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Environmental Omega is a senior capstone experience where students compile a final portfolio of the work they have completed over the course of their degree, reflect on internship/research and/or field experiences, and chart a path for the future. Meeting once a week, students will come together as a peer working group as they prepare applications for graduate school or employment and discuss relevant readings and current environmental issues.
This class is designed to provide an analytical overview of the theory and practice of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is used to identify potential environmental impacts of various activities and to propose means to avoid or reduce the significant impacts. The class will concentrate on understanding the role of NEPA (and MEPA in Montana) in regards to environmental management, including the strengths and limitations. The class will utilize application exercises and expert guest speakers to present examples of current NEPA practices.
Internship Experiences recognize that learning can take place outside the classroom. Carroll College allows its students to participate in opportunities that relate to their area of study. This opportunity must relate directly a student's program of study in order to qualify for an internship. Close cooperation among Carroll and the participating organizations ensures an experience that contributes significantly to the student's overall growth and professional development. Juniors and seniors in any major area may participate with the approval of faculty internship advisor and/or department chair, Career Services, and a site supervisor. Students will receive academic credit and may or may not receive monetary compensation for an internship. A student may apply a maximum of 12 semester hours to degree requirements; academic departments will determine the number of credits that may count toward the major (most majors accept 6 hours total). Enrollment in the course must be during the same semester in which the experience takes place. Interested students should contact their academic advisor and Career Services prior to the start of an experience.
Independent study is open to junior and senior students only. At the time of application, a student must have earned a 3.0 cumulative grade point average. A student may register for no more than three (3) semester hours of independent study in any one term. In all cases, registration for independent study must be approved by the appropriate department chairperson and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Special Topics courses include ad-hoc courses on various selected topics that are not part of the regular curriculum, however they may still fulfill certain curricular requirements. Special topics courses are offered at the discretion of each department and will be published as part of the semester course schedule - view available sections for more information. Questions about special topics classes can be directed to the instructor or department chair.
A senior year research paper or research project, in lieu of an honors thesis, focused on a specific environmental issue or research question; the paper or project should provide evidence of scholarship, data analysis and interpretation, and a written report presented to the department faculty and student peers.
The senior thesis is designed to encourage creative thinking and to stimulate individual research. A student may undertake a thesis in an area in which s/he has the necessary background. Ordinarily a thesis topic is chosen in the student's major or minor. It is also possible to choose an interdisciplinary topic. Interested students should decide upon a thesis topic as early as possible in the junior year so that adequate attention may be given to the project. In order to be eligible to apply to write a thesis, a student must have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 based upon all courses attempted at Carroll College. The thesis committee consists of a director and two readers. The thesis director is a full-time Carroll College faculty member from the student's major discipline or approved by the department chair of the student's major. At least one reader must be from outside the student's major. The thesis director and the appropriate department chair must approve all readers. The thesis committee should assist and mentor the student during the entire project. For any projects involving human participants, each student and his or her director must follow the guidelines published by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Students must submit a copy of their IRB approval letter with their thesis application. As part of the IRB approval process, each student and his or her director must also complete training by the National Cancer Institute Protection of Human Participants. The thesis is typically to be completed for three (3) credits in the discipline that best matches the content of the thesis. Departments with a designated thesis research/writing course may award credits differently with approval of the Curriculum Committee. If the thesis credits exceed the full-time tuition credit limit for students, the charge for additional credits will be waived. Applications and further information are available in the Registrar's Office.