Program Goals
- Provide students with a multi-disciplinary foundation for thinking about sustainability.
- Discuss the concept of sustainability from a biogeochemical perspective.
- Address the social and economic facets of sustainability.
- Discuss the challenges that face humanity in becoming sustainable.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Create a personal definition of sustainability.
- Analyze human impacts on natural systems and processes that affect the ability of humanity to live sustainably.
- Interpret sustainability issues in the context of element cycles.
- Compare and contrast the role of public and private entities in creating sustainable societies.
- Identify facets of social/economic/industrial structures that could be changed to make society more sustainable.
Sustainability Studies Minor: 24 Total Credit hour
(ESM 105 is a prerequisite)
Required Courses: 18 Credit Hours
ESM 220 Environmental Sustainability: Theories, Issues, and Management 3 cr.
ESM 251 Community Decision-Making OR ESM 351 Planning for Sustainable Communities OR SOCI 245 Environmental Sociology 3 cr.
SM 377 Business Ecology OR ESM 351 Planning for Sustainable Communities 3 cr.
(Students who choose ESM 351 to meet requirement (2) must take ESM 377 to meet this requirement)
CROP 368 Sustainable Agriculture 3 cr.
GEOL 350 Geological Destinies of Nations 3 cr.
AGEC 450 Introduction to Natural Resource Economics 3 cr.
Directed Electives: 6 Credit Hours
ESM 109, ESM 251*, ESM 300, ESM 303, ESM 305, ESM 343, ESM 351*, ESM 377* 2-3 cr.
GEOG 366 3 cr.
GEOL 202, GEOL 269, GEOL 330 3 cr.
SOIL 325 3 cr.
AGEN 325 3 cr.
ENGL 228 3 cr.
CHEM 200 3 cr.
SOCI 245* 3 cr.
(*This course counts as EITHER a requirement OR a directed elective.)