Sustainability Studies

Division of University Studies

Sustainability Studies at RWU is all about seeking solutions to the Earth’s most pressing problems. By combining ideas from a variety of disciplines -- from science and humanities to business, engineering and architecture -- you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the complex relationships among environmental, social and economic issues that will help guide your decision-making in your career and as a 21st century citizen.

This minor is coordinated by the Sustainability program. 

The Sustainability Studies Minor

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The minor in Sustainability Studies will facilitate deeper student exploration of complex interrelationships among contemporary environmental, social and economic problems and their possible solutions. In addition, courses will help student’s articulate personal philosophies to guide more sustainable lifestyles (i.e. choices for resource use and other behaviors). After completing a minor in Sustainability Studies, students will be expected to have the requisite interdisciplinary knowledge to think clearly and critically about the complexity of interrelated environmental, social, and economic problems. In addition, the working vocabulary associated with this knowledge base will enable them to communicate across disciplines and more effectively work as part of teams engaged in seeking solutions to problems of sustainability within the business sector, government and non-governmental agencies, the public policy realm, and environmental organizations, among other institutions. In short, the acquisition of a broader, synthetic understanding of complex contemporary sustainability-related issues will allow RWU graduates completing the minor to contribute more effectively in their future careers and as public citizens to creating a more sustainable future for humanity and other species on Earth.

Requirements for the Minor in Sustainability Studies

SUST101Introduction to Sustainability Studies 
SUST301Analysis and Decision Making for Sustainability 
SUST401Working Toward Sustainability 

and
Three of the following courses, one of which must be at the 200 level or above:

ANTH222Environmental Anthropology 
ARCH101Introduction to Architecture 
ARCH321Site and Environment 
ARCH461Introduction to Landscape Architecture
ARCH593Sustainable Paradigms 
AAH423Nature and Art 
BIO104Biology II and Lab 
BIO231Bioethics: Life, Health and Environment# 
BIO240Concepts of Ecology# 
BIO312Conservation Biology# 
BIO320Marine Ecology and Lab* 
BIO345Aquaculture and Lab# 
BIO360Limnology and Lab* 
BIO/NATSC375Soil Ecology and Lab# 
CHEM201Environmental Chemistry I and Lab* 
CHEM202Environmental Chemistry II and Lab* 
CHEM434Advanced Environmental Chemistry* 
CNST540Sustainable Construction* 
ECON320Resource and Environmental Economics* 
ENG110Serpents, Swords, and Symbols 
ENGR320Environmental Engineering* 
ENGR340Renewable Energy Systems 
ENGR405Air pollution and control* 
ENGR407Solid and Hazardous Waste Management*
ENGR412Water Resources Engineering and Lab*
ENGR415Waste Water Treatment* 
HIST354United States Environmental History* 
HP150Introduction to Historic Preservation 
NATSC103Earth System Science and Lab 
NATSC203Humans, Environmental Change and Sustainability
NATSC204Principles of Oceanography# 
NATSC301Marine Resource Management# 
NATSC310Biogeochemical Cycling* 
NATSC333Environmental Monitoring and Analysis and Lab*
NATSC401Environmental Toxicology and Lab* 
PLS200Environmental Law 
POLSC383Environmental Politics and Policy# 
SUST430Special Topics in Sustainability Studies#

*These courses have pre-requisite requirements that do not fulfill requirements for completion of the Sustainability Studies minor. Some pre-requisites may be waived with instructor’s permission.

#These courses have pre-requisite requirements that fulfill requirements for the Sustainability Studies minor.