Content: Undergraduate Minor: Environmental Fellows Program
Spring 2010 Applications Due: October 15, 2009
The Environmental Fellows Program (EFP) is an undergraduate minor for students in any major who are interested in the environment. The EFP provides University students a unique opportunity to pursue personal environmental interests through courses that focus on current issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective. A minor in the EFP signifies an environmental understanding of the intersections between the natural world, technology, politics, and culture.
Why should you become a fellow?
Earning an environmental minor will allow you to:
• create a tailored program of study that integrates your discipline with the environment through 18 hours of course work.
• create an internship, research or practicum experience that meets your specific needs and interests.
• be more employable - today's employers are looking for multi-disciplinary and holistic thinkers who are best prepared to work in today's diverse society.
• potentially qualify for dual credit, satisfying requirements of your major and minor simultaneously.
• work in teams with other Environmental Fellows and faculty in order to address real local, national, or international issues.
How do you apply To BECOME a FELLOW?
Students applying should:
• be enrolled in any undergraduate degree program at the University of Illinois,
• have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and
• have 3 or more semesters remaining on campus (or approval from the School of Earth, Society, and Environment).
Applying to the EFP is easy. Download the application form below. You will need to submit this form along with a short essay about your interest in environmental scholarship and an unofficial transcript. Applications are accepted every semester.
Download an EFP Application:
• Acrobat
• Word
Email your completed application to dyar@illinois.edu, or submit it at
room 249 in the Natural History Building. Office hours are 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
What are the Course requirements of the PROGRAM?
The EFP strives to meet the needs and interests of all environmentally-minded students. Although we have an approved course list, substitutions can be made to reflect special interests. Contact the EFP office at 217-244-4064 or e-mail tomkin@illinois.edu for more information, including a listing of approved courses in the categories listed below.
- EFP Requirements (18 hours of coursework)
• Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior Years:
o at least one Natural Science Foundation course (either physical or biological)
o at least one Social and Environment Foundation course
• Sophomore, Junior, or Senior Years:
o two Advanced Environmental courses
• Junior or Senior Year:
o Capstone Project: independent study or internship
o ENVST 301: Environmental Issues Today
In ENVS 301, Environmental Issues Today, EFP students are exposed to different disciplinary perspectives on specific environmental issues. Topics change each semester to reflect current environmental concerns.
The Capstone Project allows the EFP student to focus on a topic of his or her particular interest. The Capstone Project provides students an opportunity to work with a professor on a research project, internship, or practicum that will result in a paper or other product examining an environmental issue. The project should be within the student’s field or area of interest and can include lab research projects, library research projects, interviews, surveys, summer internships, or any other kind of in depth examination of an environmental topic. The Capstone Project is self-directed and is taken for independent study or internship credit. If you have a Project in mind, use the following form to get official authorization:
Please contact the EFP office at 217-244-4064 or e-mail tomkin@illinois.edu for additional information and requirements for your Capstone Project.
Questions?
Please stop by or call during office hours with any questions you have about the EFP. Office hours are 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
249 Natural History Building
1301 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
phone: 217-244-4064
Other Resources
The school houses CWACES: The Center for Water as a Complex Environmental System. The primary goal of the Center is to facilitate original, interdisciplinary research on the complexity of water and water-related processes in environmental systems and on the interconnections between these processes and human society.
The School houses the Geology Library in the Natural History Building, with dedicated earth science librarians and an extensive collection of materials, including science catalogs and journals.
Interested in Earth Science teaching? The School both works with the College of Education to develop earth science courses for K-12 educators and provides resources for teachers.