This minor may only be completed by students admitted to the Elementary Education or the Elementary Education and Special Education programs. A minor is not required to complete either program.
Minors provide a depth of study in a particular area of interest and also inform classroom instruction. The completion of a minor is required to teach middle school in some states and may benefit students particularly interested in teaching at this level.
Students may wish to consult with an advisor in the School of Education Student Services office, 139 Education Building, to discuss course selection and other issues related to this field of study. Current students can schedule a Student Services appointment online through the Starfish app in MyUW. Appointments can also be made by calling 608-262-1651, or in person.
Upon completion, the subject area of the minor will be posted on the UW–Madison transcript. Students will not receive an additional certification or license in the subject area. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not offer content licenses in association with the Elementary Education or Special Education teaching licenses.
How to Get In
This minor may only be declared by students completing the Elementary Education or the Elementary Education and Special Education programs. To declare the minor, contact your academic advisor in the School of Education Student Services any time after program admission.
Requirements
In consultation with an SoE Student Services advisor or the Elementary Education Program Manager, choose an 18-credit group of courses that will address a breadth of scientific disciplinary areas. These courses must include at least 9 credits in a single focal area and, across the 18 credits, courses from at least 3 of the 4 focal areas which include:
Life Sciences
Physical Sciences
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Courses in CHEM numbered 677 and below. | ||
| Courses in BIOCHEM numbered 677 and below. | ||
| Courses in PHYSICS numbered 321 and below. | ||
Earth and Space Sciences
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomy Courses | ||
| ASTRON 103 | The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology | 3 |
| ASTRON 104 | Our Exploration of the Solar System | 3 |
| ASTRON 140 | Earth 2.0: The Exoplanet Revolution | 3 |
| ASTRON 150 | Topics in Astronomy | 2 |
| ASTRON/GEOSCI 160 | Life in the Universe | 2 |
| ASTRON 170 | The Dark Side of the Universe: The Great Cosmic Mysteries from Black Holes to Dark Energy | 3 |
| ASTRON 199 | Directed Study | 1-3 |
| ASTRON 200 | The Physical Universe | 3 |
| ASTRON 202 | Introduction to Astronomy Research | 1 |
| ASTRON/HIST SCI 206 | History of Astronomy and Cosmology | 3 |
| ASTRON 236 | The History of Matter in the Universe | 3 |
| ASTRON 310 | Stellar Astrophysics | 3 |
| ASTRON 320 | The Interstellar Medium | 3 |
| ASTRON 330 | Galaxies | 3 |
| ASTRON 335 | Cosmology | 3 |
| ASTRON 340 | Solar System Astrophysics | 3 |
| ASTRON 460 | Experiences in Astronomical Observing | 1 |
| ASTRON 465 | Observational Astronomy and Data Analysis | 3 |
| ASTRON 500 | Techniques of Modern Observational Astrophysics | 3 |
| ASTRON 540 | Exoplanets | 3 |
| ASTRON 620 | Seminar in Astrophysical Topics | 1-3 |
| Geography Courses | ||
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 120 | Introduction to the Earth System | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 127 | Physical Systems of the Environment | 4 |
| GEOG 170 | Our Digital Globe: An Overview of GIScience and its Technology | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/SOIL SCI 230 | Soil: Ecosystem and Resource | 3 |
| GEOG/GEOSCI 320 | Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 322 | Polar Regions and Their Importance in the Global Environment | 3 |
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 332 | Global Warming: Science and Impacts | 3 |
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI 335 | Climatic Environments of the Past | 3 |
| GEOG 370 | Introduction to Cartography | 4 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/G L E/GEOSCI/LAND ARC 371 | Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GEOG/GEOSCI 420 | Glacial and Pleistocene Geology | 3 |
| GEOG 523 | Advanced Paleoecology: Species Responses to Past Environmental Change | 3 |
| GEOG/SOIL SCI 525 | Soil Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEOG/SOIL SCI 526 | Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes | 3 |
| Geoscience Courses | ||
| GEOSCI 100 | Introductory Geology: How the Earth Works | 3 |
| GEOSCI/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 102 | Climate and Climate Change | 3 |
| GEOSCI/ATM OCN 105 | Survey of Oceanography | 3-4 |
| GEOSCI/ENVIR ST 106 | Environmental Geology | 3 |
| GEOSCI 109 | Three billion years beneath your feet: Geology of the National Parks | 3 |
| GEOSCI 118 | Eye in the Sky: Monitoring the Earth by Satellite | 1 |
| GEOSCI/ATM OCN 140 | Natural Hazards and Disasters | 3 |
| GEOSCI/ASTRON 160 | Life in the Universe | 2 |
| GEOSCI 202 | Introduction to Geologic Structures | 4 |
| GEOSCI 204 | Geologic Evolution of the Earth | 4 |
| GEOSCI/GEOG 320 | Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEOSCI 331 | Gems: The Science Behind the Sparkle | 1-2 |
