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2016-2017 Pitzer Catalog
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2016-2017 Pitzer Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Environmental Analysis Major

Major Requirements

The Environmental Analysis major offers four Tracks:

  1. Environment and Society
  2. Environmental Policy
  3. Sustainability and the Built Environment
  4. Environmental Science.

The Major consists of three sets of requirements:

  1. A Core set of Courses and a Capstone Seminar or Thesis depending upon Track
  2. A Track with Course Plan
  3. An Environmental Internship for the Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, and Sustainability and the Built Environment Tracks

A minimum of 11 courses is required for the Environment and Society and Environmental Policy tracks, and 12 courses for the Sustainability and Built Environment track. Students in the Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, and Sustainability and the Built Environment tracks will find that their major has considerable structure but also allows for flexibility in the selection of courses within the track. It is essential that majors and prospective majors proactively work with their advisers to select courses, both within the major and outside the major, that will help meet the student’s educational, personal and professional goals.

A senior thesis is not required for the Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, and Sustainability and the Built Environment tracks. Students who wish to write a senior thesis must enroll in an additional course, EA 197 PZ EA Senior Thesis Seminar . For those who choose to undertake a senior project, a senior project is a substantial work, such as an exhibition, website, blog, film/video, performance, curriculum, design project, or other hands-on or creative endeavor. The process and outcome of the project should be digitally documented in an appropriate format (audio, video, pdf, web url, and so forth). Normally students will write a 20-30 page paper that describes the contribution and that anchors it in scholarly literature in order to build a critical framework around the project. Projects are usually undertaken over the course of one semester and are assigned a course number (EA 199 or EA 999). Some can be undertaken as part of EA 197, the senior thesis class. All senior theses and capstone projects require two readers with, at least, one reader from the Pitzer Environmental Analysis Field Group. Please consult with your adviser to see what is appropriate for you.


In order to be a candidate for Honors, students must have a minimum GPA of 3.6, and engage in a thesis or senior project, which receives a minimum grade of A-. The Field Group members will confer Honors to students who have met these baseline requirements, and who have displayed (as determined by the members of the Pitzer EA Field Group) an exemplary commitment to Pitzer’s core values of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, as manifest through service, internships, and other relevant experience.

Environment and Society Track

Learning Outcomes for the Environment & Society Track

1. Understand and describe different cultural perspectives on the meaning and use of the “environment,” including those shaped by race, ethnicity and gender.
2. Understand, describe, and conduct research on where social justice and environmental issues intersect

Requirements for the Environment & Society Track

  1. Five Core Courses and One Internship:
  2. Track Requirements (Six Courses)

Course Plan of Five Environment and Society courses from the following options.

Environmental Policy Track

Learning Outcomes for the Environmental Policy Track

  1. Acquire a working knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of environmental policy, law, and politics
  2. Develop a critical understanding and analysis of issues in the field of environmental policy and politics
  3. Be able to conduct policy related research on environmental issues and challenges

Requirements for the Environmental Policy Track

  1. Five Core Courses and One Internship
  2. Track Requirements (Six Courses)

Course Plan of Five Environmental Policy Courses from the following options:

Sustainability and the Built Environment Track

Learning Outcomes for the Sustainability and the Built Environment Track

1. Understand and analyze sustainable design in a holistic manner
2. Develop conceptual frameworks for critical inquiry and environmental problem solving
3. Apply design concepts and skills for sustainability and resilience
4. Integrate scholarship and analyses to test spatial concepts

