Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment
The Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment is an interdisciplinary academic program that draws on the expertise and interests of faculty, staff and students in the liberal arts to address contemporary environmental challenges. Students of any major can apply, and those accepted undertake a self-tailored path relating to their personal environmental passion and desired area of contribution, as well as become part of a larger community of discussion and support. The center strives to integrate all areas of learning to deal with issues of environmental stewardship and sustainability, and incorporates real world aspects of environmental experience including service learning. Faculty members with environmental interests who are actively involved in the center come from the departments of anthropology, art history, botany, biology, chemistry, economics, English, government and international relations, history, philosophy, physics, psychology, sociology, and more.
The mission of the Center is to foster an understanding of biological diversity, the integrity of natural ecosystems and other fundamental environmental issues both in the College community and in the public sphere. Its programs foster an understanding of the interaction between people and ecosystems, including political, social and economic factors that influence natural resource use by different cultures worldwide. The Center encourages the integration of environmental themes into courses and student projects in the social sciences, humanities, arts and natural sciences. The Center supports and facilitates many campus wide environmental programs and activities. Student-run organizations, programs and events add rich opportunities for extracurricular involvement and education. Center fellows who have experience in environmental issues and research provide another layer of support for Center students, and students receive professional and personal mentoring throughout their time in the Center.
Learning Goals for the Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment
The Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment was established in 1993 and is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary program that builds on one of the nation's leading undergraduate environmental studies programs. The center fosters research, education and curriculum development aimed at understanding contemporary ecological challenges. The center established a Certificate Program for students in 1999. The Certificate Program is designed to foster environmental thinking on campus. Students in the program will develop the following skills:
- Objectively assess and effectively marshal information to understand contemporary environmental problems.
- Integrate information and concepts about environmental issues from different disciplines and perspectives to achieve a creative and innovative synthesis.
- Understand connections among components of complex environmental systems.
- Develop effective presentations that have high levels of rigor and clarity, and that facilitate dialogue among faculty and students.
- Draw connections between practical and theoretical learning.
The Certificate Program in Environmental Sustainability
The center offers a certificate program designed to enhance the undergraduate experience with a strong concentration on environmental issues and sustainability. Available to students in any major, it enables those who are ready for an additional academic challenge to cultivate their interest in environmental topics through coursework, conferences, individual study and a funded internship or research experience during the summer following the junior year. With the assistance of a center adviser, students apply to the program in the fall of their sophomore year. As a part of the program, the center will help students find an internship or research project in the summer following their junior year and will provide a stipend to cover travel and living expenses during the internship. The purpose of the internship is to offer students experiences that have a positive impact on their intellectual, professional and personal development through exposure to work environments that they might not otherwise encounter as an undergraduate.
Students who have a 3.0 cumulative GPA may apply for the Certificate Program in the first semester of their sophomore year. During the application process which often begins in the spring semester of their first year, students are matched with a center adviser who helps them develop a program proposal. The application to be submitted in the fall of their Sophomore year must include the following:
- application form.
- program proposal.
- academic transcript.
- two letters of recommendation by faculty.
- resume.
Introductory Environmental Studies Course
At least one introductory Environmental Studies course taken in the first or second year.
Additional Courses
- Three additional courses selected to prepare the student for a summer internship or research project and their senior integrative project. The student chooses these courses in consultation with their center adviser.
Internship/Research Project
Students participate in an approved internship or a faculty-supervised research project during the summer after the junior year. Center staff and faculty will support the student in finding and selecting an internship or research project that is closely related to the student's planned Senior Integrative Project.
Sophomore Spring Semester Seminars
In the spring of the sophomore year, students take GNC 294 along with the juniors and seniors. They also take GNC 290, an environmental service learning course.
| GNC 290 | GOODWIN-NIERING CERT SEMINAR | 2 |
| GNC 294 | GOODWIN-NIERING CERT SEMINAR | 2 |
Junior year seminar
Juniors in the certificate program must take either GNC 395 in the fall or GNC 396 in the spring semester. They may elect to take both, but only one semester is required.
| GNC 395 | GOODWIN-NIERING CERT SEMINAR | 2 |
| GNC 396 | GOODWIN-NIERING CERT SEMINAR | 2 |
Senior seminars
Seniors must take both GNC 495 and GNC 496.
| GNC 495 | GOODWIN-NIERING CERT SEMINAR | 2 |
| GNC 496 | GOODWIN-NIERING CERT SEMINAR | 2 |
Senior Integrative Project
A project that integrates the summer experience with the rest of the student's certificate program may be completed as a one or two-semester individual study or an honors study in the major field. Public presentation of the results is required. Students may register for the SIP in their major department, or they may also register for GNC 491 or GNC 492.
Note to registrar: GNC 491 and 492 are not actually required. We offer them as options for satisfying the SIP requirement.
For more information call 860-439-5417, visit the center's office in Olin 109, or go to http://goodwin-nieringcenter.conncoll.edu.