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Environmental Management & Forestry

Green Wing
Students in a field research class dipnetting at Augustana's 420-acre Green Wing Environmental Laboratory.

2024-25 catalog

The Environmental Management and Forestry program at Augustana is recommended for students interested in combining natural science and social science perspectives in managing the environment.

Augustana is affiliated with the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, Durham, N.C. Through the Cooperative College Program of the School of the Environment, a student in a five-year coordinated program can earn both a Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana and either the Master of Forestry or Master of Environmental Management from Duke.

This 3-2 cooperative program generally requires three years in residence at Augustana College followed by two years in residence at Duke University. It is also possible for a student to spend four years at Augustana to complete the B.A. degree and then attend Duke for two years under a 4-2 cooperative program. Students majoring in one of the natural or social sciences or in pre-engineering or business will be considered for admission to Duke University upon completion of three or four years at Augustana.

Since all general education requirements for the Augustana degree together with a departmental major should be completed before transferring to Duke, students interested in this coordinated degree program should meet with the advisor early in the first year of study to plan a schedule of courses. Students should work closely with the advisor since completion of the requirements alone does not guarantee admission to Duke University. Admission to the University is based on grade-point average (recommended minimum 3.4), recommendations and test scores. Students should initiate the application procedure in the fall term of the junior year.

Coursework at Augustana must include BIOL 140 and 386, ECON 200, GEOG 303, MATH 160, 220 and 230, and one term of statistics. Depending on the student's intended concentration at Duke, other recommended courses include BIOL 327, GEOG 273, an introductory physical geography or geology course, and CHEM 131. A good preparation in the social sciences is important even though such preparation may reduce the number of advanced courses a student is able to take in the natural sciences. In this program all general education requirements for Augustana's Bachelor of Arts degree must be completed together with a departmental major.

At Duke students choose to specialize in one of the following eight concentrations:

  • Business and Environment (BE)
  • Coastal Environmental Management (CEM)
  • Energy and the Environment (EE)
  • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health (EEH)
  • Environmental Economics and Policy (EEP)
  • Ecosystem Science and Conversation (ESC)
  • Water Resources Management (WRM)

In recent years, Augustana students have shown particular interest in and enrolled in Duke's coastal management program. In this program, students spend their second year at Duke at the excellent marine lab at the coastal town of Beaufort, N.C.

When a student has satisfactorily completed one year of study at Duke University and has satisfied the Augustana graduation requirements, he or she will be awarded the Bachelor of Arts degree by Augustana. Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements for the master's degree, the student will be awarded either the degree of Master of Environmental Management or Master of Forestry by Duke University.