Environmental Sciences faculty and students at Crater Lake during a Field Methods in Environmental Sciences field course. |
Academic Emphasis Areas
In addition to a set of core courses, students select a total of 37 credits from emphasis areas in watershed science, sustainable technologies, or Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Students have the option to "mix and match" courses from all emphases or concentrate in a single area.
Sustainable Technologies: This interdisciplinary emphasis area allows students to take courses from Renewable Energy Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Civil Engineering, and Business Management departments for exposure to a wide range of technological and engineering solutions to environmental problems.
Watershed Science: This emphasis provides field experience using water quality technology, assessing riparian zones, and evaluating environmental management strategies. The Klamath Basin’s history with water use provides a unique and challenging environment to study complex hydrology issues.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Graduates who have data analysis and integration, digital mapping, and GIS skills will be prepared for jobs in environmental mitigation and remediation as well as resource management and planning. Our graduates leave the ENV program with highly marketable GIS skills that can be applied to a wide variety of research areas.
Stream reach surveying in riparian assessment methods course |
Applied Sciences Coursework
Starting freshman year, all students engage in classes that take them outside to get direct field experience. Applied, field courses include Introduction to Environmental Sciences, Riparian Assessment Methods, Field Methods and Data Collection, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting and Carbon Footprinting, introductory and advanced Geographic Information Systems, Wetlands Treatment, Environmental Hydrology, Streamwater Sampling, Botany, Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Fate and Transport of Pollutants, and Data Analysis Methods. Through direct experience in these courses, students are well-prepared for careers in environmental sciences and are able to apply their knowledge and skills in jobs while they are students or after they graduate.
Active Learning and Teamwork
The ENV program emphasizes active learning, including ''hands-on" skill-building in small classes and field trips. These experiences help solidify and unify the theoretical concepts that embody the environmental sciences. Students also take sophomore and senior project courses where they work with Klamath Basin professionals on first-hand scientific research. Oregon Tech ENV students are also sought after for part time and summer employment in the Klamath Basin and can integrate paid employment into their project course requirements.
The ENV program emphasizes teamwork. Many class projects and field exercises involve students working together as a team. Students learn the importance of effective communication among peers and how to budget their time to meet their commitments to their group. This is an appropriate model for working as an environmental professional.
ENV student attends portable, solar-powered weather-monitoring station used in sophomore project investigating diurnal wind conditions in Klamath Basin |
Technology
The Environmental Sciences program emphasizes the appropriate use of technology for studying environmental problems. Technology is viewed as a set of tools to acquire, analyze and process environmental data efficiently and appropriately. Students are exposed to a wide array of technology ranging from state-of-the-art water sampling instrumentation to sophisticated software programs used in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing. ENV students are trained in all aspects of the use of environmental technology, learning not only how various instruments or software programs work, but also when and where to use them. Because of their high level of technical skills, ENV students are often a resource for Oregon Tech faculty and students as well as for Klamath Basin professionals.
ENV Advisory Board members and faculty (from left to right): Eric Janney, Jason Cameron, Michelle Jones, Richard Nauman, Michael Hughes, Jason Mateljak, Maureen Sevigny, Sue Mattenberger, Keith Duren, and Kathy Sale. |
Environmental Sciences Industry Advisory Board
The Environmental Sciences Industry Advisory Board covers a wide range of environmental disciplines and consists of representatives from federal agencies, private industry, the local community college, ENV alumni, as well as a tribal organization. The Board assists with the evaluation of workforce needs and suggests how the program can meet those needs. The Board also assesses the performance of Oregon Tech graduates in the workforce and provides student service learning opportunities in the Southern Oregon community. Oregon Tech Advisory Boards, in general, provide essential links between Oregon Tech and the community and ensure that Oregon Tech's graduates receive relevant and essential skills for being successful employees after graduation.
Oregon Tech ENV Board Members
| Jason Cameron | Hydrologist | Bureau of Reclamation and Oregon Tech Alumnus |
| Keith Duren | Chair, Natural Resources Department | Klamath Community College |
| Eric Andrews | Owner | Ecosolar Now |
| Michael Hughes | Fluvial Geomorphologist | Klamath Tribes |
| Jason Mateljak | GIS/IT/Vegetation Coordinator | Lava Beds National Monument |
| Eric Janney | Fisheries Biologist | US Geological Survey |
| Michelle Jones | Program Information Specialist | Fremont Winema National Forest |
| Sue Mattenberger | Fish & Wildlife Biologist | US Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Richard Nauman | Researcher | National Center for Conservation, Science & Policy |