Sustainability Minor

Chairperson: Christine Broussard

This minor is designed for students interested in the environment and sustainability. It is a valuable complement to any major. The minor allows students to view sustainability from many different perspectives. The course requirements are assembled into major groups that provide exposure to areas, which are particularly important for understanding the complexity of sustainability issues. The natural sciences provide the basic knowledge of the physical world in which we live. The social sciences and business sector contains course options that provide an understanding of the social, political, economic and ethical dimensions of sustainability. A community service component is built in to provide hands on experience with sustainability issues at the community level. A capstone course is provided at the 400 level to consolidate and integrate knowledge gained in other courses in order to find more effective solutions to environmental problems.

There is considerable flexibility in the course options from which students can choose to meet the requirements. Those interested should speak with their academic advisor and the sustainability minor coordinator for advice regarding specific course options. This minor will empower students to use the knowledge gained in their major to more effectively enhance their own lives and contribute to the common good.

Degree Requirements

A total of 30 semester hours is required of which at least 12 semester hours must be upper division. Students will select from the following courses and others, which may be subsequently approved in each area.

Total program: 30-32 semester hours

Natural Sciences

(Three courses from at least two of the following areas)

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
Natural Science
NASC 201	General Geology	4
Life Science
BIOL 101	Life Science: The Human Environment	4
BIOL 201	General Biology I	4
BIOL 204	Plant Biology	4
BIOL 205	Animal Biology	4
BIOL 312	Environmental Biology	4
Chemistry
CHEM 103	Introduction to Chemistry	4
CHEM 201	General Chemistry I	5
CHEM 280	Topics in Modern Chemistry	4
CHEM 303	Energy Issues	4
or PHYS 303	Energy Issues
CHEM 420	Environmental Chemistry	4

Social Sciences and Business

(Four courses from at least two of the following areas)

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
Anthropology/Sociology
ANTH 231	Food and Culture	4
ANTH 220	Cultural Anthropology	4
ANTH 453	Human Adaptation and Variation	4
SOC 370	Social Change	4
Business/Economics
ECON 228	Economic Theories & Issues 1	4
BUS 343	Foundations of Business Ethics	4
History/Political Science
PLSC 201	American Government & Politics	4
PLSC 363	Politics of Developing Nations	4
Interdisciplinary
INTD 302	Mass Media Effects and the Human Condition	4
PHIL 310	Women and the Environment	4
REL 325	Religion, Ethics, and Sustainability	4
PLSC 412	Justice, Sustainability, and the Politics of the Environment 1	4

Community Service

(One course)

• LVE 305 Learning Through Community Service ¹

Sustainability Reflection – Systems Thinking

(One course)

• LVE 400 Senior GE Capstone¹

¹

Approved sections. i.e. Not all sections of these courses deal with sustainability. See the sustainability minor coordinator to determine which sections qualify.