Sustainability Leadership

Sustainability Leadership competencies cut across disciplines so that all students in the minor will develop capabilities in: systems thinking; application of sustainability concepts, metrics and analysis; ethics; self-knowledge and leadership; change agency; and collaboration. While these competencies are often developed in the context of particular disciplines, they are transferrable to numerous settings and problems. Graduates of the Sustainability Leadership program will be able to apply them to ethical, social, business and civic issues that they encounter after leaving the University.

You Might Like This Program If...

• You care about the state of the world.
• You want to first develop expertise in sustainability themes through engaged scholarship experience in and out of the classroom.
• You want to apply sustainability expertise to your own creative, innovative, and original capstone sustainability project.
• You want to improve your marketability and employability for sustainability-related positions upon graduation.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP

The Intercollege Minor in Sustainability Leadership has been designed for students who wish to promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability in their personal and professional lives. Administered by a University-wide faculty committee, the program provides an opportunity for students in any academic major to develop key competencies that will be the foundation for their growth as sustainability leaders in their civic and professional endeavors. Students cultivate these sustainability leadership competencies in the context of thematic tracks that allow them to focus on particular topics within sustainability studies. The competencies cut across all thematic tracks so that all students in the minor will develop capabilities in:

• systems thinking
• application of sustainability concepts, metrics and analysis
• ethics
• self-knowledge and leadership
• change agency
• collaboration

While these competencies are developed in the context of a specific thematic track, they are transferrable to numerous settings and problems, and graduates of the Sustainability Leadership program will be able to apply them to ethical, social, business and civic issues that they encounter after leaving the University.

All students in the minor are required to take the introductory course, Foundations of Leadership in Sustainability (SUST 200). Within each thematic track, students select twelve credits related to the chosen theme in sustainability leadership. These must include three credits of approved leadership coursework (scholarly explorations of leadership concepts related to the chosen theme) and three credits that offer an immersive experience in sustainability (that is, an opportunity to engage, observe and learn in depth about sustainability challenges and solutions related to the student's chosen theme). The final three credits for each student in the minor is the 400-level Sustainability Leadership Capstone experience. Capstone selection is in consultation with the student's major adviser, the minor adviser or coordinator, and the course instructor. The capstone coursework must be relevant to the chosen theme, must have an approved capstone project that includes scholarly applied or theoretical research on a current issue in sustainability leadership, and must include a critical synthesis of the student's minor curriculum and an articulation of its crosscutting themes. 

Design for Sustainable Communities Track

This track allows students to investigate sustainability and leadership in community and urban planning; courses focus on both technical design and community development.

Educating for Sustainability Track

This track provides students with the opportunity to explore a variety of approaches to sustainability education and leadership in sustainability.

Humanistic Understanding of Sustainability Track

Through reading and analysis of significant sustainability-focused texts in philosophy, history, literature, and the social sciences students delve into the evolution and history of thinking on sustainability and leadership in sustainability.

Sustainability and Food Systems Track

Students in this track learn about the nature of food and sustainable food systems, and about sustainability policy and leadership issues related to food, including food security, sustainable production practices, distribution, and safety.

Applicants to the minor present a proposed plan of study for the chosen minor track. The proposed plan of study must be approved by the student's major faculty adviser and by the minor adviser. Entrants to the minor are required to have declared a major field of study. 

New Sustainability Leadership minor tracks will be developed over time, and students are encouraged to consult with the minor coordinator early in their program planning, in order to be aware of upcoming additions to the curriculum. In exceptional cases, and by written approval of the program coordinator and major adviser, students may propose a specialized track of their own design.

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