Environmental studies provides an opportunity for the systematic investigation of the natural world and the interaction of humans with their own environment. Modern environmental issues are highly complex and transcend traditional academic disciplines. The real-world solutions to these conflicts require not only expertise from the natural and social sciences biology, economics, engineering and political sciences but also an interdisciplinary perspective. This calls for professionals who take a systems approach that addresses the complex interrelationships within and among components of natural, built and social environments. The associate degree in Environmental Studies provides students with the interdisciplinary training and conceptual framework required to analyze and respond to the world's dynamic environmental problems.