Courses

The Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Practice program takes place in three phases: core courses, elective courses, and capstone (a research paper or a practicum).

The first part of the program requires you to take 10 of 11 possible courses that form the core of the program.

The second part of the program consists of 8 or 9 courses that you select from an extensive list of online elective courses. Elective requirements differ depending on your choice to complete either the 75-hour practicum or major research paper:

  • Students completing the practicum: nine electives (27 credits)
  • Students completing the major research paper: eight electives (24 credits)

You can select to take electives from Royal Roads or from one of several other accredited institutions from across Canada in the following subject areas:  

  • Communication
  • Environmental health and safety
  • Environmental management
  • Global issues
  • Law
  • Policy, governance and administration
  • Project management
  • Sustainable community development

Sample Elective Offering

Please contact the program office for the current elective offering.

You may take one 3-credit course from the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Practice elective list.

ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY

  • JUST 305: Civil and Administrative Law
  • JUST 403: Comparative Global Legal Approaches and Philosophies
  • COMM 415: Global Communication
  • COMM 480: Media Policy, Politics, Economics and Law

ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY

  • CRJS 420: Environmental Protection and Enforcement
  • SOCI 348: Sociology of Environment and Health
  • ENVS 435: Transformative Change in Building Sustainable Communities
  • GOVN 390: Public Policy and Administrative Governance
  • POLI 325: Canadian Environmental Politics and Policy

BRITISH COLUMBIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

  • PRKS 3110: Law and its Administration I (2 credits – must also take PRKS 3120)*
  • PRKS 3120: Law and its Administration II (2 credits – must also take PRKS 3110)*

*Students taking PRKS 3110 and PRKS3120 will graduate with one extra credit.

CAPE BRETON UNIVERSITY

  • PUBH 4105: Occupational Health and Safety Legislation
  • PUBH 4106: Public Health Education

MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY

  • ECON 3080: Natural Resources and Environmental Economics
  • MSTM 4004: Marine Environmental Management

ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OF CANADA

  • CCE 386: Introduction to Environmental Management Systems
  • CCF 306: Gestion des matieres dangereuses
  • CCF 386: Introduction aux systèmes de gestion de l’environnement

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

  • SD381: Sustainable Community Development Theory and Practice
  • SD481: Social Enterprise for Sustainable Community Development
  • SD483: Leadership for Sustainable Community Development

TÉLUQ

  • ENV 3015: Evaluation environnementale
  • ENV 3024: Economie et gestion de l'environnement 
  • ENV 3140: Les normes environnementales 
  • ENV 4016: Amenagement du territoire et environnement
  • ENV3022: Gestion environnementale du milieu urbain
  • ENV 5000: Environnement et communication

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

  • FRST 421: Integrated Resources Management

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

  • EDRD 3450DE: Watershed Planning Practice
  • ENVS 3000DE: Nature Interpretation
  • POLS 3370DE: Environmental Politics and Governance

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

  • ADMN 311: Introduction to Public Administration
  • ER 314: Ethical, Legal and Policy Concepts of Environmental Restoration
  • ER 351: Introduction to Non-Timber Forest Products and their Management
  • ER 352: Non Timber Forest Products and Sustainable Use by Major Forest Zones

The courses and electives offered in the BAEP program align with the demands of the environmental jobs market as investigated by our partners ECO Canada.

Registration for courses offered at other institutions and the distribution of the official transcripts back to RRU may entail ancillary fees at the third party institution and are outside the control of RRU.

Years 1 & 2

The BAEP is also offered as a 4-year undergraduate degree for students typically entering from high school (or equivalent) for an interdisciplinary first and second year on campus.

Download course list

Years 3 & 4

See the complete list of core courses below:

ITAI: Introduction to Academic Integrity

The Introduction to Academic Integrity course illustrates academic integrity and plagiarism in real-life scenarios. A clear sense of academic honesty and responsibility is fundamental to good scholarship, and the integrity of university academic work and the degrees conferred by the university is dependent upon the honesty and soundness of the teacher-student learning relationship and of the evaluation process. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism, and other academic offences. The Introduction to Academic Integrity course serves as a helpful, interactive companion to the academic integrity policy and procedures outlined in the Student Policies & Procedures, which contains the policies and procedures that guide academic life at Royal Roads and support our mission as a university.
Course Credits: 0.0