Requirements for the Sustainability and the Built Environment Track

  1. Seven Core Courses and One Internship
  2. Track Requirements (Five Track Courses)
    1. One course In Representation
      • Studio art or production-based media studies course as approved by adviser (e.g., ART 011 PZ -Drawing , ART 012 PZ -Painting , ART 015 PZ -Beginning Wheel Throwing , ART 016 PZ -Beginning Ceramic Sculpture , ART 020 PO -Black and White Photography , ART 021 PO -Foundations of 2D Design , ART 057 PZ -Mixed Media/Sculpture , ART 075 PZ -Watercolor *, ART 113 PZ -Drawing Workshop *; ART 125 PZ -Intermediate B&W Photography *, MS 093 PZ -Experimental Media Practice *, MS 182 HM -Introduction to Video Production *)
      • EA 082 PZ -GIS in Environmental Science
      • GEOL 111A PO -Introduction to GIS
        *Courses have prerequisites
    2. Four electives from the following options, generally no more than two from a group:
      1. History, theory and ecology of the built environment
        • ARHI 155 SC -The History of Gardens, East and West
        • ARHI 179 PO -Modern Architecture, City, Landscape, Sustainability
        • ARHI 188 SC -Representing the Metropolis
        • CLAS 175 PZ -Senior Seminar and Thesis : Creating the Future of the Past
        • EA 027 PO -Cities by Nature: Times, Place, Space
        • EA 032 PZ -(re) Making American Metropolis
        • EA 055L KS Physical Geograpahy and Geomorphology
        • EA 074 PZ -California’s Landscapes: Diverse Peoples and Ecosystems
        • EA 085 PO -Food, Land & the Environment
        • EA 098 PZ -Urban Ecology
        • EA 108 PZ -Natural History and Naturalists: History and Practice
        • EA 140 PZ -The Desert as a Place
        • EA 165 PZ -Resource Depletion and Ghost Towns: The Built Environment and Natural Resources
        • EA 171 PO -Water in the West
        • HIST 016 PZ -Environmental History
        • HIST 017 PZ -History and Political Economy of Natural Resources
        • ONT 101 PZ -Critical Community Studies
        • POLI 035 PO -City of Angels, City of Quartz
        • SOC 124 AF -Race, Place and Space
        • SOC 136 AF -Framing “Urban” Life
        • EA-approved Natural Science course in consultation with adviser
      2. Design
        • ART 130 PZ -Design/Build Studio
        • ART 135 PZ -Sculptural Objects Functional Art (SOFA)
        • EA 031 PZ -Restoring Nature
        • EA 034 PZ -Enviornmental Art/Public Art
        • EA 080 PZ -Social Engagement for Sustainable Development
        • EA 107 PZ -Design Workshop: A Sense of Place
        • EA 124 PZ -Protecting Nature: Parks, Conservation Areas & People
        • EA 132 PZ -Practicum in Exhibiting Nature
        • EA 135 PZ -NatureWorks: Aesthetics & Praxis in the Anthropocene
        • EA 180 PZ -Green Urbanism
        • ENGR 004 HM -Introduction to Engineering Design/Manufacturing
      3. Policy/Planning
        • EA 095 PZ -U.S. Environmental Policy
        • EA 096 PZ -Hustle & Flow: CA Water Policy
        • EA 100 PO -Urban Planning and Environment
        • GEOL 112 PO -Remote Sensing of Earth’s Environment
        • POLI 036 PO -Urban Politics & Public Policy
        • POLI 060 PO -Global Politics of Food and Agriculture
        • POLI 061 PO -The Global Politics of Water
        • POLI 135 PO -Policy Implementation and Evaluation
        • POLI 135 SC -Political Economy of Food
        • POLI 139 PO -Politics of Community Design
        • POST 114 HM -Comparative Environmental Politics
        • POST 140 HM -Global Environmental Politics
        • PP 325 CGU. Urban Political Economy*
        • PP 338 CGU. Policy Implementation*
        • SPE 318 CGU. Cost-Benefit Analysis*
          *Contact CGU professors directly regarding prerequisites for enrollment

      Students may additionally write a thesis or enroll in an advanced capstone studio for honors. See honors requirements above.

      Courses listed as fulfilling each requirement are subject to change and other courses may be counted toward those requirements with approval of academic advisers.

      Environmental Science Track

      Learning outcomes for the Environmental Science Track


      1. Use foundational principles to analyze problems in nature
      2. Develop hypotheses and test them using quantitative techniques
      3. Articulate applications of science in the modern world
      4. Effectively communicate scientific concepts both orally and in writing

      Students considering the science track should discuss the eligibility of specific courses with their faculty advisor and with the Keck Science Department EA science faculty.

      Requirements for the Environmental Science Track

      1. Five Core courses:
        • EA 010 PZ -Introduction to Environmental Analysis
        • EA 020 PO -Nature, Culture and Society , or EA 086 PZ -Environmental Justice , or POLI 136 PO -Politics of Environmental Justice
        • One environmental policy course from the list under ‘Sustainability and the Built Environment’ track
        • Senior thesis/Capstone (2 courses) to include one of the following options:
          o A one-semester thesis, EA 191 KS plus EA 150 PZ
          o A two-semester thesis, EA188L KS and 190L KS and 190L KS (Fall and Spring) or 189L - 190L (Summer and Fall)
      2. Track Requirements
        • Introductory Biology: BIOL 043L KS , BIOL 044L KS , or BIOL 040L KS and BIOL 044L KS [The requirement for Introductory Biology may be met by completion of both semesters of the Accelerated Integrated Science Sequence (AISS) ]
        • Introductory Chemistry: CHEM 014L KS , CHEM 015L KS (or CHEM 029L KS ), or CHEM 040L KS and CHEM 015L KS
          [The requirement for Introductory Biology and Introductory Chemistry may be met by completion of both semesters of the Accelerated Integrated Science Sequence (AISS)]
        • At least one introductory Earth Science course-(e.g.,EA 055L KS or GEOL 020C PO )
        • Six upper-division EA science courses selected in consultation with the Keck Science Department Environmental Science faculty, including one or more in Ecology (e.g., BIOL 135L KS , BIOL 138L KS /BIOL 139 KS , BIOL 146L KS , BIOL 169L KS , and others) and one or more that emphasizes Earth Science (e.g., EA 100L KS , EA 103 KS , EA 104 KS , and others). Three of the courses must have a laboratory requirement. These six courses may be cross-listed but normally may not double-count for another science major.
        • Students must take at least one class in statistics or the application of quantitative methods to environmental problems. This requirement may be satisfied by taking an approved class with a quantitative focus as one of the six upper-division EA science courses. Alternatively, students may take an approved non-science course in statistics in addition to the other major requirements.
        • An environmentally focused study abroad semester is strongly recommended.