Program Information: Environment and Security Specialization

The ISCOR specialization in Environment and Security recognizes that issues related to the environment and the utilization of energy and natural resources are important aspects of international security and often are related to cooperation and conflict between nations and groups within states. The purpose of this specialization is to provide the student with the necessary background to understand these aspects of international security and the management and resolution of conflict. A minimum of 18 units is needed to complete this specialization. These units must be drawn from the following groups (A-B):

Group A (three courses selected from the following seven numbered categories for a total of nine units):

1. Biology 315: Ecology and Human Impacts on the Environment
   Ecological characteristics of natural ecosystems and basic effects of human society upon those systems.
   
   
2. Community Health Education 362: International Health
   Population dynamics, vital statistics, global disease patterns, and analysis of variations among nations and cultures with respect to health problems and health care.
   
   
3. Economics 452: Economics of Energy Resources
   Economic structure of energy supply in the United States: electric power, fossil fuels, nuclear energy.
   
   
4. Geography 370: Environmental and Natural Resource Conservation
   Quality of environmental and natural resources within changing human and natural systems: pollution problems; preservation of resources.
   
   
5. Physics 301: Energy and the Environment
   Fundamental physical concepts underlying energy, its conversion, and impact on the environment.
   
   
6. Political Science 334: Politics of the Environment
   Analysis of political process as it shapes environmental policy in a world characterized by finite resources.
   
   
7. Sociology 350: Population and Contemporary Issues
   Population processes as they affect and are affected by such contemporary issues as rapid population growth, urbanization, border control, and undocumented migration.

Group B (three courses from the following fifteen categories for a total of nine units):

1. Biology 324: Life in the Sea
   Overview of complexity of marine life. Diverse interactions of organisms in the intertidal zone, over the continental shelves and in the open oceans.
   
   
2. Biology 339: Sociobiology
   Biological basis of social behavior in animals with emphasis on altruism, aggression, territoriality, mate choice, communication, cooperative hunting, and predator avoidance.
   
   
3. Biology 354: Ecology and the Environment
   Fundamental concepts in population, community, and ecosystem ecology.
   
   
4. Community Health Education 350: Environmental Health Education
   Environmental hazards of living and working in this modern technological world, including air, noise, land, food, and water pollution.
   
   
5. Economics 453: Economics and Ecology
   Relation of ecological problems to basic economic institutions. Examination of the apparent conflict between economic needs and ecological requirements.
   
   
6. Economics 489: Economics and Population
   Relation of fertility, marriage, migration, and other dimensions of population to various economic factors affecting household behavior.
   
   
7. Geography 378: Environmental Physiography
   Introduction to environmental physiographic dynamics. Assessment of man’s role in these dynamics and their effect on urban and rural land use.
   
   
8. Geography 570: Environmental Resource Conservation
   Management of environmental and natural resources. Effective programs and the institutional frameworks in which they occur.
   
   
9. Geography 574: Water Resources
   Occurrence and utilization of water resources and the problems of water resource development.
   
   
10. History 441: Environmental Problems in Historical Perspective
    A comparative study of the role of religious beliefs, social values, economic practices, and political systems in shaping past attitudes, policies, and behavior.
    
    
11. ISCOR 475: Homeland Security
    Components of homeland security. Research and analysis of policies, laws, and civil rights, including comparisons between nations.
    
    
12. Natural Science 333: Technology and Human Values
    Technologies such as solar and fusion power, lasers, computer services, transport, synthetic food and their impact on values and lifestyles in developed countries.
    
    
13. Philosophy 329: Social Ethics
    Ethical issues of contemporary life. Individualism vs. collectivism; democracy vs. dictatorship; ethical problems arising in law, medicine, business, and governmental interpersonal relationships.
    
    
14. Philosophy 332: Environmental Ethics
    Development of traditional values concerning the natural environment. Reasons for altering values in light of modern changes in relationship of human beings to the environment.
    
    
15. Philosophy 333: Philosophy of Technology
    Nature of technology. Ethical aspects of social, political, and environmental problems associated with rapid development of technology over the last century.

NOTE: Select courses from SDSU, other universities (U.S. and foreign) and ISCOR 496: Selected Topics in ISCOR and ISCOR 499: Special Study may be substituted for electives on a case-by-case basis. Please see the ISCOR Director for approval.