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EVSP501 Environmental Management (3 semester hours)
This course focuses on the analysis and resolution of complex environmental management issues. Environmental Management investigates the use of management tools and strategies to resolve complex environmental problems and controversies, including application of adaptive management, structured decision-making, and negotiation principles, and incorporating stakeholders, economic drivers, and the human element. Environmental leadership, collaboration, and conflict resolution will be emphasized, with due consideration to the use of sound scientific data in environmental decision making. Students will be expected to use critical thought, innovation, and creativity to formulate an adaptive management plan for a highly controversial environmental issue or policy as their course final project.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP502 Environmental Economics (3 semester hours)
This course is a qualitative and quantitative study of the public and private economic costs and effects of environmental programs, industrialization, regulation, and international and national environmental policies, among other issues.
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EVSP503 Environmental Policy, Regulation, and Law (3 semester hours)
This course is a study of the major legal, regulatory, and policy framework that encompasses environmental programs and projects in the United States and with international political, commercial, and non-governmental institutions. The primary learning approach used in this course will be case studies.
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EVSP504 Fisheries Management (3 semester hours)
This course examines the principles and theory of fisheries management with major emphasis on the human dimension in fisheries management, fishery assessment, population dynamics, and common management practices.
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EVSP505 Wildlife Management (3 semester hours)
This course examines the principles of managing wildlife resources with emphasis on the history of wildlife resources in the United States, population ecology, wildlife values, and the administration of wildlife resources and resources agencies.
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EVSP506 Restoration Ecology (3 semester hours)
This course will examine the concept of restoration ecology, which employs science, applied techniques, and environmental design principles to restore ecological processes and biological communities on disturbed, degraded, or altered landscapes. Students will conduct scientific study and explore techniques used in restoring endangered species, native prairie, rare plants, riparian areas, streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, watersheds, woodlands, and wildlife habitat.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP507 Conservation Biology (3 semester hours)
This course examines the development of major areas in conservation-oriented research that include patterns of biodiversity, extinction, conservation genetics, conservation of populations, communities and landscapes, and ecological sustainability.
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EVSP508 Environmental Ethics (3 semester hours)
This course is an advanced study of environmental issues from a moral and philosophical approach. Issues raised in the course and through student research and writing will include: the moral obligation or lack thereof, to preserve and protect the environment; the ethical presumptions that underlie environmental policy; the traditional theories of moral philosophy applicable to contemporary environmental problems; and the potential for a new concept of the relationship between humanity and nature.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP509 The National Environmental Policy Act (3 semester hours)
This course consists of an in-depth review of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), its legislative background and history, significant case law, and Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Guidelines. Students will review examples of agency Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments, and Environmental Impact Statements to become familiar with the documents as a building block for EVSP629 Environmental Impact Analysis. Students will evaluate whether specific documents "meet the intent or spirit" of NEPA, compare state vs. federal NEPA regulations, and review at least one federal agency’s NEPA procedures. (Prerequisite: EVSP503)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP558 Watershed Management (3 semester hours)
In recent years, water resource management in the United States has begun a shift away from top-down, government agency-directed decision processes toward a collaborative approach of negotiation and problem solving. Rather than focusing on specific pollution sources or specific areas within a watershed, this course will present this new process, considering the watershed as a whole, and seeking solutions to an interrelated set of social, economic, and environmental problems. Through readings, discussions, and current and historical case studies, students will explore a wide range of threats to the productivity and health of watersheds and explore new, collaborative approaches to watershed management.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP560 Environmental Risk Assessment (3 semester hours)
An overview of the concepts of risk assessment. Topics include the four core parts of a risk assessment, as denoted by the National Academy of Sciences: hazard assessment, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment and risk characterization. Methods of measurement and modeling are discussed, along with key questions concerning uncertainty. Differences in the risk characterizations of substances under different use conditions and legal requirements are studied. Case studies will serve to illustrate the risk assessment and site remediation processes.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP561 Elements of Sustainable Design (3 semester hours)
This course is an introduction to the philosophical and practical principles of green and sustainable design through the exploration of environmental issues, sustainable materials and methods, and public policy and decision making. Sustainability principles, policies, and programs that encourage and guide current initiatives are analyzed. Innovative strategies for implementing sustainable projects, programs, and practices are investigated through the review of case studies and completion of a final course project.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP594 Environmental Toxicology (3 semester hours)
This course presents an introduction to the dynamics of ecosystems and the effects of toxic substances on its living and nonliving components, and incorporating human health issues and concerns. Students will examine the regulatory framework for environmental contaminants issues and detail the federal regulations, policies, and guidelines under which current environmental remediation is done. A key aspect of the course will be the application of risk assessment principles through case studies to gain an understanding of how to develop remediation plans and restoration alternatives that meet or exceed established regulatory guidelines.
