2026-2027 Course Catalog
Source: https://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/aces/natural-resources-environmental-sciences-bs/environmental-social-sciences/ Parent: https://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/
for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, Environmental Social Sciences concentration
Environmental Social Sciences emphasizes the social scientific interpretations of human-environment interactions at multiple levels, as well as applied policy and management implications. This concentration requires advanced coursework in behavior change science, natural resource economics, environmental and conservation psychology, communications, social impact assessment, environmental policy, and environmental law. Students who have completed degrees in this concentration have gone on to careers in natural resource management, environmental policy, law, advocacy, and education.
for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, Environmental Social Sciences concentration
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours for graduation: 126 hours.
University Requirements
Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework generally at the 300- and 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree. Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.
The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.
General Education Requirements
Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in the program.
Course List
| Code | Title | Hours |
| --- | --- | --- | | Composition I | | 4-6 | | Advanced Composition | | 3 | | Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | | 6 | | Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | | 6 | | fulfilled by CHEM 102, CHEM 104, IB 103; and IB 104 or IB 150; and ABE 152 or ACES 102 or ATMS 140 or CPSC 113 or GEOL 107 or GEOL 118 or GGIS 103 or MCB 100 or MCB 150 or NPRE 101 or PHYS 101 or PHYS 211 | | | | Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | | 6 | | fulfilled by ACE 100 or ECON 102; and NRES 287 | | | | Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | fulfilled by NRES 287 | | | | Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Quantitative Reasoning (6-10 hours; at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | | 6-10 | | fulfilled by MATH 220 or MATH 221 or MATH 234; and ACE 262 or CPSC 241 or ECON 202 or PSYC 235 or SOC 280 or STAT 100 or STAT 107 | | | | Language Requirement (0-15 hours; completion of the third semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required) | | 0-15 |
Course List
| Code | Title | Hours |
| --- | --- | --- | | Major Requirements | | | | Communications Requirement | | 3 or 6 | | Select from the following: | | | | CMN 101 | Public Speaking | | | CMN 111 & CMN 112 | Oral & Written Comm I and Oral & Written Comm II | | | ALEC 115 | Let’s Talk about Food, Agriculture, and the Environment | | | Economics Requirement | | 3-4 | | Select from the following: | | | | ACE 100 | Introduction to Applied Microeconomics | | | ECON 102 | Microeconomic Principles | | | Math Requirement | | 4-5 | | Select from the following: | | | | MATH 220 | Calculus | | | MATH 221 | Calculus I | | | MATH 234 | Calculus for Business I | | | Statistics Requirement | | 3-4 | | Select from the following: | | | | ACE 262 | Applied Statistical Methods and Data Analytics I | | | CPSC 241 | Intro to Applied Statistics | | | ECON 202 | Economic Statistics I | | | PSYC 235 | Intro to Statistics | | | SOC 280 | Intro to Social Statistics | | | STAT 100 | Statistics | | | STAT 107 | Data Science Discovery | | | Science Requirements | | 19-22 | | CHEM 102 & CHEM 103 | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Lab I | | | CHEM 104 & CHEM 105 | General Chemistry II and General Chemistry Lab II | | | IB 103 | Introduction to Plant Biology | | | IB 104 | Animal Biology | | | or IB 150 & IB 151 | Organismal & Evolutionary Biol and Organismal & Evol Biol Lab | | | Select one additional course from the following: | | | | ABE 152 | Water in the Global Environment | | | ACES 102 | Intro Sustainable Food Systems | | | ATMS 140 | Climate and Global Change | | | CPSC 113 | Environment, Agriculture, and Society | | | GEOL 107 | Physical Geology | | | GEOL 118 | Natural Disasters | | | GGIS 103 | Earth's Physical Systems | | | MCB 100 | Introductory Microbiology | | | MCB 150 | Molecular & Cellular Basis of Life | | | NPRE 101 | Introduction to Energy Sources | | | PHYS 101 | College Physics: Mech & Heat | | | PHYS 211 | University Physics: Mechanics | | | College of ACES Requirements (Core) | | 2 | | NRES 123 | NRES Orientation to Illinois | | | Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Requirements (Core) | | 31-33 | | NRES 102 | Introduction to NRES | | | NRES 201 | Introductory Soils | | | NRES 219 | Applied Ecology | | | NRES 287 | Environment and Society | | | NRES 325 | Natural Resource Policy Mgmt | | | NRES 348 | Fish and Wildlife Ecology | | | NRES 385 | Field Experience | | | NRES 421 | Quantitative Methods in NRES | | | NRES 454 | GIS in Natural Resource Mgmt | | | NRES 456 | Integrative Ecosystem Management | | | Select one additional field experience course from the following: | | | | NRES 293 | Professional Internship | | | NRES 294 | Resident Internship | | | NRES 295 | Undergrad Research or Thesis | | | NRES 385 | Field Experience | | | NRES 396 | UG Honors Research or Thesis | |
Course List
| Code | Title | Hours |