| GEOSCI/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOG 335 | Climatic Environments of the Past | 3 |
| GEOSCI/G L E 350 | Introduction to Geophysics: The Dynamic Earth | 3 |
| GEOSCI/G L E 360 | Principles of Mineralogy | 3 |
| GEOSCI/G L E 370 | Elementary Petrology | 3 |
| GEOSCI/ENVIR ST/G L E/GEOG/LAND ARC 371 | Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GEOSCI 375 | Principles of Geochemistry | 3 |
| GEOSCI 430 | Sedimentology and Stratigraphy | 3 |
| GEOSCI/G L E 431 | Sedimentology & Stratigraphy Lab | 1 |
| GEOSCI/CIV ENGR/ENVIR ST/G L E 444 | Practical Applications of GPS Surveying | 2 |
| GEOSCI/G L E 455 | Structural Geology | 4 |
| GEOSCI 456 | Geologic Field Methods | 2 |
| GEOSCI 457 | Conducted Field Trip | 2 |
| Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Courses | ||
| ATM OCN 100 | Weather and Climate | 3 |
| ATM OCN 101 | Weather and Climate | 4 |
| ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI 102 | Climate and Climate Change | 3 |
| ATM OCN/GEOSCI 105 | Survey of Oceanography | 3-4 |
| ATM OCN/BSE/SOIL SCI 132 | Water and People | 3 |
| ATM OCN/GEOSCI 140 | Natural Hazards and Disasters | 3 |
| ATM OCN 141 | Natural Hazards of Weather | 2 |
| ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 171 | Global Change: Atmospheric Issues and Problems | 3 |
| ATM OCN 201 | Explorations of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | 2-3 |
| ATM OCN 310 | Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Ocean I | 3 |
| ATM OCN 311 | Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Ocean II | 3 |
| ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOG 322 | Polar Regions and Their Importance in the Global Environment | 3 |
| ATM OCN 330 | Physics of the Atmosphere and Ocean I | 3 |
| ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOG 332 | Global Warming: Science and Impacts | 3 |
| ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOG/GEOSCI 335 | Climatic Environments of the Past | 3 |
| ATM OCN 340 | Physics of the Atmosphere and Ocean II | 3 |
| ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 355 | Introduction to Air Quality | 3 |
| ATM OCN 401 | Topics in Meteorology | 2-3 |
| ATM OCN 404 | Meteorological Measurements | 3 |
| ATM OCN 405 | AOS Senior Capstone Seminar | 1 |
| ATM OCN 425 | Global Climate Processes | 3 |
| ATM OCN 441 | Radar and Satellite Meteorology | 3 |
| ATM OCN 452 | Synoptic Laboratory I: The Frontal Cyclone | 4 |
| ATM OCN 453 | Synoptic Laboratory II: Mesoscale Meteorology | 4 |
| ATM OCN 460 | Fundamentals of Physical Oceanography | 3 |
| ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 520 | Bioclimatology | 3 |
| ATM OCN 522 | Tropical Meteorology | 3 |
| ATM OCN/PLANTSCI 532 | Environmental Biophysics | 3 |
| ATM OCN 573 | Research Computing in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | 3 |
| ATM OCN 575 | Climatological Analysis | 3-4 |
| ATM OCN 610 | Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I | 3 |
| ATM OCN 611 | Geophysical Fluid Dynamics II | 3 |
| ATM OCN 630 | Introduction to Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics | 3 |
| ATM OCN 637 | Cloud Physics | 3-4 |
| ATM OCN 640 | Radiation in the Atmosphere and Ocean | 3 |
| ATM OCN 660 | Introduction to Physical Oceanography | 3 |
| Engineering Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering | ||
| E M A 450 | Orbital Mechanics | 3 |
| Environmental Studies Courses | ||
| ENVIR ST/F&W ECOL 100 | Forests of the World | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/SOIL SCI 101 | Forum on the Environment | 1-2 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN/GEOSCI 102 | Climate and Climate Change | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/AGROECOL/C&E SOC/ENTOM 103 | Agroecology: An Introduction to the Ecology of Food and Agriculture | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOSCI 106 | Environmental Geology | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 112 | Environmental Studies: Social Science Perspectives | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 113 | Environmental Studies: Environmental Humanities | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 120 | Introduction to the Earth System | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/HIST SCI/HISTORY 125 | Green Screen: Environmental Perspectives through Film | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ILS 126 | Principles of Environmental Science | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 127 | Physical Systems of the Environment | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 139 | Global Environmental Issues | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ENGL 153 | Literature and the Environment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN 171 | Global Change: Atmospheric Issues and Problems | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 199 | Directed Study | 1-3 |
| ENVIR ST/ENTOM 201 | Insects and Human Culture-a Survey Course in Entomology | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 202 | Careers in the Environment | 2 |
| ENVIR ST 203 | Special Topics in Environmental Studies | 1-3 |
