Minor in Sustainability

Sustainability is a concept that is becoming increasingly used as human societies recognize the finite nature of many natural resources and the lingering ill effects of overconsumption, pollution, and poorly planned land uses. Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, and to do so while maintaining ecological processes, functions, biodiversity, and productivity into the future. An understanding of sustainability includes the scientific basis for sustainable resource use as well as the social and economic implications and/or costs of sustainable practices. Given the state of the global economy, the heavy reliance of both developed and developing nations on increasingly limited supplies of non?renewable energy sources, and the resultant social unrest that is building throughout many parts of the world, understanding the challenges facing society today requires an interdisciplinary perspective of the problems we face in moving toward a sustainable future.

Hours Required: Minimum 20 qtr hrs

A minimum of 20 hours from the following courses:

Required Courses

Gateway course

GEOG 2500: Sustainability and Human Society. This course serves as the first course in the minor, addressing the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social equity.

Breadth courses

Environmental sustainability-4 qtr hrs from courses listed below:

BIOL 2010: General Ecology
BIOL 2050: Conservation Biology
BIOL 3060: Tropical Ecology
BIOL 3070: Ecological Field Methods
CHEM 2240: Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 3412: Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology
GEOG 2700: Contemporary Environmental Issues
GEOG 3320: Global Change-Human Dimensions
GEOG 3610: Climatology
GEOG 3700: Environment and Development
GEOG 3720: Mountain Environments and Sustainability
GEOG 3870: Water Resources and Sustainability
GEOL 3100: Environmental Geology

Economic sustainability-4 qtr hrs from the courses listed below:

ECON 2140: Economics of Social Issues
GEOG 2410: Economic Geography
GEOG 2510: Ecological Economics
GEOG 3430: Land Use: Planning, Policy, and Urban Growth
GEOG 3420: Urban and Regional Planning
GEOG 3425: Urban Sustainability

Social equity-4 qtr hrs from the courses listed below:

GEOG 3310: Culture, Nature, Economy
GEOG 3730: International Environmental Policy
GEOG 3740: Environmental Justice and the City
MGMT 3100: Ethics and Social Responsibility
PHIL 2785: Environmental Ethics
PLSC 2840: International Law & Human Rights
SOCI 2450: Environment and Society

Sustainability elective-4 qtr hrs from the following list of courses. Course must be taken in an area outside the division of the student?s major. Students may also choose from courses identified in the breadth requirement. Courses may not be double counted for any degree requirements.

ANTH 3010: World Food/World Hunger
ANTH 3485: Anthropology and Underdevelopment
ANTH 3500: Culture and The City
ANTH 3880: Technology and Adaptation
CHEM 3410: Atmospheric Chemistry or ENME 3860: Introduction to Air Pollution
CORE 2408: U.S. Environmental History
CORE 2411: Natural Environment and Human Values
CORE 2413: Global Environmental History
CORE 2464: The Politics of Public Land Management
CORE 2465: Environmental Controversies
CORE 2468: Global Environmental Politics
CORE 2472: UN & Sustainable Development
CORE 2473: Climate Science and Policy
ASEM 2485: Sustainable Living
CORE 2624: Politics of the Environment
EALC 2001: Local and Regional Environmental Issues
EALC 2002: The Impact of Development on the Environment
EALC 2003: Biodiversity: Regional and Global Issues
ENVI 2801: Water Quality in the West
ENVI 3000: Environmental Law
GEOG 2401: The Human Population
GEOG 2418: Environmental Challenges
GEOG 2420 Geography of Tourism
GEOG 3840: Water Resource Analysis
GEOG 3880: Cleantech and Sustainability
HIST 2710: North American Environmental History
INTS 1500: Contemporary Issues in the Global Economy
INTS 2050: Ethics & International Politics
INTS 2150: Global Environment
INTS 2270: Sustainable Energy and Transportation
INTS 2520: Development, Rights, and Freedom
PHIL 2180: Ethics
SJUS 2010: Social Justice

Capstone seminar

GEOG 2550: Current Issues in Sustainability-4 qtr hrs. This new course is presently under development and will be available in Spring 2010.