Bemidji State University’s Center for Sustainability Studies will offer a new water science minor starting this Spring.
According to a release, the Center unites the departments of Environmental Science, Economics, Geograpy, Geology and Indigenous Sustainability Studies.
The Water Science minor will focus on issues around water quality and availability. The water science minor includes courses in environmental hydrogeology, a branch of geology concerned with underground or surface water, chemistry and toxicology.
Students may also explore coursework in limnology, the study of fish, soils, wetlands ecology and wastewater treatment.
Carl Isaacson, chair associate professor of environmental studies and center chair, said students pursuing the new minor will gain an in-depth understanding of both water quality and water quantity management issues that our global and local communities face.
“Water drives the presence and abundance of life on Earth, and human actions have greatly impacted the quantity and quality of water resources,“ he said.
”By enrolling in this minor, students will complete courses that focus on the impact of human activities on the presence of nutrients and pollutants in our waters, as well as courses focusing on how water is distributed and managed across the surface and within the Earth.“
“Ultimately, this minor will prepare students for careers within non-profit organizations, tribal, local, state, and federal government agencies or private industry,” Isaacson said.
