Environmental Studies Summer Courses

ENVS 15

Session 2

Introduces students to the range of natural species and communities occurring on the UCSC campus through field trips to a variety of on-campus habitats. The majority of class time is spent outside, where students will develop skills of observation, identification and interpretation of natural phenomena through individual and group activities. Students each adopt a specific location on campus as the focal point for a series of observation-based journal exercises, completed in approximately 2-4 hours outside of regular class time per week. Course 24 is recommended.

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Instructor: Tod Haddow

ENVS 18

Session 1

Students gain proficiency in illustration media, and acquire training in the essential skills needed to create natural-history inspired illustrations. Students create illustrations and paintings by studying organisms in the Norris Center for Natural History collections, as well as those living on and around campus. (General Education Code(s): PR-C.)

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Instructor: Jennifer Harrower

ENVS 24

Session 1

Visting students, contact instructor about lifting prerequisites in summer.

Covers principles of ecology including limits to species abundances, evolutionary ecology, population dynamics, community interactions and patterns, and ecosystem patterns and dynamics. Prerequisite(s): Applied Mathematics and Statistics 2 or 3 or 6, or MATH 3 or higher; or mathematics placement examination (MPE) score of 300 or higher; or AP Calculus AB exam score of 3 or higher; course 23 recommended as prerequisite to this course. (General Education Code(s): SI, IN.)

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Instructor: Myra Finkelstein

ENVS 25

Session 1

Introduces the policy and economic dimensions of some pressing environmental challenges. Uses examples from population, water, climate change, and other topics to examine the economic underpinnings of environmental problems, the process of environmental policy-making, and the trade-offs in different policy solutions. (General Education Code(s): PE-E, IS.)

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Instructor: Paulo Quadri

ENVS 65

Session 2 

Online only course. 

Introduction to freshwater resources from multiple scientific and policy perspectives. After a review of basic concepts, water issues affecting cities, farms, open space, and multiple-use landscapes are studied. Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have previously received credit for course 165. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.)

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Instructor: Joanna Ory

ENVS 104A

Session 1

Prerequisites lifted in summer for visiting students.

A course in the process of field research and monitoring, with emphasis on use of the scientific method; experimental design, data handling, statistical analysis and presentation; and basic field methodologies. Application of basic field skills, including habitat description; methods for sampling plants, animals, soils, water, and microclimate; and observational and manipulative techniques to address ecological, conservation, and management questions. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements; previous enrollment in courses 100/L required, or by permission of instructor.

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Instructor: Josie Lesage

ENVS 125

8-Week

Online only class.

A survey of the diversity, structure, and functioning of California's ecosystems through time and the ways they have influenced and responded to human activities and stewardship. Topics include: ecosystem drivers such as climate, soils, and land-use history; human and ecological prehistory; comparative marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystem dynamics; and managed ecosystems such as range, fisheries, and agriculture. Prerequisite(s): previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100/100L. Also listed as BIOE 125. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.) 

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Instructor: Erika Zavaleta

Syllabi

ENVS 131

Session 2

Advanced course in ecology featuring insect-plant interactions such as herbivory, pollination, and the effects of plants on insect population dynamics. Lectures emphasize current controversies in ecological theory and relate theory to application. Prerequisite(s): previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L, or by permission of instructor. Offered in alternate academic years.

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Instructor: Monika Egerer

ENVS 143

Session 2

Considers whether and how global poverty can be alleviated without irreparably damaging the environment. Examines interactions among population, economic growth, poverty, global consumption ethos, property rights systems, global economy, state capacity, and environmental damage. Scrutinizes impact of various developmental strategies adopted during the past 50 years on poverty, governance, and the environment. Prerequisite(s): Previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L required, or by permission of instructor.

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ENVS 147

Session 1

Reviews research on race, class, and differential exposure to environmental hazards. Shows how environmental inequality has, from the start, been an essential feature of modernity. Situates the environmental-justice movement in the history of American environmentalism. Students cannot receive credit for this course and Sociology 185. Prerequisite(s): Previous or concurrent enrollment in courses 100 and 100L, or by permission of instructor. (General Education Code(s): ER.)

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Instructor: Jenny Lovell

ENVS 190

Session 2

A synthetic course that draws on the knowledge and skills students bring from other courses in the major. Focuses on written and oral individual and group projects in which students must take the initiative. Emphasizes developing skills critical for students in their future careers. Prerequisite(s): course 100; Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements. Enrollment restricted to senior environmental studies majors and the combined majors with Earth sciences, biology, and economics.

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Instructor: Katie Monsen