Environmental Science Major: Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region

Program Type: Undergraduate

Degree Awarded: B.A. in Environmental Science | B.S. in Environmental Science_{Select a degree to view its requirements and four-year plan.}

Department: Biological Sciences

You have a passion for the environment. You see your future self, working outside or in a lab collecting data. Maybe you see yourself working in environmental law, education, history, or urban planning. Regardless of where your environmental interests lead you, NKU has a degree program for you.

United by our passion for the environment, NKU’s environmental science degrees focus on environmental communication, health, community, local and global issues, sustainability, water resources, and social responsibility in science. Our degrees offer a solid foundation in the sciences and emphasize the importance of understanding the inter-relationships among the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Program Contacts

Lynn Crane
Academic Advisor
(859) 572-5306
cranel1@nku.edu

Dr. Lindsey Walters
Professor & Department Chair
(859) 572-6390
waltersl3@nku.edu

Students in the Spotlight

Tanner Yess

Graduating Year: 2009

Education: B.S. in Environmental Science & Biology minor

Career: Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio River Valley

“College is a lot. My experience was an adventure with ups and downs leading to a destination unknown. I was able to embrace that journey because of the support and diversity of experiences offered through NKU's ENV Program. Gliding through Costa Rica's cloud forest, electroshocking fish and long days restoring local streams with the Center for Environmental Restoration were all part of my education and network building. Years later, I still lean on the connections, both people and nature, made through the ENV Program. Now, as the Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio River Valley, my time at NKU has shaped the environmental justice work we do around youth green workforce, climate resilience and citizen science. Enjoy the ride, it goes by fast!” 

After NKU, Tanner volunteered in the Peace Corps and then went on to earn a Master’s degree in Urban, Community & Regional Planning. He then worked with the Regional Trails Alliance before Groundwork. In 2018, Tanner was the recipient of the Murie Center Rising Leader Award.

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Find Your Passions & Build Your Future

Student-Centered Mentoring: Faculty in ENV are focused on providing top-level research experiences for the undergraduate students at NKU. Student mentees are integral to the success of their research projects. From these experiences’ students gain more than an appreciation for what it takes to do research, they also can form important networking relationships, travel to present their work at conferences, and become co-authors on publications.
Immersive Learning Opportunities: Environmental science encompasses some of the world’s most complex problems and to train our students to be successful beyond NKU, we put great emphasis on real-world learning in our classes. This means that in almost all ENV classes, students either work with real data collated by scientists on public databases or they work collaboratively on projects with local community and governmental organizations. The “semester project” in an ENV class, becomes a line directly on your resume! Example – Volunteer Scientist, Worked with the City of Covington, Solid Waste & Recycling to study litter in high traffic areas and created messaging to reduce the problem.
Career-Oriented: The ENV Program is 100% focused on helping students build their resumes! We begin by having students take our Careers course where students network with different employers each week. This helps students learn more about all of the directions one may go in with an ENV degree. All ENV majors and minors are required to complete an internship or research experience. We have direct relationships with dozens of employers in the region and beyond to help students find the perfect fit. In our culminating seminar course, students build their resume again by either working on a project in direct collaboration with community partners or use public scientific data to answer pressing environmental questions. When you graduate from ENV, you will be highly competitive and on your way to your dream career!

Keep exploring. Visit the department website.