COURSE CURRICULUM

The Environmental Studies (ENVS) courses at Cape Breton University offer a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to understanding and addressing environmental issues from both scientific and humanities perspectives. ENVS-1101 introduces students to Environmental Studies by exploring how arts and sciences approach knowledge and problem-solving. ENVS-2101 focuses on Canadian environmental issues, incorporating Indigenous perspectives. ENVS-2103 examines environmental science through the lens of intersecting disciplines, while ENVS-2104 addresses energy production, societal use, and future challenges. ENVS-2701 is a rotating special topics course. At the advanced level, ENVS-3101, cross-listed with English, strengthens students’ environmental communication and writing skills. ENVS-3103, shared with the business department, teaches financial literacy, governance, and environmental regulation. ENVS-3104 is a hands-on field course involving ecology, land use, and community-based research projects. In the final year, ENVS-4101 explores resource sustainability through an interdisciplinary lens, while ENVS-4103, cross-listed with Political Science, investigates global environmental issues beyond North America. Students may choose between completing a capstone project (ENVS-4802 or the two-part ENVS-4802A/B), which involves producing a written and possibly creative project addressing a real-world environmental issue, or undertaking an Honours thesis (ENVS-4900 or ENVS-4900A/B) requiring original research, a formal proposal, and an oral defense. Entry to these advanced projects requires permission and prior completion of upper-level ENVS courses. These offerings reflect the BASE program’s focus on merging science, arts, and Indigenous knowledge to equip students with interdisciplinary skills, critical thinking, research experience, and communication strategies necessary for contributing to sustainable solutions and careers in environmental fields.