UNH Launches New Undergraduate Program In Environmental Sciences

Contact: Sharon Keeler
603-862-1566
UNH Media Relations

Oct. 14, 2004



DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire has launched a new undergraduate major that will appeal to students with an interest in both science and the environment. The new program offers a B.S. degree in environmental sciences and minors in hydrology, soil science, water resource management and wetlands ecology.

The UNH is a nationally-recognized leader in environmental research, and the new Environmental Sciences Program capitalizes on faculty expertise in this area. Faculty from the departments of Natural Resources and Earth Sciences make up the core teaching faculty and serve as academic advisors for students in the program. Major teaching and research emphases are in the areas of biogeochemical cycling, environmental chemistry, ecosystem science, global change, hydrology, plant ecology, and watershed management.

The program includes a core curriculum of courses such as environmental geology, global environmental change, introduction to oceanography, and geographic information systems. Students then chose to concentrate their studies in one of three areas – hydrology, soil and watershed management, or ecosystems.

The environmental sciences program prepares students for graduate school as well as employment opportunities in educational facilities, environmental consulting firms, environmental monitoring laboratories, government agencies, non-governmental environmental organizations, and university and government research laboratories.

“We think students will be excited to learn about our new program,” says Serita Frey, assistant professor of natural resources and the program’s coordinator. “Our faculty’s expertise combined with its small size and geographic location makes UNH an excellent place to study environmental science,” Frey says.

For more information, visit http://www.unh.edu/envsci/, or contact Professor Frey at (603) 862-3880 or serita.frey@unh.edu.