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Content: Online Degree in Environmental Sustainability

SESENRES

Beginning in Fall of 2012, we're proud to announce that our Bachelor's degree in Earth, Society and Environmental Sustainability will be available online, as well as on campus. Our future depends on understanding the interactions between the environment, society, and economy - gain expertise with an ESE degree, which can now be completed entirely remotely for students with some prior college-level coursework. ESE students can specialize in environmental informatics, sustainable business, sustainability policy, and more. Students wishing to undertake the program must apply to the University of Illinois as transfer students. All prior credit earned through the ENSU certificate can be applied to the ESE BS degree if you transfer to the program.

A graduate student in SESE. Karnataka, India

University of Illinois Degree

The online degree is the same degree as taken by on-campus students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - only the method of instruction is different. The University is a top-ten public institution, and is the flagship University of Illinois. You'll have the same world-class professors, courses, resources and BS as our 150 on-campus majors. You'd be attending the 2nd oldest university in Illinois, and a founding member of the Big Ten Conference. We're considered a Public Ivy; and our undergraduate program is ranked by US World and News as the 45th best program in the country. The University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools - see this link for details. The program is delivered through a partnership between the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, and the School of Earth, Society, and Environment.

University of Illinois Opportunities

Graduates from UIUC are recruited from companies across the nation. The ESE degree celebrated its first complete graduating class in May of 2011. Our students have gone on to graduate programs across the country - in Medicine, Law, Biology, Public Affairs, Journalism and more - and careers for organizations large and small, including positions in environmental consulting, business consulting, sustainability management, teaching, wetlands restoration, the Peace Corps and environmental engineering.

Transfer: flexibility and choice

The major is set up to allow students with a wide variety of backgrounds to complete the degree. There is a choice of two concentrations:

  1. Science in the Earth System (for those with a natural science background/focus)
  2. Society and Environment (more flexible, for those with a social sciences or general background)

Transferring students could complete in two regular academic years (full-time) regardless of start date. There are over 60 advanced hours available for the online major, and hundreds more elective and general education options from across the campus. All required courses are offered every two years, and many introductory courses are offered online too.

It is highly recommended that students take some foreign language before transferring, as two 3rd levels or one 4th level of a foreign language are required for graduation.

It is beneficial if some of the introductory concentration coursework is completed before transferring, as not all introductory coursework can be taken online (such as sciences with labs, for example).

Students considering the “Science of the Earth System” concentration should take an introductory chemistry (with lab), physics (with lab), calculus 1 and any statistics course. These are CHEM 102+103, PHYS 101 or 211, MATH 220 or 221 at UIUC. Any statistics course is acceptable.

Students considering the “Society and Environment” concentration should take microeconomics (ECON 102 at UIUC), a statistics course, and up to 3 fundamental social science or humanities courses – choose from social geography, anthropology, political science, sociology and philosophy.

Transfer: requirements

What do you need to have done to transfer to our program? A detailed guide is here, or ask us for help. These are the same transfer requirements as for on-campus students who are applying to the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

When considering transferring to a bachelor’s program, it is important that you get credit for your previous academic work. Depending on your home institution, there is a website that might be able to tell you exactly what your classes transfer as (https://www.transfer.org/uselect/) – but we ’d be very happy to look at a list or transcript of classes and give you an overview as well. If your current institution isn’t in the database, the exact course matching will be done once you apply, and again, we ’d be happy to give advice.

The minimum transfer requirements are:

    • GPA of 2.7

    • Completion through the third year of a language other than English in high school, or completion through the second level of a language other than English in college

Applying to the University of Illinois can be done online - http://admissions.illinois.edu/apply/app_transfer.html.

Once you’re accepted, the requirements that need to be fulfilled are for both the major (http://www.earth.illinois.edu/students/guides/) and the college (http://www.las.uiuc.edu/students/requirements/gened/) . These can get a little complicated – please feel free to ask me questions! The key University requirement is that you need to do a minimum of 60 hours through UIUC. We’ve designed the program so that major requirements can be fulfilled entirely online, and almost all of the general-education requirements can be done online through UIUC as well.

Apply here

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Want to know more about the degree, or how to sign up? Talk to our advisor, Dr. Jonathan Tomkin - he's happy to help:

tomkin@illinois.edu or call (217) 244-2928.

