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Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management

Equipping students with the knowledge and skills to enhance environmental stewardship

The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management degree allows you to learn in our indoor and outdoor classrooms and choose a focus in one of three majors available.

Our environment provides us with the necessities of life:

  • the air we breathe
  • the water we drink
  • the natural resources we use for food
  • heat, light, fuel
  • and the earth’s life-sustaining climate

These ecosystem services and functions also support a diversity of species, which in turn strengthens the resiliency of ecosystems to adapt to a changing environment.

Expanding human populations threaten the environment and functions that are so essential to life on earth by:

  • pollution of air and water
  • unsustainable depletion of natural resources
  • climate change
  • degradation of ecosystems

This world urgently needs environmental professionals who can find ways to mitigate threats.

Our interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management (BScEM) degree program will train you to understand ecosystems, the needs of species that depend on them, and how they are affected by human activities.

Equipped with that knowledge, you will be challenged to find ways to reduce our footprint across the landscape, wisely use our natural resources and adapt to a changing environment.

You will take courses across a range of social science, natural science and management subjects including:

  • ecology
  • soil chemistry
  • environmental economics
  • sociology
  • statistics
  • hydrology
  • strategic management and many others

We will equip you to acquire and analyze information about the environment using advanced technologies such as GIS (geographic information systems) and LiDAR (light detection and ranging). You will integrate this knowledge with critical thinking and structured problem solving to help you design management plans that meet social, environmental and economic objectives.

Throughout your program, you will learn both indoors and outdoors in our classrooms and laboratories. You will also undertake projects involving research, planning, and implementation for real-world clients such as the municipalities, federal agencies like Parks Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, provincial government agencies like the Department of Environment and Local Government and Natural Resources and Energy Development, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), and Indigenous communities.

Our BScEM program prepares you to embark on a challenging and fulfilling career as an environmental professional. You will be eligible to apply for the Environmental Professional in Training (EPt) designation through ECO Canada. This will allow you to be recognized and employed by organizations in the environment and natural resources sector across Canada. 

Choose your major

The People, Policy and Planning major equips students with the knowledge, tools, and ethical foundation needed to address today’s complex environmental issues. Students build their expertise in the use of tools and techniques, such as environmental monitoring techniques, environmental risk assessment, environmental impact assessment, life-cycle assessment, environmental management systems, stakeholder engagement and others.


The Water Resource Management major is a multi-disciplinary program that includes biology, social science, biophysical science, and much more. Students in this program focus on sustainably managing watersheds to maintain water quality for drinking, recreation, fish and other wildlife, and overall ecosystem health.


The Wildlife Conservation major equips students with a mix of practical knowledge regarding wildlife ecology, as well as management strategies and techniques necessary to achieve wildlife conservation goals. The importance of societal values, governance, conflict and policy is emphasized. Students taking this major can work towards becoming certified Wildlife Biologists.


Program highlights

We offer a uniquely integrated program structure with capstone real-world projects, indoor/outdoor labs, and a family atmosphere that facilitates real comradery with your classmates and where professors get to know you by your first name.


These are plentiful, varied and high paying. Approximately 90 percent of our students gain career-relevant summer work earning up to $10-$20,000 per summer. Employers come to our faculty from across Canada each year to interview our students on-site.


We help you develop your resume, we conduct mock interviews, teach you time management skills, maintain a job bank, and have an employment officer focused on connecting you with potential employers.


These are also plentiful, varied and high paying. Many of our graduates pursue graduate studies at various universities in Canada and abroad. Approximately 90 percent of our students gain full-time work in the natural resource sector, with a starting salary between $40-$60,000, increasing to $100-$200,000 for mid to late careers.