Climate Studies
Bachelor of Science
Plymouth State’s new BS Climate Studies degree is the only one of its kind in New Hampshire and one of very few in the entire nation. Featuring a core of atmospheric and environmental science courses and a large number of optional courses in focus areas, it allows students to follow their interests and skills and gain new ones in this important field.
Climate change, its causes, effects, mitigation, adaptation, policy, communication, and education are some of the most important issues of our time as well as our future. The needs go well beyond climate science and are highly interdisciplinary. Students gain a foundation in climate science, technical and communication skills, and have high flexibility in following one or more interdisciplinary paths (in art, business, communication, public policy, geographic information systems and mapping, or go deeper into a variety of science possibilities).
The flexibility of the program additionally allows students to add one or more relevant minor and certificate credentials (a list of possibilities is specified in the accompanying list of requirements). Career possibilities are many, and include the fields of climate communication/public education, emergency management, conservation, public policy, science journalism, formal education, planning, and a variety of different types of private industry and government jobs working in the various aspects of the climate problem, as well as delving deeper into the science. Finally, because this is a fast-changing field, our graduating students will have a strong foundation of knowledge and skills, but will also be able to adapt and learn new tools.
The new Climate Studies degree joins the highly rated Plymouth State Meteorology program, sharing state of the art facilities and highly engaged faculty with diverse areas of expertise.
| Major Requirements | ||
| Introductory Climate Studies seminar | CT 1000 | 1 |
| Fundamentals of Meteorology & Climatology | MT 2000 | 3 |
| Introduction to Environmental Sc. & Poli II | ESP 2110 | 4 |
| Climate, Risk, and Adaptation | ESP 3325 | 3 |
| Energy and Society | ESP 3200 | 3 |
| Technical Communication | CM 3095 | 4 |
| Climate Change | MT 4440 | 3 |
| Climate Studies Capstone Project | CT 4000 | 2 |
| Total | 23 |
| Math Requirements | ||
| Statistics I | MA 2300 | 3 |
| Take ONE of the following | ||
| Precalculus | MA 2140 | 4 |
| Applied Calculus I | MA 2490 | 4 |
| Calculus I | MA 2550 | 4 |
| Total | 7 |
| Technical Skills Requirements | ||
| Take ONE of the following | ||
| GIS I: Introduction to GIS | GE 2050 | 4 |
| Computing Fundamentals | CS 2010 | 3 |
| Intro to Programming | CS 2370 | 4 |
| Total | 3-4 |
| Interdisciplinary focus areas | ||
| *,**Take THREE 1000 or 2000 level courses, AND FIVE 3000 or 4000 level courses out of one or more of the following lists: | ||
| Total | 24-32 |
| * Students can go deep into one or two interdisciplinary focus areas or sample from various disciplines as long as they take at least two low-level courses and five upper-level courses. Students must keep in mind when planning their courses, that many of them have prerequisites (included in the required or optional courses). Students can take more than the minimum number of courses to follow their interests using their free electives and/or consider appropriate minors or certificates or a second major that might also use some of these courses. |
| ** Besides fulfilling the Interdisciplinary Focus requirement, the courses below can be used to aid in completing one or more minors or certificates. Possible minors of interest: Anthropology/Sociology, Applied Ethics, Art, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Computing, Digital Media Design and Development, Economics, Expository Writing, Geography, Graphic Design, Marketing, Mathematics, Media Studies, Peace & Social Justice, Political Science, Professional Communication, and Sustainability. Possible certificates of interest: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Transformative Innovation & Design entrepreneurship (TIDE). |
| Composition | EN 1400 | 4 |
| Tackling a Wicked Problem | IS 1115 | 4 |
| INCAP | IS 4220 | 4 |
| DICO | 3-4 | |
| WECO | 3-4 | |
| Directions Courses | 20 | |
| SIDI, PPDI, CTDI, SSDI, other SIDI, PPDI, CTDI or SSDI to complete 20 cr | ||
| Total | 38-40 | |
| Electives | 25-14 | |
| Total | 120 |
| Year 1 | ||
| CLM 1000 | Intro to Climate Studies | 1 |
| MT 2000 | Fundamentals of Met & Clim (GACO) | 3 |
| ESP 2110 | Intro to Env. Sci. and Policy II | 4 |
| MA 2300 | Statistics I (MATH) | 3 |
| IS 1115 | Tackling a Wicked Problem | 4 |
| EN 1400 | Composition | 4 |
| Creative Thought Direction (CTDI) | 3-4 | |
| Past and Present Direction (PPDI) | 3-4 | |
| Self and Society Direction (SSDI) | 3-4 | |
| Total credits | 28-31 |
| Year 2 | ||
| ESP 3200 | Energy and Society | 3 |
| ESP 3325 | Climate Risk and Adaptation | 3 |
| Climate Studies Technical Skills Requirement | 3-4 | |
| Climate Studies Math Requirement (QRCO) | 4 | |
| Interdisciplinary Focus Low-level | (3 courses) | 9-12 |
| (see full list of requirements) | ||
| Scientific Inquiry Direction (SIDI) | 3-4 | |
| Elective | 4-3 | |
| Total credits | 29-33 |
| Years 3 and 4 | ||
| CM 2090 | Technical Communication (TECO, WRCO) | 4 |
| MT 4440 | Climate Change | 3 |
| Interdisciplinary Focus Upper-level | (5 courses) | 15-20 |
| (see full list of requirements) | ||
| CLM 4000 | Climate Studies Capstone Project | 2 |
| Directions | 8-4 | |
| Wellness Connection (WECO) | 3-4 | |
| Diversity Connection (DICO) | 3-4 | |
| Interdisciplinary Capstone (INCAP) | 4 | |
| Electives | 21-11 |
| 2-year total credits | 63-56 | |
| 4-year total credits | 120 |