Environmental Studies

Major or Minor in

Environmental Studies

You can help save the planet. Come join an interdisciplinary, innovative team of award-winning professors and students who are working together to address today’s environmental challenges through three lenses: science, policy or the humanities. You will work hands-on in small classes and in the field. You have opportunities for internships and original research with faculty. We get dirty, think big and work with campus and community partners to restore streams, improve habitats and reduce waste and pollution.

Visit the Environmental Studies Department

As an environmental studies major at Linfield

you might take:

Environmental Communication and Advocacy

Practice strategies for changing the way we perceive, inform, and persuade others about the environmental problems we face. (ENVS 357)

Forest Ecology and Management

Study the ecology of Pacific Northwest forests in the lab and field including a weekend field trip to Mount Rainier. (ENVS 360)

Senior Capstone: Environmental Project

Work with a community partner to address a local environmental problem (a recent class wrote a successful grant to restore a natural area adjacent to campus). (ENVS 470)

Environmental studies at Linfield

Learning Outcomes

Select appropriate methods and correctly apply them in investigating specific environmental problems at local, regional and/or global scales.

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Critically examine the values, assumptions and contexts that organize human communities and their relationships with the biosphere.

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Effectively communicate environmental information to diverse audiences.

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Collaborate with community partners and integrate multiple disciplinary perspectives in order to creatively analyze and take effective action to address issues of critical environmental concern.

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Intern in all areas of environmental studies

Internships provide invaluable hands-on experience and further develop your professional skills. Many students in environmental studies at Linfield have completed internships with local or Portland area companies or nonprofits.

Some companies where environmental studies majors at Linfield have found internship placements include:

Chintimini Wildlife Refuge
Yamhill County GIS Roadside Vegetation Inventory
Ocean Mammal Institute (OMI) on Maui
OEA Education
Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Hatchery Wild Interaction Project
Wilsonville-West Linn School District’s CREST Program (Center for Research in Environmental Science and Technology)

In addition, the environmental studies department has permanent internships set up with the Greater Yamhill Watershed Council (GYWC) that include:

Water quality analysis
Fish counting
Educational outreach

Life After Linfield

You will leave prepared for a career in areas such as:

Administrative Services

Systems Engineer
Executive Assistant
Partner
Chief Operations Officer
Executive Director

Sustainability Specialists

Renewable Energy Analyst
Agricultural Economist
Chief Sustainability Officer
Outreach Advocate

Estimate wage: $58.8k

Estimate of what Linfield environmental studies alumni could be making based on their current ages, occupations and geographic locations.

Potential wage: $88.6k

The potential wage is based on the average wage for the occupations.

Top career paths

The top five education-to-career paths of Linfield environmental studies alumni include:

Systems Engineer
Renewable Energy Analyst
Executive Assistant
Agricultural Economist
Partner

View More Career Outcomes Information

Environmental Studies - Policy
Environmental Studies - Science

Request more information

Have questions about environmental studies at Linfield? Reach out! We'd love to connect with you.

William Fleeger
Department Chair and Visiting Senior Scholar
Renshaw Hall
503-883-2341
wfleeger@linfield.edu

Meet our faculty