. Students will demonstrate information literacy skills that they can successfully apply in and outside their disciplines.
5. Technology Fluency. Students will be able to apply technologies to their research and academic efforts in the context of their specific disciplines.
6. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect (DEIR). Students will be able to apply their scientific and technological research and academic efforts in the context of diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect.

Notice of Addendum: The requirements for this program were updated effective Spring 2024 and have been published on ADDENDA TO THIS CATALOG.

This program requires a total of 120 credits for a Bachelor of Science, including the general education program course credits, required major credits; Technology and Ecosystem elective credits, and free elective credits. All courses counted toward the major must be completed with a C- or better. An overall GPA of 2.0 in major courses is required for graduation.

CONCENTRATIONS:

ECOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY DESIGN

ECOSYSTEM HEALTH

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

SOIL AND WATERSHED SCIENCE

¹

 Any combination of electives can be taken. Courses appear in blocks of related topics to assist students in tailoring their program to particular interests within the concentration. Under some circumstances, other 300 or 400 level electives can be substituted with advisor’s approval.

²

Required for Professional Certification as an Associate Wildlife Biologist by The Wildlife Society.

³

 Required for Professional Certification as an Associate Fisheries Professional by American Fisheries Society.

⁴

 Required for Professional Certification as a Wetland Professional in Training (WPIT) by The Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program (SWSPCP).

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Required for Soil Certification Exam.

Click here for roadmaps for four-year plans in the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources.

Additional information on developing a four-year academic plan can be found on the following pages:

• http://4yearplans.umd.edu
• the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy section of this catalog