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Fall 2025 Undergraduate Catalog
Environmental Design, Policy, and Planning, BA
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 Return to: Majors
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (SoMAS)
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design, Policy, and Planning
Director: Donovan Finn
Email: donovan.finn@stonybrook.edu
Undergraduate Advisor: Nancy Black
Program Office: E2361 Melville Library
Phone: (631) 632-9404
Department Website
The Environmental Design, Policy, and Planning major, leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, provides the skills, knowledge, and preparation for students to understand and address complex issues related to development, land-use, urbanization, and suburban sprawl. The curriculum integrates principles and methodologies from social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. The goal is to address the complex scientific, legal, ethical, political, environmental, and socio-economic issues that surround the development, management, and use of the built environment.
The B.A. degree prepares students for entry-level employment in the public, private, or non-profit sectors in a variety of fields including urban and regional planning, community planning, environmental consulting, land and real estate development, and public administration. The major prepares students for graduate study in environmental design, planning, architecture, law, management and business.
The major builds on the interdisciplinary sustainability core curriculum. Students will enroll in major-specific courses in their junior and senior year. As part of the preparation, students will work in teams with students enrolled in related majors to collaboratively solve problems. A design project is an essential part of the curriculum to provide real-world experience. Internships and independent research courses provide additional real-world experiences. Seniors are required to present their Design Project at an Annual Gathering of Researchers and Scholars.
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Required Foundation Courses for Major (35 credits)
Core Courses (30-31 credits)
Elective (3 credits)
Choose one of the following courses: - AFS 374 - Environment and Development in African History 3 credits
- SUS 374 - Environment and Development in African History 3 credits
- EDP 305 - Risk Assessment and Sustainable Development 3 credits
- EDP 487 - Research in Environmental Design, Policy, & Planning 0-6 credits (with permission)
- EDP 488 - Internship in Environmental Design, Policy, & Planning 0-12 credits, (with permission)
- ENV 316 - Coastal Zone Management 3 credits
- SUS 303 - Demographic Change and Sustainability
- SUS 309 - Global Environmental Politics (formerly offered as SBC 309)
- SUS 310 - Migration, Development and Population Redistribution (formerly offered as SBC 310)
- SUS 311 - Disasters and Society: A Global Perspective 3 credits
- SUS 312 - Environment, Society and Health (formerly offered as SBC 312)
- SUS 316 - Cuba and Sustainability 3 credits (formerly offered as EHM 316)
- SUS 317 - American Environmental History 3 credits (formerly offered as SBC 307)
- SUS 318 - American Environmental Politics 3 credits (formerly offered as SBC 308)
- SUS 320 - Utopia and Dystopia and the Environment in Literature and Culture 3 credits (formerly offered as EHM 321)
- SUS 321 - Ecology and Evolution in American Literature 3 credits (formerly offered as SBC 321)
- SUS 322 - Human Ecology 3 credits (formerly offered as EHI 322)
- SUS 325 - Environmental Writing and the Media 3 credits (formerly offered as SBC 325)
- SUS 328 - Ecofeminism, Literature & Film 3 credits (formerly offered as EHM 322)
- SUS 329 - Environmental Film, Media, Arts 3 credits (formerly offered as EHM 325)
- SUS 350 - Contemporary Topics in Sustainability 3 credits
- SUS 366 - Philosophy of the Environment (III) 3 credits
Communications and Writing requirement
The advanced writing component of the major in EDP requires registration in the 0-credit SUS 459 and approval of either a term paper or a laboratory report written for an advanced course in the appropriate major at Stony Brook (including Readings and Research courses). Completion of SUS 459 with a grade of S will result in approval of the WRTD requirement. A list of preapproved courses can be obtained through the department. Students should consult with the department advisor to ensure that their plan for completing the Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent with university graduation requirements for General Education. Students completing the Stony Brook Curriculum (SBC) must complete a course that satisfies the “Write Effectively within One’s Discipline” (WRTD) learning objective to graduate. The Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent in most cases with the SBC learning outcomes for WRTD. Notes:
- Internship with significant practical experience in planning and/or environmental design may be substituted for EDP 404 with permission of Undergraduate EDP Program Director.
- No more than one course (4 credits maximum) with a passing grade lower than C can be credited towards the major. Course taken with the Pass/NC option may not be applied to the major.
Study Abroad
Stony Brook University offers study abroad experiences that are focused on issues of sustainability in Cuba, Madagascar, and the Turkana Basin (Kenya). While issues of climate change, water and energy security, sustainable agriculture, environmental justice, sustainable economic development, conservation of unique and threatened ecosystems, population growth, and human health are important everywhere, viewing these issues through the lens of a different place and a different culture provides a valuable perspective. Students are encouraged to participate in study abroad experiences and to talk with their major director to determine how study abroad coursework can be used to fulfill some requirements for their major. SBC Courses
This table illustrates major courses that can also be used to fulfill SBC requirements. (See Note 1 & Note 2) | SBC Category | Required Major Courses | Optional Major Courses (see Note 3) | | ARTS | | | | GLO | | AFS 374, SUS 316 | | HUM | | SUS 316 | | LANG (see Note 4) | | | | QPS | AMS 102 | AMS 151, MAT 123, MAT 125, MAT 130, MAT 131 | | SBS | ECO 108, GSS 105, POL 102, SUS 115, SUS 200 | | | SNW | CHE 115/ENV 115 | ENS 101, GEO 102, SUS 111, SUS 113 | | TECH | SUS 201 | GSS 313, GSS 317 | | USA | POL 102 | SUS 317 | | WRT | | | | STAS | | SUS 311 | | EXP+ | EDP 404 | EDP 487, EDP 488, SUS 316 | | HFA+ | | SUS 320, SUS 321, SUS 325, SUS 328, SUS 329, SUS 366 | | SBS+ | EDP 301, EDP 302, EDP 307, SUS 206 | AFS 374, SUS 317, SUS 318 | | STEM+ | | SUS 322 | | CER | | SUS 366 | | DIV (see Note 5) | | | | ESI | | | | SPK | SUS 301 | | | WRTD | SUS 459 | SUS 321, SUS 325, SUS 328 | Note 1: Some course information may be subject to change. Please contact your major advisor for additional consultation. Note 2: For majors that require study in a related area or completion of a minor, visit the respective program’s “Major SBC Courses” page to view expanded SBC options. Note 3: Denotes any course in which students can choose from more than one option. These may include, but are not limited to, major electives, concentration/track/specialization courses, or calculus/physics/chemistry sequences. Note 4: CEAS majors, the Athletic Training major, the Respiratory Care major, and the Clinical Laboratory Sciences major are exempt from the LANG learning objective. Students enrolled in the major in Social Work are exempt from the LANG learning objective, but are required to enroll in and pass with a letter grade of C or higher the first semester of an elementary foreign language course numbered 111, or satisfy through alternate methods. Note 5: Students are responsible for completing the general education requirements published in the Bulletin that was current as of the first semester of matriculation (or rematriculation). The following student groups must satisfy the DIV learning objective as part of their degree requirements: - Freshmen who matriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
- Transfer students who matriculate in the Spring of 2020 or later
- Students who rematriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
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