Graduate Catalog
Program Coordinator: Professor Alfred Levine
Biological Sciences/Chemical Sciences Building (6S), Room 310
Email: envirscimasters@mail.csi.cuny.edu
Telephone: 1.718.982.3920
The program is designed to provide broad interdisciplinary training in those areas of the biological, engineering, physical, chemical, and social sciences that are important in solving environmental problems. Graduates are prepared for careers in both governmental agencies and private companies working on such problems as pollution control, environmental impact, and urban planning, and for careers in environmental education. Students can use this degree to prepare for a PhD. The College has extensive modern laboratories and computer facilities.
Admission Requirements
1. An acceptable bachelor's degree from an institution whose degree requirements are substantially equivalent to those of the College of Staten Island or other senior units of The City University of New York. Ordinarily, this would be a bachelor's degree in a natural science or in engineering.
2. An overall average of B minus, or the equivalent, in undergraduate work and an average of B, or the equivalent, in undergraduate science and engineering courses. The undergraduate credits must include at least one year each of general chemistry and general physics, mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least one semester of ecology. Candidates who are deficient in one or more of these requirements may be accepted on the expectation that they will make up the deficiency without receiving graduate credit for it.
3. An interview with faculty of the graduate program.
4. The applicant is ordinarily required to submit the results of the General Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examination. Applicants should apply directly to the Educational Testing Service, Box 955, Princeton, NJ 08540, to take the tests. Applicants should take these examinations no later than February for fall admission and July for spring admission.
Degree Requirements
Thirty credits in approved courses with an average of at least 3.0 (B). The courses normally include The Biosphere and Our Species, Community Ecology, Earth Science, Applied Environmental Science, one course from an approved list of graduate courses in the social sciences, and a thesis project for a minimum of three to a maximum of six credits. The remaining 12 credits are chosen so that the concentration will be in either environmental biology or applied environmental science. Courses may be chosen from environmental science and social science courses at the College or from appropriate courses offered in graduate programs in the City University Graduate School and University Center.
Courses
ESC 601 The Biosphere and Our Species
3 hours; 3 credits
A required course that covers the structure and function of the biospheric ecosystem on the planet Earth, and the impacts of our species upon it in terms of ecology, resource use and exploitation, sociopolitical aspects, economics, environmental ethics, and related topics. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
ESC 702 Community Ecology
3 hours; 3 credits
Function and integration of natural communities and ecosystems: trophic structure, energy flow, species diversity and dominance, stability and resilience, interspecific interactions. Selected topics from the current literature. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
Prerequisite: Ecology
ESC 703 Earth Science
3 hours; 3 credits
Ecological significance of physical geology and geochemistry; tectonics, pedogenesis, erosion and deposition. The hydrologic cycle; ground water geology and pollution. Weather and climate; the general circulation; climatic geography; dynamics of fronts and traveling weather systems.
Prerequisites: Calculus, physics
ESC 704 Applied Environmental Science
3 hours; 3 credits
Definition of environmental parameters and quality criteria. Physical and transport phenomena. Monitoring, detection, and mathematical modeling of environmental systems. Control policies and implementation schemes. Present and future techniques of pollution control and abatement.
Prerequisite: Calculus
ESC 710 Instrumentation for Chemical Analysis
6 laboratory hours; 3 credits
Lecture and laboratory work covering theories and applications of modern approaches to chemical analysis. Equal emphasis will be placed on physical theory and design and chemical theory and procedure. Topics include opticometric and electrometric methods, magnetic resonances, radioactivity, and separation techniques applicable to analysis of environmental pollutants.
ESC 721 Methods in Environmental Analysis
6 laboratory hours; 3 credits
Collection and analysis of water, air, and soil samples in local terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Various sampling methodologies will be used in the field to collect data that will be analyzed and tested statistically.
Prerequisites: Ecology, ESC 702 and 732, or permission of the instructor
ESC 722 Marine Ecology
(Also BIO 722)
3 hours; 3 credits
Field-oriented study of estuarine and pelagic ecosystems. This course will emphasize how spatial and temporal scales are critically important in the study of marine organisms. Students will learn specialized sampling and analytical techniques necessary for the study of marine systems. Topics will include comparisons of “rate-based” versus “abundance-based” studies of population dynamics plus comparisons of individual, population, and community levels of analysis.
Prerequisite: BIO 360 or equivalent
ESC 724 Computer Simulation of Environmental Systems
3 hours; 3 credits
The development and construction of mathematical models; defining pollution parameters and quality criteria; analog, digital, and hybrid techniques in environmental systems simulation studies. Case studies for model verification; control policies based on simulations. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
Prerequisite: A knowledge of digital computer programming
ESC 725 Energy Sources and the Environment
3 hours; 3 credits
The environmental impact of present and future sources of power. Methods of power production and distribution; analysis of energy resources; pollution associated with energy conversion; effect of engineered energy systems on the energetics of ecological systems.