ENVM321: Tools for Business Decision Making

Explores the challenges and opportunities faced by business owners as business models respond to environmental sustainability, carbon neutrality, changes in financing and demands for fairness. Emphasis is placed on the importance of integrating personal values and objectives, organizational and societal goals, and market opportunities during the planning process. Includes use of basic accounting and decision-making tools.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP303: Statistical Literacy and Critical Thinking

Focuses on how data can be transformed into reliable information. Statistical tests are employed using first principles, real examples, and the technology commonly employed by environmental scientists and managers. Learners are introduced to statistical concepts and techniques through relevant examples and expected to demonstrate their understanding of statistics through the appropriate application of technology to real data and group discussions.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP313: Introduction to Environmental Law

Introduces a wide range of topics and concepts relating to the legal system in Canada generally, and the operation of public welfare or environmental statutes, law and regulations within that system. Develops the ability to understand legal terms and concepts concurrently with developing basic legal research skills. Key court decisions and statutes that have directed the development of environmental law in Canada are discussed together with an introduction to the principles of statutory interpretation, regulatory and administrative law, and the effect of international treaties on Canada’s internal environmental regulation.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP322: Sustainable Development: Ideas and Applications

Examine some of the theory of sustainable development, and explore the links between these theories. This is accompanied by the development and analysis of case studies describing ways that practical sustainable development options can be implemented, and discussion of alternative approaches to sustainability.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP323: Communications Skills: Writing in the Workplace

The focus is on developing rhetorical strategies used in professional writing. In particular, the course will look at how the audience, context, and purpose of a piece of writing determine the content, voice, style and form of a text. The course will include discussions of basic professional writing forms such as resumes, cover letters, memos, email, and reports.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENSC414: Global Processes

Large-scale physical and chemical processes are linked with the natural system to explore the implications to society. Provides a broad context for linking economic, social, legal, engineering, scientific, and communication skills and a view of the policy implications from both national and international perspectives. Explores the effects of internal decisions on such aspects as international trade and competitiveness.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENSC415: Environmental Management Tools

Introduces the concepts behind the integration of business and environmental management, with emphasis on the analysis and comparison of several environmental management systems (EMS). Covers the background of, and the basic rationale for, the concepts of pollution prevention (P2). A process for arriving at a publicly accepted Pollution Prevention Plan is presented and discussed, including a recently released report on the BC plan.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENSC423: Environmental Economics

Economics is usually described as the analysis of the rational development and use of scarce resources. Students learn the principles of efficient allocations of all resources regardless of how well markets ration this development and use. Examines the pervasiveness of market failures for environmental goods and the effectiveness of different techniques and policies attempting to correct these failures or to mitigate their negative consequences. Illustrating examples are chosen as much as possible from the experience of British Columbia and other regions of Canada.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVM427: Public Policy Formulation

Examines how government policy is generated, what purpose it serves, and some of the instruments used in its application.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP426: Leadership and Management for Environmental Practitioners

The fundamentals of modern supervision, management, and ethics are explored. Emphasis is placed on the manager as the "leader" who sets broad organizational objectives, as well as the environmental manager’s role in strategic planning, decision making, setting goals, and establishing organization norms.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP429: Ethics and Environment

Explores some of the key ethical issues concerning humanity’s relationship to the environment. Dominant themes include deciding what has value, criteria for making good decisions, and moral principles for human behaviour toward the environment. Become familiar with a range of perspectives and positions commonly found in Western environmental debates as well as alternative ways to consider the issues. Emphasis is kept on how theory relates to the practice of environmental ethics. Cultivate the skills necessary to analyze arguments, assess lines of reasoning, and learn to articulate clearly and defend one’s own ethics.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP450: Practicum in Environmental Practice

Offers students practical experience in the environmental field by working in an organization on a specific environmental project, task, or issue. The practicum will consist of a six-week experience in an organization as well as a practicum report that will evaluate and relate the students’ experience to their program of study. *All core and elective courses of the program must have been completed prior to the start of the practicum.
Course Credits: 3.0

ENVP451: Research Paper

Requires students to complete an independent research paper reporting findings of secondary research on an environmental problem or issue. Constitutes a substantial written examination of a topic relevant to environmental practice. Must demonstrate the student's knowledge and application of environmental theory in their declared area of concentration. Some, but not all, research-related learning outcomes of the program will be demonstrated in the graduating paper. Requires approximately 200 hours of student effort. *All program core and elective courses must have been completed
Course Credits: 6.0