BA Earth and Environmental Sciences

The pre-professional Planning program is intended to provide the knowledge and skills for entry-level positions in urban, rural, environmental, regional and private-sector planning. It also is designed to prepare students for graduate-level education in these or other related professions, including law.Planning is a relatively new field of study, having emerged only in the past seventy years in response to pressing environmental, economic and social concerns. From its early focus on city beautification, the field has broadened considerably and now addresses such diverse issues as earthquake and flood hazard avoidance, growth management, housing for low income and elderly persons, transit system development, farmland preservation, environmental impact assessment, job creation, community-wide energy conservation, commercial district revitalization and historic preservation, to name just a few.