Coastal Environmental Science Major

Program Description

In the coming decades, the global population will face continuing and increasing environmental challenges with a significant proportion occurring in coastal ecosystems. The Coastal Environmental Science degree program at Flagler College provides students with a rigorous, interdisciplinary academic foundation in the chemical, physical, geological, and biological aspects of environmental science. The proximity of Flagler College to the surrounding natural coastal and marine environment and provides us with outdoor classrooms or “living laboratories” and makes Flagler College an ideal location for undergraduate coastal research. Through their participation in this research, students will develop practical, applicable skills and problem-solving techniques. In their coursework and research, students will also practice communicating science across disciplines and to a variety of audiences, an essential skill in an era when communicating environmental science issues to the general public is of utmost importance. In addition, Flagler College’s Stocking Island field site in the Bahamas offers a unique environment to enrich the Coastal Environmental Science program through summer field courses and research or even a semester abroad.

Most importantly, the combined experience garnered through the Coastal Environmental Science major will serve as a springboard for students as they move on into a diverse array of career paths, such as environmental education, natural resource management, project management and planning, environmental consulting, and scientific research, or in combination with other majors students would be well-suited to work in sustainable business or environmental law.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the requirements for this major in Environmental Science:

Natural World

Students will demonstrate foundational knowledge of scientific principles, theories, and laws and how they apply to the natural world. Students will be able to explain the physical environment of the natural world including the cycling of matter, energy, nutrients, and building blocks of life.

Diversity of Life

Students will demonstrate a scientific understanding of the relationship between the unity and diversity of life on planet Earth.

Environmental Issues

Students must demonstrate the ability to use logic and critical thinking to apply and integrate interdisciplinary scientific concepts to their understanding of environmental challenges and solutions.

Coastal Field Research

Students will demonstrate their ability to design valid scientific experiments, conduct original research, accurately interpret the meaning of their results, and present their research findings.

Courses Offered

NAS 104 Life Science
NAS 105 Earth Science
NAS 106 Physical Science
NAS 107 Environmental Science
NAS 108 Water Science
NAS 109 Environmental Factors in the Rise and Fall of Human Civilizations
NAS 111 Introduction to Biological Science
NAS 151 Environmental Chemistry
NAS 203 Marine Biology
NAS 205 Physical Anthropology
NAS 211 Introduction to Biological Sciences II
NAS 214 Principles of Ecology
NAS 221 Introduction to Human Nutrition
NAS 225 Science Communication
NAS 240 340 Selected Topics
NAS 243 Physical Geography
NAS 245 Oceanography
NAS 272 Natural Science Peer-Tutoring
NAS 310 Field Methods
NAS 352 Global Climate Change
NAS 401 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
NAS 405 Biodiversity and Conservation
NAS 391, 392, 491, 492 Independent Study

Major Requirements

Students majoring in Coastal Environmental Science must take a minimum of 57 credits.

Environmental Science Courses (26 credit hours)

• NAS 107 Environmental Science
• NAS 111 Intro to Biology
• NAS 151 Environmental Chemistry
• NAS 214 Principles of Ecology
• NAS 236 Environmental Physics
• NAS 243 Physical Geography
• NAS 248 Aquatic Chemistry
• NAS 300 Science Methods
• NAS 331 Evolutionary Biology
• NAS 352 Global Climate Change

Math and Technology Courses (9 credit hours)

• CSC 206 Data Management
• MAT 201 Calculus l
• MAT 223 Statistics

Marine Science Courses
(12 credit hours)

• NAS 203 Marine Biology
• NAS 245 Oceanography
• NAS 248 Aquatic Chemistry
• NAS 355 Coastal Processes

Coastal Field Research
(10 required credit hours)

• NAS 225 Science Communication
• NAS 300 Science Methods or NAS 310 Field Methods
• NAS 401 Marine Molecular Field Research or NAS 405 Biodiversity and Conservation or NAS 440 Field Research Capstone

Note: Major pending SACS review.

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