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EVSP601 Capstone Proposal (3 semester hours)
This course prepares the student to understand materials and issues associated with but not limited to the scientific method, research design, and qualitative and statistical analysis of data. This course is intended to guide the student through selection of a suitable topic for the capstone project or thesis. Once an approved topic is selected, the student will prepare a formal proposal to be used in the capstone course.
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EVSP605 Energy Policy and Sustainability (3 semester hours)
This course is an introduction to energy policy and decision making, primarily in the United States. Students will examine the nature and scope of environmental, energy, and resource problems, analyze the goals and strategies of the renewable energy movement, investigate ideological, political, and institutional forces that shape policymaking and implementation, and conduct in-depth analyses of the various approaches to U.S. energy needs. An exploration of renewable energy technology, feasibility, and implementation is incorporated through the analysis of case studies and current events.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP627 Landscape Ecology and Planning (3 semester hours)
Landscape planning and ecology is a rapidly developing area of study that explicitly examines the effects of spatial pattern and scale on ecological processes that unfold over areas of several square miles or larger. Thus, landscape ecology and planning provides many concepts, tools, and approaches that will enhance the effectiveness of endeavors such as watershed management, ecosystem management, design of conservation reserves and green infrastructure, and smart growth. The goal of this course is to give students a firm grasp of the concepts of landscape ecology and planning and how they can be applied to enhance the effectiveness of environmental policy, management, regulation, and assessment.
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.
EVSP628 Global Environmental Change (3 semester hours)
The study and consideration of global environmental and climate change are of increasing significance to society. In this course, students will examine the evidence for and causes of global environmental change and will analyze potential impacts on environmental policy and society. Emphasis will be on the implications of environmental change for environmental managers, including management decision-making, the adequacy of the current regulatory framework in addressing these problems, and the effect on future policy and legislation.
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EVSP695 Capstone Portfolio (3 semester hours)
This course steps students through the construction of a professional portfolio that highlights major skills gained through their academic course work. The professional digital portfolio will be built using portfolio software and will include both scholarly work and writing geared towards the general audience. The final course output may include the digital portfolio, discipline relevant blog articles, and an oral defense of the portfolio presented to an audience of faculty and peers. NOTE: This is intended to be the final course in the degree program. Students must have a 3.0 GPA to enroll. This course is 8 weeks in length.
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EVSP699 Environmental Policy and Management Capstone (3 semester hours)
Designed specifically for students with an interest in scholarly research or continuing their academic career in doctoral studies, this course requires students to present original scholarly research. The capstone thesis must have a substantial research component, which will include research questions and presentation of an original argument using proper academic writing conventions. Students writing a capstone thesis will collect and analyze data from carefully documented primary and/or secondary sources, and will develop a rigorous research paper in the style of a traditional scientific paper (i.e., abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, references). The capstone thesis must represent an original contribution to the body of knowledge within the broad field of environmental policy and management. The theories, research methods, analytical skills, and substantive knowledge obtained through the Environmental Policy and Management curriculum provide the basis for the thesis project. NOTE: This is intended to be the final course in the degree program. This course is 16 weeks in length. (Prerequisite: EVSP601)
View the course schedule AMU or APU to find out details about each course including prerequisites, course objectives, course materials, a snapshot of the syllabi, and session dates.