Sustainability (SUST)

Ken McCown
Coordinator of Academic Sustainability
Vol Walker Hall, suite 115
479-575-4907
Email: kennethm@uark.edu

The program in sustainability offers an interdisciplinary minor in sustainability available to students from all majors at the university.

The minor is accessible to all undergraduate students, regardless of degree program. The purpose of the minor in Sustainability is to provide foundational knowledge and skills related to the emerging discipline of sustainability, organized around four thematic areas reflecting strength in scholarship of University of Arkansas academic colleges: Sustainability of Social Systems, Sustainability of Natural Systems, Sustainability of Built Systems, and Sustainability of Managed Systems. Students who complete the minor in Sustainability will be expected to:

Articulate commonly accepted definitions of sustainability and discuss various nuances among those definitions;
Have an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability issues, particularly as they pertain to the thematic areas of knowledge addressed by the minor (sustainability of natural systems, sustainability of managed systems, sustainability of built systems, and sustainability of human social systems);
Be conversant regarding acquisition and analysis of data pertinent to sustainability issues;
Communicate orally and in writing organized thoughts defining sustainability issues;
Identify appropriate potential strategies to address sustainability issues using data and provide results of rudimentary analyses of data using novel metrics or statistics;
Make recommendations, based on data analysis and interpretation, to advance sustainability of individuals or institutions.

The program also offers a graduate certificate in sustainability through the Graduate School.

Required Courses for a Minor in Sustainability

Students must earn a grade of ‘C’ or better for all courses used to fulfill requirements of the minor in Sustainability.

SUST 11003	Foundations of Sustainability	3
SUST 21003	Applications of Sustainability	3
Elective courses with sustainability focus selected from a broad menu of offerings in four thematic areas:		9
Sustainability of Social Systems
Sustainability of Natural Systems
Sustainability of Built Systems
Sustainability of Managed Systems
Elective courses are categorized as Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 courses are those with dominant sustainability content or fundamental principles related to understanding sustainability. Tier 1 courses must comprise at least 6 hours of the 9 elective hours. Tier 2 courses are those with subordinate sustainability content or associated principles related to understanding sustainability, but with content useful in preparing students with prerequisite knowledge for Tier 1 courses. Only 3 hours of Tier 2 courses will be accepted in fulfillment of the elective hours in the Minor in Sustainability.
Complete lists of Tier 1 and Tier 2 courses by thematic areas are presented below.
SUST 41003	Capstone Experience in Sustainability	3
Total Hours		18

List of Available Elective Courses: Students choose 9 hours from menus provided on the Sustainability website; at least six hours must be chosen from Tier 1 courses (with prerequisites, if applicable).

Capstone Experience

All students participating in the minor in Sustainability must complete a capstone experience focused on service learning, research learning, or internship in sustainability. Student engagement in community service, research, or relevant work on sustainability through a summer internship provides opportunities for students to apply sustainability theories and principles learned from prior coursework toward advancing sustainability across society.

Students may formally petition the University of Arkansas Sustainability Curriculum Steering Committee to substitute sustainability-oriented senior design projects, Honors College research projects, other service learning courses, or equivalent internship experiences for SUST 41003 to satisfy the capstone element of minor in Sustainability. Details of the procedure to substitute alternative experiences for SUST 41003 can be found in the Foundations of Sustainability Program Handbook.

To qualify for SUST 41003 or other sustainability capstone experience, students must have successfully completed SUST 11003, SUST 21003, and 6 hours of elective course work toward the minor in Sustainability.

Courses

SUST 11003. Foundations of Sustainability. 3 Hours.

Foundations of Sustainability is an interdisciplinary course to introduce concepts and theories of sustainability at global, regional, and local levels. Emphasis is on four thematic areas of sustainability; social, natural, built and managed systems. The aim is to increase environmental literacy for engagement of sustainability into students' own disciplines. (Typically offered: Spring)

SUST 110H3. Honors Foundations of Sustainability. 3 Hours.

SUST 21003. Applications of Sustainability. 3 Hours.

Applications of Sustainability is an interdisciplinary course introducing data gathering, data analysis or interpretation, and synthesis of data applied to problems in sustainability. Students engage in hands-on, inquiry-based investigation of sustainability issues across four thematic areas: social systems, natural systems, built systems (Architecture & Engineering), and managed systems (Agriculture & Business). Prerequisite: SUST 11003 or instructor consent. (Typically offered: Fall)

SUST 3900V. Special Problems in Sustainability. 1-6 Hour.

Special Problems is intended to fulfill a need in the sustainability curriculum to offer one-time pilot course work in any semester prior to the formal curriculum approval process, offer seminars on unusual but timely topics in sustainability on a one-time basis, or independent study for students seeking additional expertise in sustainability research and scholarship. Prerequisite: SUST 11003 and SUST 21003 or instructor permission. (Typically offered: Irregular) May be repeated for up to 6 hours of degree credit.

SUST 41003. Capstone Experience in Sustainability. 3 Hours.

A capstone experience focused on service learning, research learning, or internship in sustainability. Student engagement in community service, research, or relevant work on sustainability through a summer internship or equivalent experience provides opportunities for students to apply sustainability theories and principles learned from prior course work toward advancing sustainability across society. Prerequisite: SUST 11003 and SUST 21003. (Typically offered: Spring)

SUST 46003. Environmental Sociology. 3 Hours.

The course provides a social perspective on environmental issues. It examines the linkage between society, ecological systems and the physical environment. It provides conceptual framework(s) for analyzing environmental issues, considers the role of humans in environmental issues, and enhances understanding the complexity of the relationship between societal organization and environmental change. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. (Typically offered: Fall)

SUST 46903. Environmental Justice. 3 Hours.

This course deals with the ethical, environmental, legal, economic, and social implications of society's treatment of the poor, the disenfranchised, and minorities who live in the less desirable, deteriorating neighborhoods, communities, and niches of our country. The class integrates science with philosophy, politics, economics, policy, and law, drawing on award-winning films, current news, and case studies. (Typically offered: Spring)