Program Purpose: Students participating in the Environmental Science program will examine the role and impacts of humans in various ecosystems with a focus on resource management for the purpose of sustainability for both humans and the environments that provide ecosystem services for them and other living things.

Program Description: Environmental Science is a multidisciplinary field integrating topics from the geosciences, physical sciences, biological sciences, and public policy (including economic, legal, and social aspects) as they pertain to understanding working of the earth’s ecosystems and the interplay of humans within those systems.

Environmental Science is the study of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. It is an interdisciplinary science overlapping the categories in Natural Sciences, Engineering Sciences and Social Sciences. In nature, Environmental Science focuses on pollution and degradation of the environment related to human activities and their impact on biodiversity and sustainability. As an interdisciplinary field, Environmental Science also applies knowledge from economics, law and social sciences. Environmental Science is a new program that is designed to be a preparatory path for students wishing to transfer in the same subject area to either the University of California, Santa Barbara or California State University, Channel Islands, both of which have four-year degrees in Environment Science.