Environmental Management
Program Highlights
- Field-based courses with a “hands on” approach to natural resource management
- Unique environmental major which focuses on the skills necessary for the conservation and management of entire ecosystems
- Opportunity to meet and work with professionals in the field, including governmental agency personnel and private environmental consultants
- Students develop the technical skills needed to effectively address contemporary environmental challenges
- Students have the opportunity to work with individual faculty members on independent research, and then to present the results at a professional conference
- Each student completes a project-based capstone designed to facilitate the application of learned skills in a real-world scenario
Degree Options
Environmental Studies, Associate in Applied Science (AAS)
- 60 Credit Hours (2 Years)
- Provides a solid foundation in natural sciences with a general focus on ecological and environmental sciences
- Prepares students for an easy transition into Bachelor degree programs at SUNY Cobleskill Ag & Tech
- Upon completion of the AAS, students are prepared to start their careers at the entry level or continue to a four-year program in Environmental Management
- Read more details in the College Catalog >>
Environmental Management, Bachelor of Science (BS)
- 120 Credit Hours (4 Years)
- Trains students in the conservation of natural or biological resources, applied water resources, and ecosystem management and restoration
- Ideal for students beginning their careers immediately upon graduation or seeking higher education in graduate school
Overview
Increasingly, and seemingly everywhere, widespread environmental problems demand sustainable solutions, solutions that are often up to environmental managers and scientists to provide.
Building on the Associate’s degree in Environmental Studies, the four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Management trains students in the conservation of natural or biological resources, applied water resources, and ecosystem management and restoration.
Much of our instruction takes place in the classroom – but much of it also occurs in forests, streams and rivers, and on agricultural lands close to campus. Courses include soil and water conservation, watershed management, conservation biology, restoration ecology, forest and aquatic ecology, terrestrial invertebrate ecology, entomology and applied hydrology. Throughout the curriculum, current environmental issues – such as invasive species, climate change, habitat loss and conservation of biodiversity – are addressed and explored.
Course Offerings
Instruction takes place in the classroom, but relies extensively on field experiences in forests, streams and rivers, and agricultural lands in close proximity to campus.
Course content emphasizes current environmental issues such as invasive species, biological control of invasive species, climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, ecosystem services, and conservation of biodiversity. Sample courses include:
- Natural Resource Conservation
- Plant Taxonomy
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Natural History of the Vertebrates
- Forest Ecology
- Soil Science
- Woody Plant Materials
- Soil & Water Conservation
- Geographic Information Systems
- Water Chemistry
- Environmental Justice
- Environmental Laws & Regulations
- Community Ecology
- Applied Hydrology
- Ecological Restoration
- Surveying
- Integrated Pest Management
- Soil Fertility
- Wetland Delineation & Assessment
- Watershed Management
- Environmental Toxicology
- Conservation Biology
- Environmental Issues in Agriculture
Career Outlook
Graduates of Cobleskill Ag & Tech's Environmental Science programs will be well-prepared for positions in government agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, as well as in today’s growing number of private environmental consulting companies.
Alternatively, students may elect to seek Masters degrees in such areas as Ecology, Conservation Biology, Forestry, Soil Sciences, Hydrology and other environment-related specialties.
The program prepares students for a broad range of positions, including:
- Biological science technician
- Ecologist
- Fishery biologist
- Soil conservationist
- Soil scientist
- Wildlife biologist
- Wildlife field technician
- Wildlife lab technician
- Wildlife refuge manager
- Conservation agronomist
- Agricultural management specialist
- Agricultural extension specialist
- Environmental conservation officer
- Zoologist
- Range technician
- Range conservationist
- Plant protection technician
- Forestry technician
- Environmental scientist
- Environmental compliance manager
- Environmental field technician
- Environmental specialist
- Water resources technician
- Watershed coordinator
- Park naturalist/ranger
- Forest Ranger
Research Experience
Central to the program is a project-based capstone sequence that allows students to develop and conduct an independent research project and present the results of their work at a professional conference. The sequence focuses on professional development, research methodology, proposal development, data collection, analysis and presentation.
Facilities
The College's Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources offers hands-on learning across one of the most ecologically diverse campuses in the region. The 905-acre property encompasses an eighty-acre research forest, restored wetlands, stream and creek corridors, and working agricultural land, providing students with direct experience in watershed management, riparian ecology, and natural resource conservation. Facilities include state-of-the-art greenhouses, a 40,000-gallon cold water fish hatchery, and a USDA inspected meat laboratory.
Meet the Faculty
Andrew Gascho Landis, Ph.D.
Professor
Office: Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Room 123
518-255-5296
gaschoam@cobleskill.edu
Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
scott4h15d@cobleskill.edu