Graduate Minors

A minor in Environmental Sciences is available to graduate students in other graduate degree programs. The minimum required credit hours for the minor are 9 hours, with 3 credit hours from each of the 3 priority areas listed. 

 *Of those 9 hours, at least 3 hours must be at the 7000 level. 

 

Required core courses: 

ENVS 7700 Integrated Environmental Issues
ENVS 7995 Environmental Seminar (1 credit hour)
and 1 course from each priority area A, B, and C:

 

Priority A—Biophysical Systems (Coupled Biological and Physical Systems)

ENVS 4010 Applied Ecology
ENVS 4035 Aquatic Pollution
ENVS 4101 Environmental Chemistry
ENVS 4045 Air Pollution (proposed)*
ENVS 4477 Environmental Toxicology – Introduction and Application
ENVS 4500 Health Effects of Environmental Pollutants
ENVS 4600 Global Environmental Change
ENVS 7110 Toxicology of Aquatic Environment
ENVS 7112 Concepts in Marine Ecotoxicology
ENVS 7151 Watershed Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis
ENVS 7623 Toxicology I
ENVS 7626 Genetic Toxicology

Priority B—Environmental Planning and Management (Coupled Human and Natural Systems)

ENVS 4261 Energy and the Environment
ENVS 4262 Environmental Hazard Analysis
ENVS 4264 Regulation of Environmental Hazards
ENVS 4266 Ocean Policy
ENVS 7040 Environmental Planning/Management
ENVS 7041 Environmental Policy Analysis
ENVS 7042 Environmental Conflict Resolution
ENVS 7043 Environmental Law and Regulation
ENVS 7061 Water Quality Management and Policy
ENVS 7044 Regulation of Toxic Substances
ENVS 7045 Land Use Law and Regulation
ENVS 7046 International Environmental Law
ENVS 7047 Environmental Economics and Policy
 

Priority C—Environmental Assessment and Analysis (People and Technology)

ENVS 4145 Remote Sensing Fundamentals for Env. Scientists
ENVS 4149 Design of Environmental Management Systems
ENVS 4900 Watershed Hydrology
ENVS 7050 Spatial Modeling of Environmental Data
Or EXST 7003; 7004; or 7005 Introduction to Statistical Methods

 

The minor in Coastal Meteorology provides students with a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the atmospheric processes that drive changes to the coastal landscape. To graduate with a Graduate Minor in Coastal Meteorology, students must complete:

OCS 4013: Survey of Coastal Meteorology
and at least 9 credit hours from the following options:

OCS 4017-Field Course in Coastal Meteorology
OCS 4019-Surface-Atmosphere Interactions
OCS 4021-Forecasting Coastal Weather
GEOG 4221-The Tropical Atmosphere
OCS 7170-Satellite Oceanography
OCS 7175-Environmental Optics

The minor in Environmental Toxicology provides students with a background in the basic science of chemical, physical, and environmental hazards immediately relevant to problems facing modern society and human health risks. Students majoring in diverse fields of study will gain an understanding of the field of Environmental Toxicology.

*Students majoring in Coastal Environmental Sciences may not choose Environmental Toxicology as a minor. 

To graduate with a minor in Environmental Toxicology, students must complete 12 hours of coursework as follows:

ENVS 4101 Environmental Chemistry (3)
ENVS 4477 Environmental Toxicology: Introduction and Applications (3)

and 2 courses from the following list:

ENVS 4007-Cancer: A Family of Environmental Diseases 
ENVS 4010-Applied Ecology
ENVS 4035-Aquatic Pollution 
ENVS 4036-HONORS Aquatic Pollution
ENVS 4045-Air Pollution and Society
ENVS 4500-Health Effects of Environmental Pollutants
ENVS 4113-Multi-Media Chemical Behavior for Risk Assessment

**All ENVS courses must be passed with a “C” or better.

**A residency requirement of 9 hours of credit must be earned at this university to receive a minor in Environmental Toxicology. 

Graduate students majoring in other colleges may elect a minor in this department. Students must meet the academic prerequisites for the Oceanography & Coastal Sciences courses they select and complete 12 semester hours, 9 of which must be in formal courses not cross-listed with other departments. Six of the 12 hours must be at the 7000-level or above. A DOCS faculty member must serve as the minor professor.

The Departments of Environmental Sciences and Oceanography & Coastal Sciences of the College of the Coast & Environment jointly offer a graduate minor in Wetland Science & Management. The minor requirement is designed to provide students with a strong background in wetland science and policy by enhancing their understanding of ecosystem processes in wetland resource management. 

*The Minor in Wetland Science & Management is also available to graduate students outside the two departments. If there is an external minor, one committee member must represent the minor department; in this case (OCS).

Curriculum
The following are the course requirements for both M.S. and Ph.D. students. All courses listed except OCS 4372 (4 credit hours) are 3 credit hours.

Course requirements for OCS students:
Students must take 1 course from Group A, 2 courses from Group C, and at least 3 additional elective credit hours from any group for a total of at least 12 credit hours. OCS courses taken to meet the department’s core course requirement may not be counted toward the minor.

Course requirements for ENVS students:  
Students must take 1 course from Group A, 1 from Group B, and at least 6 additional elective credit hours from any group for a total of at least 12 credit hours. ENVS courses taken to meet the department’s core course requirement may not be counted toward the minor.

Course requirements for students in other departments:
Students must take 1 course each from Group A, Group B, and Group C and at least 3 additional elective credit hours from Group A, Group B, or Group D for a total of at least 12 credit hours.

Group A

OCS 4308 Plants in Coastal Environments 
OCS 4560 Wetland Loss, Restoration, and Management
OCS 7129 Global Climate Change and Wetlands
 

Group B

OCS 4128 Wetland Hydrology and Hydrodynamics
OCS 4165 Environmental Chemistry of Wetlands  
OCS 7165 Biogeochemistry of Wetland Soils and Sediments
OCS 4565 Restoration Ecology/Ecological Restoration
 

Group C

OCS 4465  Coastal Zone Management  
ENVS 4149 Design of Environmental Management Systems  
ENVS 7040 Environmental Planning and Management 
ENVS 7041 Environmental Policy Analysis 
ENVS 7042 Environmental Conflict Resolution 
ENVS 7045 Land Use Law and Regulation 
ENVS 7050 Spatial Modeling of Environmental Data 
ENVS 7061 Water Quality Management and Policy  
 

Group D

OCS 4040 Environmental Pollution and Transport Processes 
OCS 4164 Deltaic Processes and Products
OCS 4372 Estuarine Ecology  - 4 credit hours 
OCS 4410 Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis
OCS 7124 Applied Coastal Plant Ecology
OCS 7130 Marine Isotope Biogeochemistry
 
In addition, all students: 

- Must include at least one 7000 level course
- May not apply courses taken on a pass/fail basis to the minor
- New or existing courses may be substituted after approval by both the student’s committee and both departments.

 

Degree Recognition
Thesis: Line on cover page denoting MS/PhD degree with a “Minor in Wetland Science and Management."

Degree Transcripts
Line denoting the completion of degree requirements for the “Minor in Wetland Science & Management."

Points of Contact:

 

Mark Benfield,  

Professor and Graduate Advisor
Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences
225-578-6372
mbenfie@lsu.edu

 

Brian Snyder,

Assistant Professor and Graduate Advisor
Department of Environmental Sciences
225-578-4559
snyderb@lsu.edu

 

Vince Wilson,

Professor and Online Program Graduate Advisor
Department of Environmental Sciences
225-578-1753
vwilson@lsu.edu