ESC 726 Transportation Systems
3 hours; 3 credits
Urban travel characteristics and needs determined by origin-destination
surveys, population and economic factors, and land use. Traffic-study
techniques for obtaining data on speeds, travel times, delays,
and volumes. Capacity analysis for freeways, city streets, air
corridors, bus lanes, and railroads. Criteria considered in selection
of the “optimum” transportation plan. Presentation
of current advances in the state of the art.
ESC 727 Conservation Biology
(Also BIO 727)
3 hours; 3 credits
Conservation biology is a multidisciplinary field of environmental science. The objectives of this course are: (1) to understand global biodiversity in its historical context; (2) to learn how human impacts are endangering ecosystems around the world; (3) to identify the biological properties of organisms, populations, species, and systems that render them vulnerable; and (4) to explore means of protecting biodiversity and the ecological processes on which it depends.
Prerequisites: ESC 601
ESC 731 Behavioral Ecology
3 hours; 3 credits
The role of behavior in the dynamics of populations; social behavior, the reproductive function of pheromones and hormones, mate selection, species-isolating mechanisms, habitat selection, orientation and navigation. Laboratory and field evidence will be discussed. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
Prerequisite: BIO 338 or equivalent
ESC 732 Population Ecology
3 hours; 3 credits
Ecological basis of fitness in natural populations; theory of evolution in stable and changing environments; genetic aspects of interactions between species; population dynamics and regulation; life tables. Case histories. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
Prerequisites: Genetics and ecology
ESC 734 Chemical Ecology
3 hours; 3 credits
The role of secondary metabolites in ecological interactions within and among species. Allelopathy; defense mechanism; chemical co-evolution and the organization of natural communities. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
Prerequisites: Any two of the following: ecology, behavioral biology, organic chemistry
ESC 735 Biogeography
3 hours; 3 credits
Distribution of biomes of the world. Impact of geologic and climate change on the ranges of plants and animals. Experimental biogeography; models of colonization and insular evolution; effects of humans on regional biota. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
Prerequisites: Any two of the following: ecology, evolution, historical geology, or college geography
ESC 736 Systems Ecology
3 hours; 3 credits
Systems approach to energy flow, biogeochemical cycles, and resource management: systems measurement, description, analysis, and simulation modeling. Examination of systems studies in current literature. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
Prerequisites: Ecology, calculus, statistics, and CSC 270 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor
ESC 740 Experimental Design and Analysis
3 hours; 3 credits
Statistical analysis of research and survey data with emphasis on the design of experiments, regression analysis, and analysis of variance.
Prerequisites: Introductory statistics, biometrics, or equivalent
ESC 743 Cellular Toxicology
(Also BIO 743)
4 hours; 4 credits
Toxicology is the overview of the mechanisms by which exogenous agents produce deleterious effects in biological systems. An overview of the sensitive analytical techniques that have facilitated studies on the metabolism and biotransformation of xenobiotics and have contributed to interpretation of the biological and toxicological effects of xenobiotics will be presented. Since the action of toxins is ultimately exerted at the cellular level, emphasis will be placed on the description of representative model cell systems that play an important role in the identification and assessment of potential environmental hazards. A variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell systems are currently in use for the study of different toxic effects including cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenesis.
Prerequisites: CHM 256, BIO 314, BIO 352 or equivalent
ESC 748 Environmental Chemistry
3 hours; 3 credits
The science of chemical phenomena involving the nature, reactions, and transport of natural and anthropogenic chemicals in the natural environment, including the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The interaction between chemical species, and the effects of the physical environment, and the role of microorganisms. Specific emphasis on pollutants and hazardous wastes.
Prerequisite: General chemistry
ESC 751 Microclimate and Air Pollution
3 hours; 3 credits
Topographic, vegetational, and human impact on local climates. Properties and biological implications of the active surface. Pollution as part of a meteorological system; the urban heat island, environmental photochemistry. (Also creditable toward biology requirements.)
ESC 752 Soils and Geohydrology
3 hours; 3 credits
Origin, evolution, and engineering properties of soils. Biological properties: nutrient availability, microbiota, yield. Properties of aquifers: ground water physics; regional water balance; systems analysis in hydrology.
ESC 753 U.S. Land-Use Planning and Environmental Policy
(Also GEG 753)
3 hours; 3 credits
This course explores contemporary American land-use and environmental planning issues in terms of their historical background, regulatory setting, cultural context, and practical politics. It focuses on specific local, regional, and national cases, and introduces students to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a way of analyzing land-use problems.
Prerequisite: ESC 601 (Biospheres and Our Species)
ESC 760 Epidemiology
3 hours; 3 credits
The study of health and disease through analysis of geographical and temporal patterns of health risks and disease, and of the populations affected. Demographic (mortality and morbidity) and epidemiological (clinical, community, cohort, and case-control) studies. Statistical analyses and designs. Determination of biological inference and risk.
Pre- or corequisite: ESC 740, or permission of the instructor
ESC 799 Thesis Research
Hours and credits vary; maximum 6 credits
This course may be repeated. No student may apply more than a total of six credits of thesis research toward the degree.
ESC 891 (1 credit), ESC 892 (2 credits), ESC 893 (3 credits),
ESC 894 (4 credits), Graduate Independent Study in Environmental Science