| ENVIR ST/ENTOM 205 | Our Planet, Our Health | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GNS 210 | Cultures of Sustainability: Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/HIST SCI 213 | Global Environmental Health: An Interdisciplinary Introduction | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 215 | Sustainability | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG/SOIL SCI 230 | Soil: Ecosystem and Resource | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ART HIST/GEOG/HISTORY/LAND ARC 239 | Making the American Landscape | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/A A E 244 | The Environment and the Global Economy | 4 |
| ENVIR ST 251 | Ecology and the Global Environment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ILS 255 | Introduction to Sustainability Science | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 260 | Introductory Ecology | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/RELIG ST 270 | The Environment: Religion & Ethics | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/ENGL 305 | Rhetoric, Science, and Public Engagement | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/AMER IND 306 | Indigenous Peoples and the Environment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 307 | Literature of the Environment: Speaking for Nature | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 308 | Outdoors For All: Inequities in Environmentalism | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 309 | People, Land and Food: Comparative Study of Agriculture Systems | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ZOOLOGY 315 | Limnology-Conservation of Aquatic Resources | 2 |
| ENVIR ST 317 | Community Environmental Scholars Program Seminar | 1 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN/GEOG 322 | Polar Regions and Their Importance in the Global Environment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/SOIL SCI 324 | Soils and Environmental Quality | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 326 | Sustainability Tools: Systems Thinking & Life Cycle Assessment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/HISTORY 328 | Environmental History of Europe | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN/GEOG 332 | Global Warming: Science and Impacts | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 333 | Green Urbanism | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN/GEOG/GEOSCI 335 | Climatic Environments of the Past | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 337 | Nature, Power and Society | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 339 | Conservation and Climate Change - Local to International Strategies | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/AMER IND 341 | Indigenous Environmental Communicators | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/A A E/ECON 343 | Environmental Economics | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/AMER IND/GEOG 345 | Caring for Nature in Native North America | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 349 | Climate Change Governance | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN 355 | Introduction to Air Quality | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/F&W ECOL/ZOOLOGY 360 | Extinction of Species | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/LAND ARC 361 | Wetlands Ecology | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 365 | Systems Thinking | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/BSE 367 | Renewable Energy Systems | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/HISTORY 369 | Thinking through History with Animals | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/G L E/GEOG/GEOSCI/LAND ARC 371 | Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 375 | Field Ecology Workshop | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/CIV ENGR/GEOG 377 | An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| ENVIR ST 398 | Independent Study: Sustainability Community Engagement | 1 |
| ENVIR ST 399 | Directed Study | 1-3 |
| ENVIR ST 400 | Special Topics in the Environment: Biological Aspects of Envir St | 1-4 |
| ENVIR ST 401 | Special Topics: Environmental Perspectives in the Physical Sciences | 1-4 |
| ENVIR ST 402 | Special Topics: Social Perspectives in Environmental Studies | 1-4 |
| ENVIR ST 403 | Special Topics in Environmental Studies | 1-3 |
| ENVIR ST 404 | Special Topics in Environmental Humanities | 1-3 |
| ENVIR ST/C&E SOC/CURRIC 405 | Education for Sustainable Communities | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOSCI 411 | Energy Resources | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 413 | Preserving Nature | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 417 | Sustainability Science, Technology and Policy | 1 |
| ENVIR ST/HISTORY/LEGAL ST 430 | Law and Environment: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/C&E SOC/GEOG 434 | People, Wildlife and Landscapes | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 439 | US Environmental Policy and Regulation | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/PHILOS 441 | Environmental Ethics | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/CIV ENGR/G L E/GEOSCI 444 | Practical Applications of GPS Surveying | 2 |
