They study the constituents and processes of the environment, the perspectives of different cultures and human values toward the environment, and the ways in which society can organize itself to approach environmental problems. In order to give students practical experience outside the classroom, an environmental internship with a sponsoring organization is required for the major. A committee of faculty from a variety of departments spanning the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences oversees the program. Recent additions in biology, political science, and environmental policy further enhance the curriculum. Special resources for study include the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area on the Maine coast and the nearby Shortridge property, which includes a new wet lab and bunkhouse for coastal researchers and field study classes.
Some courses have a strong project based component.
For example, students in Curtis Bohlen's Wetland Science and Policy course teamed up with a Groundwater Hydrology class to examine the environmental impacts of three alternate road alignments through or around the Garcelon Bog, a wetland in Lewiston. The results were presented to the city planner, city engineer, city manager, as well as the public, to help planners decide where to build the new road. Students and faculty also presented a poster on this work at the Geological Society of America's Northeast Regional Meeting in Portland, Maine, in March 1998. Maine is an especially rich area for studies of the environment. Curtis Bohlen's Introduction to Environmental Studies class concluded a full semester study of land trust holdings in the state of Maine with a major report that was distributed through the Maine Land Trust Network, a nonprofit arm of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust.