Arizona State University Reviews of Bachelor's in Environmental Science

Attending ASU was such an amazing and valuable experience that I will always cherish. The instructors and courses available really added to the overall positive experience as well as the diversity of the school. What I think is special about ASU is how innovative it is and the amount of students there are - you meet so many people from around the country/world and that helps you open your mind to other ideas. I had the fondest memories going to class and challenging myself. In my experience, the... Read More instructors and advisors were always available and eager to assist with almost everything. ASU is a great school!

The Environmental Resource Management degree program was enjoyable and challenging. The classes concerning the engineering portion will either stress you out or give you a learning experience however most students experienced contempt for the engineering professor. The other professors dealt more with policy and science then there were electives that concerned over algae utilized toward commercialization. The algae class was useful in reinforcing engineering concepts alongside learning about assessments... Read More and cycles that concern products whether it be algae, biomass, etc. The program is great for students willing to learn diverse topics but not great for specializing as there is minimal topic concerning a single area. There are professional development courses that aid in providing certifications in which you can get the upper edge in job searches. There is an underlying focus on coding or GIS that is slowly becoming essential in environmental careers. Fortunately, ASU proves out GIS courses within different schools in the cost of spending more tuition on these courses. There is a certification regarding GIS but it appears anonymous experts tell you to spend your free time learning how to utilize GIS as a secondary skill versus learning it as your primary skill. The program isnt the only environmental major as there are environmental engineering degrees and environmental study degrees available at ASU. The school atmosphere at the polytechnic campus is very relaxing with mostly Asians, Indians, and whites encompassing the campus. The campus can feel empty during the night and feel busy during the day; the morning however, can vary in activity. Overall, I would suggest this school if you like to engage in various communities and experience various degrees while having fun.

From 2010-2013, the Sustainability program at ASU was still very new, and therefore contained broad and general studies. You were able to choose your own courses and this included pulling courses from outside of the School of Sustainability and producing a strong justification of why the course fit in with your studies. There were pros and cons to this method. A few pros were that because of the eclectic nature of the degree, many courses outside of the school could be counted toward the degree.... Read More It offered many options and could be catered toward each student's particular interests. The cons to this wide-ranging program, was that it lacked a certain amount of direction. Though this may be a positive aspect for some students, I wished there was more direction and requirements within a certain track and less elective course options. Since I graduated from this program, it has become more focused and expectations more clear. A science component has also been added to help create a better understanding of the environmental pieces. Overall, I am glad that I pursued the program. It was a great program to kick off my career in International Development, and continues to be modified each year to better prepare students for the workforce in these areas.