The climate crisis and other staggering environmental challenges render it essential that we train a new generation of journalists with a strong scientific foundation in environmental science. Clearheaded and scientifically grounded reporting on environmental issues will be essential for tackling these and other future challenges. This combined major is designed to provide training that merges the basic and applied science underlying environmental change with the best principles and journalistic practices to enable students to pursue careers across a wide range of science communication fields.
Due to curricular overlap, students enrolled in this program cannot declare a double major with or declare a minor in ecology and evolutionary biology, environmental studies, or geoscience.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Restrictions
Due to curricular overlap, students enrolled in this program cannot declare a double major with or declare a minor in ecology and evolutionary biology, environmental studies, or geoscience.
Environmental and Sustainability Sciences Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| ENVR 1200 and ENVR 1201 | Dynamic Earth and Lab for ENVR 1200 | 4-5 |
| or ENVR 2200 | Earth's Changing Cycles | |
| ENVR 1400 and ENVR 1401 | Foundations in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences and Lab for ENVR 1400 | 5 |
| EEMB 2302 and EEMB 2303 | Ecology and Lab for EEMB 2302 | 5 |
| ENVR 2515 | Sustainable Development | 4 |
| Complete one of the following: | 5 | |
| Introduction to Environmental, Social, and Biological Data and Lab for ENVR 1500 | ||
| Geographic Information Systems and Lab for ENVR 3300 | ||
| Environmental and Sustainability Sciences Electives | ||
| Complete four courses from the following lists: | 16-19 | |
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 | ||
| Earth Oceans and Environmental Change | ||
| Earth Materials and Lab for ENVR 2310 | ||
| Earth Landforms and Processes and Lab for ENVR 2340 | ||
| Global Oceanic Change | ||
or ENVR 3600 | Oceanography | |
| Applied Hydrogeology and Lab for ENVR 4500 | ||
| Climate and Atmospheric Change | ||
| Soil Science | ||
| Coastal Processes, Adaptation, and Resilience | ||
| Global Biogeochemistry | ||
| Conservation, Restoration, and Management | ||
| Introduction to Evolution | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| Ecological and Conservation Genomics | ||
| Landscape and Restoration Ecology | ||
| Wetlands | ||
| Streams and Watershed Ecology | ||
| Urban Ecology | ||
| Sustainable Planning and Development | ||
| Food Security and Sustainability | ||
| Water Resources | ||
| Community Stakeholder Engagement in Environmental Management and Research | ||
| Environmental Planning | ||
| Sustainable Energy and Climate Solutions | ||
| Advanced Spatial Analysis | ||
| Climate Adaptation and Nature-Based Solutions | ||
| Environment and Society | ||
| Ecosystem-Based Management | ||
| Applied Social-Ecological Systems Modeling | ||
| Environmental Politics and Policy | ||
| Ecological Economics | ||
| International Environmental Policy | ||
| Environment, Technology, and Society | ||
Journalism Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Courses | ||
| JRNL 1150 | Understanding Today’s News | 4 |
| JRNL 1101 and JRNL 1102 | Journalism 1: Fundamentals of Reporting and Writing and Journalist’s Toolbox | 5 |
| JRNL 2201 | Journalism 2: Intermediate Reporting | 4 |
| Visual Storytelling | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Visual Storytelling in Journalism | ||
| News Documentary Production | ||
| Photojournalism | ||
| Video News Reporting and Producing | ||
| Law and Ethics | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| The First Amendment and the Media | ||
| Ethics and Diversity in the News Media | ||
| Electives | ||
| Complete any four journalism electives with two at the 3000-level or above. | 16 | |
Integrative Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to College | ||
| INSC 1000 | Science at Northeastern | 1 |
| or JRNL 1000 | Journalism at Northeastern | |
| Co-op | ||
| EESC 2000 | Professional Development for Co-op | 1 |
| or EEAM 2000 | Professional Development for Co-op | |
| Integrative Course | ||
| Courses used as electives may not overlap with the following: | ||
| ENVR 4050 | Solving Emerging Environmental Challenges through Capstone | 4 |
| or ENVR 4997 | Senior Thesis | |
| or ENVR 4971 | Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | |
| JRNL 3650 | Science Writing | 4 |
| or JRNL 3700 | Data Storytelling | |
NUPath Requirements
The following NUPath requirements are fulfilled by required courses in this major:
- Conducting Formal and Quantitative Reasoning (FQ)
- Demonstrating Thought and Action in a Capstone (CE)
- Employing Ethical Reasoning (ER)
- Engaging Differences and Diversity (DD)
- Engaging with the Natural and Designed World (ND)
- Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI)
- Understanding Societies and Institutions (SI)
- Writing Across Audiences and Genres (WD)
- Two Writing-Intensive Courses in the Disciplines (WI)
Other NUPath requirements may be fulfilled by electives in the major.
English Requirements (First-Year Writing and Advanced Writing in the Disciplines)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGW 1111 | First-Year Writing | 4 |
| or ENGW 1102 | First-Year Writing for Multilingual Writers | |
| ENGW 3307 | Advanced Writing in the Sciences | 4 |
| or ENGW 3303 | Advanced Writing in the Environmental Professions | |
| or ENGW 3315 | Interdisciplinary Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | |
| or JRNL 2301 | Visual Storytelling in Journalism | |
Journalism GPA Requirement
Grade of C or better required in the following courses.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Journalism 1: Fundamentals of Reporting and Writing and Journalist’s Toolbox | ||
| Journalism 2: Intermediate Reporting | ||
| Visual Storytelling in Journalism |
Science GPA Requirement (Environmental and Sustainability Sciences)
A minimum 2.000 GPA in the following course codes is required: ENVR, EEMB
Environmental and Sustainability Sciences/Journalism Combined Major Credit Requirements.
83 semester hours required in the major
Program Requirement
132 total semester hours required
Sample Plan of Study
Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer Second Half/Fall
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ENVR 1000 or JRNL 1000 | 1 | ENVR 1200 and ENVR 1201 | 4-5 | Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 |
| ENGW 1111 or 1102 | 4 | JRNL 1101 and JRNL 1102 | 5 | Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 |
| ENVR 1400 and ENVR 1401 | 5 | ENVR elective 1 | 4 | ||||
| JRNL 1150 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 18 | 17-18 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| EEMB 2302 and EEMB 2303 | 5 | ENVR 2515 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Co-op | 0 |
| JRNL 2201 | 4 | ENVR 1500, and ENVR 1501, or ENVR 3300 and ENVR 3301 | 5 | Elective | 4 | ||
| ENVR elective 2 | 4 | JRNL 2301, 5309, 5310, or 5314 | 4 | ||||
| JRNL elective 1 | 4 | EESC 2000 or EEAM 2000 | 1 | ||||
| ENVR elective 3 | 4 | ||||||
| JRNL elective 2 | |||||||
| 17 | 18 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | 0 | ENVR 4050, 4997, JRNL 3650, or JRNL 3700 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Co-op | 0 |
| JRNL 3550 or 4650 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| ENVR elective 4 | 4 | ||||||
| JRNL elective 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 16 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| Co-op | 0 | ENVR 4997, 4050, JRNL 3650, or JRNL 3700 | 4 | ||||
| JRNL elective 4 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 134-135 | |||||||