Undergrad Programs

Major Programs

LAWR offers three majors in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

  • Atmospheric Science, where you will investigate topics ranging from how to forecast severe weather events to how humans may be altering Earth's climate.
  • Environmental Science and Management offers a contemporary perspective for solving environmental problems and understanding human dimensions of the environment. Students gain exposure to real world problem solving and learn how to use cutting edge technology and tools.
  • Hydrology, where you will study all aspects of water -- weather, river basins, groundwater, glaciers, lakes, streams, permafrost, water vapor.
  • The Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Major emphasizes principles in agriculture and food with space to explore your interest and passions. SAF students are the next generation of leaders in food and agriculture.

Faculty advisers within each of these majors will work with you to tailor an individual program of specialization or concentration.

For information about our undergraduate programs email [email protected] or visit our Student Resources Page.

Land, Air and Water Resources is a multidisciplinary department with faculty who specialize in atmospheric, plant, resource, soil and water science, hydrology, and water engineering. Teaching and research focus on both agricultural and environmental science. The faculty contribute to numerous other undergraduate and graduate programs in the Colleges of Letters and Science, Engineering, and Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Minors

  • ATM The minor in Atmospheric Science provides a broad treatment of weather and climate, with the option to focus on such topics as climate change, meteorological instrumentation, and satellite remote sensing. Students undertaking the minor should have completed minimum preparatory course work in calculus and physics (MAT 019A, MAT 019B, and PHY 007A). Some upper division courses in Atmospheric Science have additional prerequisites in calculus and physics (MAT 021A, MAT 021B, MAT 021C, MAT 021D, MAT 022A, and MAT 022B, and PHY 009A, PHY 009B, PHY 009C, and PHY 009D).
  • Hydrology The Hydrology Section of the Department of Land, Air & Water Resources offers a minor in Hydrology for environmental or natural science students who have an interest in water/environmental issues. The interested student should have completed preparatory course work in calculus, chemistry (CHE 002A; CHE 002B recommended), physics (PHY 007A), and biology (BIS 002A or BIO 002). Course work in the minor provides fundamental skills and knowledge of the hydrologic sciences. The program is sufficiently flexible for students to pursue particular water issues or problems of interest to them.

  • International Science Studies This interdisciplinary minor in International Science Studies introduces College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences students to global issues, which affect their major disciplines in the current world, and also provides an opportunity to gain first-hand experience abroad when appropriate. The goal of this minor is to enable our college students to develop greater international competence and to enhance their employability.

    The minor assumes that the student will have a major in the sciences and that classes taken under one of the three tracks in the minor will contribute depth to the existing major or establish depth in a selected additional field of study. Students will be expected to work closely with an academic advisor in developing an intellectually coherent program of the study. A minimum of 18 units of upper division work is required. Only a single course can be counted toward both major and minor and no course can be used to satisfy the requirements of more than one minor.

  • Soil Science The Department of Land, Air & Water Resources, Soils & Biogeochemistry Program, offers a minor program in soil science. The minor is especially geared toward students in the environmental sciences including Hydrologic Science, Environmental Science & Management,  Environmental Toxicology, Ecological Management & Restoration, International Agricultural Development, Crop Science & Management, Environmental Horticulture & Urban Forestry, Geology, and Plant Biology.
  • Watershed Science The Hydrology Program of the Department of Land, Air & Water Resources offers the minor in Watershed Science. This minor is intended for environmental, natural, or social science students who have an interest in the interfaces between hydrology, ecology, policy and management. The interested student should have completed preparatory course work in calculus, chemistry (CHE 002A; CHE 002B recommended), physics (PHY 007A), and biology (BIS 002A or BIO 002). Course work in the minor provides fundamental skills and knowledge on the science and management of watersheds in the context of current water resources and ecological problems.