| ENVIR ST/SPANISH 445 | Culture and the Environment in the Luso-Hispanic World | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ECON/POLI SCI/URB R PL 449 | Government and Natural Resources | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG/HISTORY 460 | American Environmental History | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/HISTORY 465 | Global Environmental History | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/POP HLTH 471 | Introduction to Environmental Health | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/CLASSICS 488 | Greeks, Romans and the Natural Environment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/POP HLTH 502 | Air Pollution and Human Health | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ZOOLOGY 510 | Ecology of Fishes | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ZOOLOGY 511 | Ecology of Fishes Lab | 2 |
| ENVIR ST/F&W ECOL 515 | Natural Resources Policy | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/BOTANY/F&W ECOL/ZOOLOGY 516 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN 520 | Bioclimatology | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/PHILOS 523 | Philosophical Problems of the Biological Sciences | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG/LAND ARC/URB R PL 532 | Applications of Geographic Information Systems in Planning | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ENGL 533 | Topic in Literature and the Environment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 534 | Environmental Governance: Markets, States and Nature | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 537 | Culture and Environment | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/C&E SOC/SOC 540 | Sociology of International Development, Environment, and Sustainability | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/CIV ENGR/LAND ARC 556 | Remote Sensing Digital Image Processing | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 557 | Development and Environment in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/A A E/CIV ENGR/URB R PL 561 | Energy Markets | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/SOIL SCI 575 | Assessment of Environmental Impact | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/LAND ARC 581 | Prescribed Fire: Ecology and Implementation | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 600 | Environmental Studies Capstone | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 613 | Reproducibility Crises and Open Science in Environmental Studies | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/A A E/ECON/URB R PL 671 | Energy Economics | 3 |
Science and Society
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Indigenous Arts and Sciences Courses | ||
| AMER IND/LAND ARC 106 | Earth Partnership Indigenous Arts and Sciences | 3 |
| AMER IND/ENVIR ST 306 | Indigenous Peoples and the Environment | 3 |
| AMER IND/ENVIR ST 341 | Indigenous Environmental Communicators | 3 |
| AMER IND/ENVIR ST/GEOG 345 | Caring for Nature in Native North America | 3 |
| AMER IND/GEOG 410 | Critical Indigenous Ecological Knowledges | 3 |
| AMER IND/ANTHRO/BOTANY 474 | Ethnobotany | 3-4 |
| Science & Technology Studies Courses | ||
| STS 201 | Where Science Meets Society | 3 |
| AFROAMER/HIST SCI 275 | Science, Medicine, and Race: A History | 3-4 |
| HIST SCI 133 | Biology and Society, 1950 - Today | 3 |
| HIST SCI 201 | The Origins of Scientific Thought | 3 |
| HIST SCI 202 | The Making of Modern Science | 3 |
| HIST SCI 218 | History of Twentieth Century American Medicine | 3 |
| HIST SCI 222 | Technology and Social Change in History | 3 |
| HIST SCI/AFROAMER 275 | Science, Medicine, and Race: A History | 3-4 |
| HIST SCI 280 | Honors Seminar: Studies in Science, Technology, Medicine | 3 |
| HIST SCI/HISTORY 323 | The Scientific Revolution: From Copernicus to Newton | 3 |
| HIST SCI/MED HIST/RELIG ST 331 | Science, Medicine and Religion | 3 |
| HIST SCI/HISTORY/MED HIST 508 | Health, Disease and Healing II | 3-4 |
| HIST SCI/AFROAMER/MED HIST 523 | Race, American Medicine and Public Health | 3 |
| HIST SCI/MED HIST/POP HLTH 553 | International Health and Global Society | 3 |
| MED HIST/HIST SCI 509 | The Development of Public Health in America | 3 |
| MED HIST/GEN&WS/HIST SCI 531 | Women and Health in American History | 3 |
| MED HIST/GEN&WS/HIST SCI 532 | The History of the (American) Body | 3 |
| MED HIST 559 | Topics in Ethics and History of Medicine | 3 |
| PHILOS/ENVIR ST 441 | Environmental Ethics | 3-4 |
| PHILOS 520 | Philosophy of the Natural Sciences | 3 |
| PHILOS/ENVIR ST 523 | Philosophical Problems of the Biological Sciences | 3 |
| PHILOS/MED HIST 558 | Ethical Issues in Health Care | 3 |
| PHILOS/C&E SOC/MED HIST 565 | The Ethics of Modern Biotechnology | 3 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 245 | Technology and Society | 3 |
| SOC/C&E SOC/F&W ECOL 248 | Environment, Natural Resources, and Society | 3 |
| GEN&WS 524 | Race, Gender, Health, and Medicine | 3 |
| SOIL SCI/ENVIR ST 101 | Forum on the Environment | 1-2 |
| ILS 153 | Ways of Knowing in the Sciences | 4 |
| AFRICAN/COM ARTS/L I S 444 | Technology and Development in Africa and Beyond | 3 |
| CHICLA/COUN PSY 331 | Immigrant Health and Wellbeing | 3 |
| CHICLA/CURRIC 354 | Race and Language in STEM and Environmental Education | 3 |
| CHICLA/LAND ARC 475 | Latino Urbanism: Design and Engagement in the American City | 3 |