Program Requirements
Students must complete 18 credits and a capstone experience to earn a minor in sustainability studies. The program's interdisciplinary approach encourages students to take courses from a variety of departments. The program is structured as follows:
- All students will take SUST 201: Introduction to Sustainability.
- Students must then take at least 12 credits from Category A, defined as courses in which substantial content is foundational to engagement with sustainability. These credits must be distributed across three “clusters,” each of which denotes a major aspect of sustainability (see below). Having taken one course from each of the three clusters, students will then be able to take the remaining Category A credits from a cluster of their choosing.
- Only three credits may come from Category B, defined as courses in which significant content is foundational to engagement with sustainability. Because their content may vary, courses from Category B must be approved by the program director to count for the minor.
- At least six credits must be at the 300 level or above.
- Only one course may come from the student's major.
- With the exception of SUST courses, no course prefix may be used more than twice without written permission from the program director.
- Special topics, independent study courses, and internship courses may be applied to either Category A or Category B with the approval of the Sustainability Studies Committee.
- Students should consult with the program director to determine if there are any prerequisites for the courses listed below. Through counseling, the program coordinator will work with individual departments to determine if students may qualify for prerequisite exemptions.
- Students will work with an advisor from the Sustainability Studies program to develop a capstone experience that synthesizes their knowledge and skills related to sustainability. This requirement may be fulfilled by one of the following options: a portfolio, conference presentation, or other scholarly activity approved by the program director
What Category A courses are part of the Sustainability Studies Minor?
Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
---|---|---|
ANTH 420 | Cultural Ecology | 3cr |
ANTH 430 | Anthropology of Food | 3cr |
ANTH 470 | Environmental Archaeology | 3cr |
ENGL 361 | Environmental Literature | 3cr |
GEOG 230 | Cultural Geography | 3cr |
HIST 385 | People in Nature | 3cr |
PHIL 270 | Ethics and the Environment | 3cr |
RLST 365 | Native North American Religions | 3cr |
SOC 314 | Sociology of Native Americans | 3cr |
Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
---|---|---|
BIOL 103 | Life on Earth | 4cr |
BIOL 115 | Biotic Diversity of North America | 3cr |
BIOL 201 | Principles of Ecology and Evolution | 4cr |
BIOL 221 | Environmental Health and Protection | 4cr |
BIOL 272 | Conservation of Plant and Animal Resources | 3cr |
BIOL 362 | Ecology | 3cr |
BIOL 450 | Field Biology and Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology | 4cr |
BIOL 490 | Field Studies in Biology | 3cr |
ENVE 301 | Environmental Aquatic Chemistry | 3cr |
GEOG 101 | Environmental and Society | 3cr |
GEOG 341 | Climatology | 3cr |
GEOG 435 | Geography of Energy | 3cr |
GEOS 101 | The Dynamic Earth | 3cr |
GEOS 103 | Oceans and Atmospheres | 3cr |
GEOS 155 | Geology of Climate Change | 3cr |
GEOS 156 | Geology of Natural Disasters | 3cr |
GEOS 204 | Historical Geology | 3cr |
GEOS 310 | Environmental Geology | 4cr |
PHYS 101 | Energy and Our Environment | 3cr |
PSYC 331 | Environmental Psychology | 3cr |
Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
---|---|---|
CRIM 374 | Environmental Crime and Justice | 3cr |
ECON 361 | Environmental Economics | 3cr |
ENVE 101 | Introduction to Environmental Engineering | 3cr |
FDNT 415 | Sustainable Nutrition | 3cr |
FDNT 470 | Human Food Consumption Patterns | 3cr |
GEOG/RGPL 103 | Global Cities: Issues in Planning and Development | 3cr |
GEOG 104 | World Geography: Global Context | 3cr |
GEOG 231 | Economic Geography | 3cr |
GEOG/RGPL 343 | Geography of Fresh Water Resources | 3cr |
GEOG/RGPL 345 | Biogeography for Environmental Managers | 3cr |
GEOG/RGPL 440 | Conservation: Environmental Analysis | 3cr |
MKTG 444 | Green Marketing | 3cr |
RGPL 426 | Environmental Land Use Planning | 3cr |
What Category B courses are part of the Sustainability Studies Minor?
Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
---|---|---|
ANTH 110 | Contemporary Anthropology | 3cr |
ANTH 213 | World Archaeology | 3cr |
ANTH 240 | Introduction to Global Health | 3cr |
ANTH 314 | Contemporary Native American Cultures | 3cr |
ANTH 352 | The Anthropology of Human Rights | 3cr |
ANTH 444 | Medical Anthropology | 3cr |
ART 113 | Three-Dimensional Design | 3cr |
ART 213 | Woodworking: Function and Form | 3cr |
BIOL 301 | Fundamentals of Epidemiology | 3cr |
BIOL 323 | Introduction to Toxicology and Risk Assessment | 3cr |
BIOL 456 | Ecological Toxicology | 3cr |
ECON 338 | Poverty in Africa | 3cr |
ECON 339 | Economic Development I | 3cr |
GEOS 150 | Geology of National Parks | 3cr |
GEOS 152 | Physical Resources of the Earth | 3cr |
GEOS 201 | Foundations of Geology | 4cr |
KHSS 143 | Physical Well-Being | 3cr |
JRNL 375 | World News Coverage | 3cr |
JRNL 466 | Community Journalism | 3cr |
NURS 101 | Disaster Awareness | 3cr |
NURS 143 | Healthy People - Promoting Wellness | 3cr |
PHIL 122 | Contemporary Moral Issues | 3cr |
PHIL 130 | Introduction to Biomedical Ethics | 3cr |
PLSC 250 | Public Policy | 3cr |
PLSC 389 | International Development Strategies | 3cr |
RLST 485 | Selected Topics in Feminist Studies of Religion | 3cr |
SOC 337 | Society, Globalization, and Risk | 3cr |
SOC 417 | Global Service Learning | 3cr |
Please also refer to the current Undergraduate Catalog for additional information about the minor which is housed in both the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.