About the 3+2 Environmental Studies Accelerated Program
- Accelerated program leading to bachelor's and master's degrees in just five years
- Option to complete in six years
- Preparation for career in environmental education
- Specialized certification for teachers
- Senior research project
- Opportunities to study abroad at some of the top universities in the world
- View requirements
Environmental Education is an accelerated program for students interested in a foundation in the biological sciences leading to a career in environmental education.
The five-year accelerated 3+2 program awards a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) with specialized certification in Environmental Education. Students in this program also can work toward a Pennsylvania teaching certificate in Environmental Education (K-12).
Interested students register as Biology majors with a concentration in Conservation Biology and will complete most required courses for the undergraduate major within their first three years and begin graduate courses in the summer following the junior year.
Senior Capstone Experience: In the senior year, students complete the Senior Seminar in Biology and Psychobiology, which includes their thesis research and its poster presentation.
Upon entry to Arcadia, students must notify their advisers as to their interest in this program and its options to ensure that they take the required sequence of courses. Students must apply for the 3+2 program midway through the junior year and, because this is an accelerated program, must have at least a 3.0 GPA at that time.
In the summer of the junior year, students start taking graduate courses leading toward the master's degree.
Students who do not meet the eligibility requirements of this accelerated program or who want more flexibility in their undergraduate program can take both degrees, the B.A. in Biology and the M.A.Ed. in Environmental Education, in the normal sequence.