| --- | --- | --- | | Concentration Core Requirements | | | | NRES 340 | Environ Social Sci Res Meth | 3 | | NRES 472 | Environmental Psychology | 4 | | ACE 310 | Natural Resource Economics | 3 | | Concentration Elective Requirements | | | | Two Social Science Courses | | 6-8 | | NRES 425 | Natural Resources Law & Policy | | | NRES 434 | Environment, Policy, and Conflict | | | NRES 439 | Env and Sustainable Dev | | | ACE 406 | Environmental Law | | | AGCM 330 | Environmental Communications | | | ESE 467 | Multimedia Environmental Communications | | | LA 446 | Sustainable Planning Seminar | | | RST 317 | Designing Parks and Recreation Experiences | | | RST 450 | Tourism Planning & Development | | | SOC 447 | Environmental Sociology | | | One Conservation/Development/Ecology Course | | 3-4 | | NRES 302 | Dendrology | | | NRES 362 | Ecology of Invasive Species | | | NRES 407 | Wildlife Population Ecology | | | NRES 409 | Fishery Ecol and Conservation | | | NRES 418 | Wetland Ecology & Management | | | NRES 485 | Stream Ecology | | | NRES 420 | Restoration Ecology | | | NRES 429 | Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation | | | NRES 465 | Landscape Ecology | | | NRES 474 | Soil and Water Conservation | | | NRES 480 | Human-Wildlife Interactions | | | ESE 482 | Challenges of Sustainability | | | IB 361 | Ecology and Human Health | | | UP 406 | Urban Ecology | | | Total Concentration Hours | | 19-22 | | Total Hours | | 126 |
for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, Environmental Social Sciences concentration
Sample Sequence
This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence. For guidance on creating your own degree sequence, consult the Graduation Plan Handout.
Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a third level of a language other than English. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements page.
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| NRES 102 | 3 |
| NRES 123 | 2 |
| Composition I or Communications Requirement | 4 |
| IB 104 or 150 and 151 | 4 |
| Language Other Than English (3rd level) | 4 |
| 17 | |
| Total Hours 17 |
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| CHEM 102 | 3 |
| CHEM 103 | 1 |
| Communications Requirement or Composition I | 3 |
| MATH Requirement | 4 |
| IB 103 | 4 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 |
| Second Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| NRES 219 | 3 |
| CHEM 104 | 3 |
| CHEM 105 | 1 |
| ACE 100 or ECON 102 | 4 |
| Choose additional course from Science Requirement list | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| 17 | |
| Total Hours 17 |
| Second Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| NRES 287 | 3 |
| NRES 201 | 4 |
| Statistics Requirement | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 16 | |
| Total Hours 16 |
| Third Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| NRES 454 | 4 |
| NRES 348 | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Field Experience course | 2 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 |
| Third Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| NRES 421 | 3 |
| NRES 340 | 3 |
| Social Science course from degree list | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 |
| Fourth Year | |
|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours |
| NRES 385 | 2 |
| NRES 472 | 4 |
| NRES 325 | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Total Hours 15 |
| Fourth Year | |
|---|---|
| Second Semester | Hours |
| NRES 456 | 3 |
| ACE 310 | 3 |
| Social Science course from degree list | 3 |
| Conservation/Development/Ecology course | 4 |
| Free Elective course | 3 |
| 16 | |
| Total Hours 16 |
Total Hours: 126
for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, Environmental Social Sciences concentration
Students graduating with the B.S. in NRES should be able to:
- Understand the scientific method/ways of knowing and critically evaluate information.
- Integrate principles of biological, chemical, physical, and social sciences and apply them to resource and environmental issues using a systems approach.
- Understand ecological principles underpinning management of resources, populations, communities, and ecosystems.
- Use data collection and analysis tools (such as field methods, GIS, modeling, and statistics) to develop plans for managing resource/environmental challenges and adapt plans in response to rapid change.
- Understand the policies governing resources and the environment and identify social dimensions (stakeholders, interests, trade-offs, synergies, ethical principles) to consider in the development of management plans.
- Communicate effectively with colleagues, stakeholders, and the public about environmental and resource management issues.
- Recognize how diverse groups understand the environment, experience positive and negative environmental impacts, and perceive just and equitable solutions.
for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, Environmental Social Sciences concentration
Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences
Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences website\ W-503 Turner Hall\ 1102 S. Goodwin Ave.\ Urbana, IL 61801\ (217) 333-2770\ nres@illinois.edu
Advising
Advising Website\ (217) 333-5824\ nres-ssc@illinois.edu
College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences
College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences website
ACES Office of Academic Programs
128 Mumford Hall\ 1301 West Gregory Drive\ Urbana, IL 61801\ (217) 333-3380\ aces-academics@illinois.edu
Admissions
ACES Undergraduate Admissions\ University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Undergrad Admissions\ (217) 333-3380\ visitACES@illinois.edu