 

 

 

The UI Integrate system allows you to register (add and drop courses), view your academic history, current account billing information, and view and update your personal information.
For additional questions about the sections you have enrolled in, please contact:

Meet our professors

Faculty at the University of Illinois study all aspects of the Environment and Sustainability to uncover innovative solutions - from green business, carbon sequestration, regional climate change, sustainable urban development, environmental visualization, second generation biofuels and much more. The faculty involved in the ESE and ENSU programs are the recipients of national and international awards - including the Nobel Peace Prize, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and AAAS - have been awarded multiple prizes for teaching excellence; and have written nationally adopted textbooks.

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Tuition Rates And financial aid

The current tuition rate is $380 per credit hour, so a standard 3-hour course is $1140. This rate includes both tuition and fees. The tuition rate is the same for in-state, out-of-state, and international students. The cost for future courses may be subject to moderate changes in accordance with the actions of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Students must complete a minimum of 60 hours of UIUC coursework to receive a UIUC degree.
Financial aid is available for students accepted into the program and enrolled at least six credit hours of coursework in Fall and Spring – further financial aid is available for students who are enrolled in 12 or more credit hours.

Please visit the Office of Student Financial Aid for more information.

Courses

All our online courses are 8 or 16 weeks long and are taken by both on-campus and off-campus students. 8 week courses are twice as intensive as 16 week courses; a full time student typically takes 2 or 3 8 week courses at any one time. Students can take elective and general education courses from all across campus; see OCE for a complete list. We offer courses all year, including over the summer.

Here are the planned upcoming courses that count towards the major requirements:

Summer 2012 (8 week classes, June through August)

Fall 2012 (8 and 16 week classes, August through December)

  • ESE 200 Earth Systems (8 weeks: Aug-Oct)
  • ENSU 303 Sustainable Business I (8 weeks: Aug-Oct)
  • ESE 445 Earth Resource Sustainability (8 weeks: Oct-Dec)
  • IB 105 Environmental Biology (8 weeks: Oct-Dec)
  • GEOL 100 Planet Earth (8 weeks: Oct-Dec)
  • NRES 455 Adv GIS for Nat Res Planning (16 weeks: Aug-Dec)
  • NRES 499 Fundamentals in Applied Ecology (16 weeks: Aug-Dec)
  • CPSC 440 Applied Statistical Methods (16 weeks: Aug-Dec)

Spring 2013 (8 and 16 week week classes, January through May)

  • ENSU 410 Sustainable Organizations (8 weeks: Jan-Mar)
  • ENSU 301 Soc Impacts Weather and Climate (8 weeks: Jan-Mar)
  • IB 364 Biological Design (8 weeks: Jan-Mar)
  • ESE 320 Water Planet Water Crisis (8 weeks: Mar-May)
  • GEOG 379 Introduction to GIS (8 weeks: Mar-May)
  • IB 100 Biological Sciences (8 weeks: Mar-May)
  • NRES 401 Watershed Hydrology (16 weeks: Jan-May)
  • NRES 419 Env and plant Ecosystems (16 weeks: Jan-May)
  • NRES 488 Soil Fertility and Fertilizers (16 weeks: Jan-May)

Further advanced coursework options in the Major

ENSU 301Soc Impacts Weather & Climate
ENSU 302 Air Pollution to Climate Change
ENSU 303 Sustainable Business I
ENSU 403 Sustainable Organizations
ENSU 310 Alternative and Renewable Energy
ESE 320 Water Planet, Water Crisis
ESE 445 Earth Resource Sustainability
NRES 420 Restoration Ecology
NRES 454 GIS in Nat. Resource Mgt.
NRES 455 Adv GIS for Nat Res Planning
CPSC 440 Applied Statistical Methods
GEOG 379 Introduction to GIS
GEOG 476 Applied GIS to Environ Studies

(more advanced courses to be offered)

Frequently asked questions

What if I join mid-year?
No problem. Most classes don't have to be taken in sequence, and there are plenty of options offered every semester. We accept applications all though the year.

Can I take individual classes?
Yes! Any student can take any individual class. You don't need to apply to the program or University, and if you later apply and are accepted, all classes taken will count towards an ESE degree or certificate.

Will I get in?
The University accepts transfer students from a wide variety of backgrounds; if you have the minimum GPA of 2.7 it's worth applying. Feel free to contact us if you have questions.

I'm unsure about the requirements: can you help?
We want to help - we understand that it's complicated! Please contact us with your questions.