Course Descriptions

Core Courses (21 credit hours)

ENV 501: Introduction to Environmental Studies (3)
Introductory course to the interdisciplinary field of environmental studies with special emphasis on the relationship between human activities and the environment.

ENV 502: Population and Community Ecology (3)
Advanced ecological theory and applications relating to population and community dynamics, including population growth, speciesinteractions, diversity, disturbance, succession, food webs, and their relation to conservation biology.

ENV 503: MES Student Team Project (3)
The Student Team Project is a community service and educational program by the KSU MES Program. It is a one semester effort by teams of three to five students attempting to solve a current environmental problem facing a community organization or governmental unit in close proximity to KSU. Student team projects, required of all first-year students, mix students from different backgrounds and place them in contact with faculty members, government officials, and community leaders. Team members will gain experience initiating and terminating a long-term project, managing team members with diverse backgrounds, and collecting and disseminating information.

ENV 509/AQU 509: Biostatistics (3)
Basic principles of experimental design and data analysis with emphasis on their applications in environmental studies and aquaculture research.

ENV 511: Energy and the Environment (3)
Integrated study of the environmental impact of human energy use patterns. Overview of current energy resources,current energy production and use patterns, alternative energy production options, and environmental, social, andeconomic consequences of each.

ENV 699: MES Capstone Research Project (6)
The independent research capstone project would be designed in collaboration with an interdisciplinary advisory committee of two or three selected KSU faculty/research members. KSU MES students will have the opportunity to select topics from a number of on-campus projects or work on existing specific problems with one of the state environmental agencies or develop new projects based on the KSU Environmental Education Center.

Elective Courses (15 credit hours)

ENV 508: Introduction to Geographic InformationSystems (3)
This graduate course will expose students to the concepts, software, data and analysis processes of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Students will develop a real world, working knowledge of GIS through hands-on work with mapping software, its potential, its limitations and future trends in the mapping industry. MES graduate students will develop a real world project that examines spatial data and utilizes modeling software to create aproduction quality, full scale, mapping product.

ENV 513/AQU 513: Aquatic Ecology (4)
This course investigates the interaction of aquaticorganisms with their biotic and abiotic environment. Sampling and laboratory methods of limnological analysis will be covered.

ENV 515: Environmental Ethics (3)
This course explores a wide range of issues in contemporary environmental ethics. Employing one of the most respected anthologies in the field, the course will engage such important issues as the nature of environmental ethics, who counts in environmental ethics, and is sustainability possible.

ENV 517: Environmental and Resource Economics (3)
This course will cover topics such as application of microeconomics on environmental problems, elements of renewable resource and forestry economics, cost-benefit analysis of environmental renewal projects, economics ofthe environmental impacts of different agricultural practices such as livestock farming, aquaculture, and chemical use in row crop farming.

ENV 519: Sustainable Agriculture Systems (3)
Exploration of the ecological effects of modern intensive agriculture, and the challenge of attaining a secure supply of food through ecologically sound and sustainable practices. The definition, emergence, and growth of sustainable agriculture will be discussed along with pertinent soil, crop and livestock management practices.

ENV 545: Molecular Techniques for Environmental and Aquatic Studies (3)
Prerequisite: BIO 111 or consent of instructor. This course examines how molecular biological approaches are used to address major issues in environmental biology. Lecture/laboratories examine how molecular methods can be applied to wildlife management, ecology, pollution control and remediation, and environmental health.

ENV 595: Environmental Science & BioremediationTechniques (3)
Prerequisite: BIO 101 and CHE 101. This course is intended for those with theoretical and practical interest in environmental issues and is designed to provide a wide range of subjects and practical work experience using standard methods, concepts and equipment in environmental science. The fate and transport of pollutants in the environment and their final destination, dilution, dispersion, adsorption, persistence, degradation, their adverse effects, and the route that the toxin in question takes in the environment will be discussed and possible solutions and remediation techniques will be presented.