Minor in Environment and Sustainability Studies
Minor in Environment and Sustainability Studies
As environmental challenges mount across the world, governmental agencies, policy makers, industry, and others will look to engineers and scientists to develop innovative solutions to meet these pressing demands.
The Environment and Sustainability Studies minor provides political, social, cultural, economic, and historical perspectives on modern environmental challenges and equips students with the critical and analytical tools required to address contemporary environmental challenges. The curriculum further encourages students to transcend disciplinary boundaries by providing opportunities to integrate and synthesize the many strands of knowledge that bear on environmental issues. When combined with their technical, engineering, and/or scientific degrees, graduates will have added marketable skills, which can also be translated into environmental careers, or post-graduate programs.
The Minor in Environment and Sustainability Studies requires 18 credits of coursework:
- 15 credits of Culture and Society (CAS) electives, and
- 3 credits of restricted environmental science and engineering electives*
*Faculty involved in the Environment and Sustainability Studies minor will work with colleagues across campus to identify upper-division electives in environmental science and engineering that can fulfill this requirement.
Students may also include up to 3 credits of independent study with the approval of the ESS Director.
Courses
HASS200: Global Studies: Environment: Students interested in the ESS Minor are encouraged to sign up for the Global Studies section focused on the environment. Please contact ESS Minor director for information on when this course is offered each semester.
Minor requirements
- Choose five courses from the CAS list. At least three courses must be from HASS, with one at the 400-level. Up to two courses can be from Economics and Business (EBGN), Engineering, Design, and Society (EDNS), or the approved courses from Geology and Geophysics (GEOC) and Petroleum Engineering (PEGN).
- Choose one course from the restricted STEM electives. Other courses may be approved by the ESS director.
HASS Courses
| HASS323 | INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE COMMUNICATION | 3.0 |
| HASS412 | LITERATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 3.0 |
| HASS421 | ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| HASS464 | HISTORY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 3.0 |
| HASS419 | ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION | 3.0 |
| HASS423 | ADVANCED SCIENCE COMMUNICATION | 3.0 |
| HASS427 | RISK COMMUNICATION | 3.0 |
| HASS448 | GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES | 3.0 |
| HASS460 | GEOPOLITICS OF NATURAL RESOURCES | 3.0 |
| HASS467 | HISTORY OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES | 3.0 |
| HASS468 | ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | 3.0 |
| HASS484 | US WATER POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| HASS487 | ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| HASS488 | GLOBAL WATER POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| HASS490 | ENERGY AND SOCIETY | 3.0 |
| HASS491 | ENERGY TRANSITION: POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
Economics and Business Courses (EBGN)
| EBGN310 | ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS | 3.0 |
| EBGN330 | ENERGY ECONOMICS | 3.0 |
| EBGN340 | ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY | 3.0 |
| EBGN434 | PROPERTY RIGHTS AND NATURAL RESOURCES | 3.0 |
| EBGN435 | ECONOMICS OF WATER RESOURCES | 3.0 |
| EBGN470 | ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS | 3.0 |
Engineering, Design, and Society Courses (EDNS)
| EDNS315 | ENGINEERING FOR SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY | 3.0 |
| EDNS430 | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | 3.0 |
| EDNS477 | ENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | |
| EDNS478 | ENGINEERING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE | 3.0 |
Oceanography Courses (GEOC)
| GEOC407 | ATMOSPHERE, WEATHER AND CLIMATE | 3.0 |
| GEOC408 | INTRODUCTION TO OCEANOGRAPHY | 3.0 |
Petroleum Engineering Courses (PEGN)
| PEGN430 | ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND SUSTAINABILITY | 3.0 |
Restricted environmental science and engineering electives: Choose One
| CBEN469 | FUEL CELL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY | 3.0 |
| CEEN301 | FUNDAMENTALS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: WATER | 3.0 |
| CEEN302 | FUNDAMENTALS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: AIR AND WASTE MANAGEMENT | 3.0 |
| CEEN303 | ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY | 3.0 |
| CEEN381 | HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING | |
| CEEN401 | LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT | 3.0 |
| CEEN460 | MOLECULAR MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 3.0 |
| CEEN461 | FUNDAMENTALS OF ECOLOGY | 3.0 |
| CEEN472 | ONSITE WATER RECLAMATION AND REUSE | 3.0 |
| CEEN475 | HAZARDOUS SITE REMEDIATION ENGINEERING | 3.0 |
| CEEN480 | CHEMICAL FATE AND TRANSPORT IN THE ENVIRONMENT | 3.0 |
| CEEN482 | HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES LABORATORY | 3.0 |
| CEEN492 | ENVIRONMENTAL LAW | 3.0 |
| ENGY320 | INTRO TO RENEWABLE ENERGY | 3.0 |
| ENGY340 | NUCLEAR ENERGY | 3.0 |
| PHGN419 | PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS | 3.0 |
PRIMARY CONTACT
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Department