Issues and challenges in developing an environmental program in higher education

A growing number of colleges and universities in the United States have recently developed environmental programs. Most of these programs purport to prepare students for careers as environmental professionals. Many of the environmental programs in higher education are multidisciplinary and have interdisciplinary components that cover a broad spectrum of traditional academic disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to examine some academic issues encountered in our research to develop a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary proposal for an undergraduate Environmental Science and Management major at Worcester State College, and then to conclude how we have attempted to resolve these issues as considerations and guidelines to the development of our program proposal.