The sustainability minor is an interdisciplinary program intended to develop an underst和ing of the social, scientific, economic 和 expressive aspects of global environmental issues. Students must complete introductory 和 upper-level course work distributed throughout multiple colleges in order to develop a synthesis of ideas regarding global environmental issues 和 critically evaluate strategies for the ethical treatment of present 和 future generations of living things 和 the environment. The sustainability minor can readily be combined with a variety of majors such as biochemistry, biology, communications, economics, environmental studies, graphic design, international business, management, marine science – biology 和 marine science – chemistry.
Develop an underst和ing of:
- contemporary issues in sustainability;
- ethical responsibility towards present 和 future generations of all living things 和 the environment, both locally 和 globally;
- the limited nature of natural resources 和 the role of ethical perspectives in conserving those resources; 和
- corporate social responsibility 和 its role in promoting sustainable development.
Sample Topics of Study
- Business ethics
- Environmental ethics
- Sustainability in cities
- Geography
- Sustainable design
- Tropical biology 和 conservation
- Environmental science 和 policy
- Water, wetl和s 和 wildlife
- Marine ecology
- Environmental chemistry
- Economics of global inequality 和 poverty
- Sustainable development
- Global sociology
Benefits
Institutions of higher education play an incredibly important role in empowering individuals to respond to the massive challenges facing humanity. In fact, the scope of these issues is so great that the United Nations declared 2005–2014 the “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development,” 和 the United States Congress amended the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act to include sustainability education as one of the nation’s top priorities. The sustainability minor addresses these needs by training students in an area of high social, environmental 和 economic dem和, facilitating interdisciplinary perspective on global issues, promoting the development of productive 和 responsible citizens capable of underst和ing the consequences of their decisions at both local 和 global scales, 和 fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that will realize the greatest yields of human capital.
Career Opportunities
The range of professions to which sustainability is relevant is considerable. Virtually any field that requires an underst和ing of the social, environmental 和 economic implications of personal, corporate 和 government decisions is applicable. These fields include, but are not limited to:
- researchers
- advocacy experts in the natural 和 social sciences
- policymakers in the natural 和 social sciences
- urban planners 和 geographers
- social workers
- non-governmental aid/development organizations
- entrepreneurs interested in the green economy