Environmental Science Track

The Environmental Science Track draws on the disciplines of biology, geology, and chemistry to provide students with the skills necessary to analyze and resolve environmental problems utilizing the toolkit of the natural sciences. Students are also required to take several courses in environmental humanities and environmental social sciences. Much of the department's environmental science research is conducted out of the Keck Environmental Field Lab on the historic shores of Lake Matoaka. 

Study areas of applied research include climate change, conservation, and coastal science, among others. Current and recent examples of undergraduate environmental science research at W&M include:

• Calculating the abundance of two species of turtles in Lake Matoaka
• Analyzing soil cores of a local pond for historical environmental contamination
• Sampling local streams and ponds for water quality analysis
• Verifying living shoreline installations with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
• Working on diamondback terrapin conservation strategies in the Chesapeake Bay

Several of the required courses for the Environmental Science track have pre-requisites that provide majors with an array of background knowledge and skills. These courses count as proficiencies for the major (meaning students have to take them), but not towards the total credit requirement. Given the overlap between the proficiencies and natural science requirements, many students who choose the Environmental Science track double major in one of our affiliated natural science departments. 

Students who choose this track frequently go on to work for governmental agencies such as EPA, NPS or USGS; environmental consulting firms; and a wide variety of NGOs. Many of our alumni also attend graduate school in the sciences. You can view our 2021 alumni career survey here.

You can view degree requirements in the Catalog.