STUDENTS / UNDERGRADUATE OFFERINGS

Undergraduate offerings

Add a sustainability lens to any minor.

The School of Sustainable Futures offers interdisciplinary minors and a certificate that help undergraduate students from any field build the knowledge and skills to address climate and sustainability challenges. Courses span multiple colleges and bring together perspectives from the environment, society, and the economy.

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About our offerings

Our undergraduate offerings include interdisciplinary minors and a certificate. A minor is a 21-credit sequence of courses that appears on your transcript and shows you’ve built knowledge and skills in a specific subject area. The Climate Change and Society Certificate is shorter and focused on climate literacy. Sustainability offerings at the School are interdisciplinary — you’ll take courses across colleges to build deeper understanding of complex issues, and many courses count toward both major and minor requirements, which can reduce the total credit load needed to complete the minor.

Minor in Global Environmental Sustainability

The Minor in Global Environmental Sustainability (GES) gives students in every department a curriculum that complements their major with an understanding of sustainability and the tools to bring sustainability into their careers. The GES Minor is a 21-credit sequence with course offerings from 25 subject codes across all eight colleges. You'll build a deep understanding of the complexity surrounding climate change, biodiversity, pollution, public health, oceans, food security, and global development, and how to work toward solutions.
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Climate Change Studies Minor

The Climate Change Studies Minor gives students an understanding of how climate change affects biophysical and social systems. You'll develop awareness of climate science, mitigation, and adaptation strategies relevant to your major and your future work. What you'll learn: • What climate change is, why it has become a serious problem, and what can be done about it • The key responses and feedbacks of earth systems to climate change • How groups of people respond to and are affected by climate change
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Sustainable Water Interdisciplinary Minor

Issues around water supply, water quality, and ecological water relationships matter more as populations grow and water uses expand. The Sustainable Water Interdisciplinary Minor (SWIM) gives undergraduate students from any major the chance to gain a deeper knowledge of water management. SWIM students complete 21 credits, including a minimum of 12 upper-division credits, in core and elective courses relevant to today's water managers. Completion of the program is certified on the student's academic record.
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Sustainable Energy Minor

The Sustainable Energy Minor builds the skills and knowledge needed to understand the challenges and opportunities of moving to a sustainable energy future. Providing energy in a sustainable way calls for a broad understanding of technical, environmental, and social issues. The courses span multiple colleges and cover physics, life sciences, engineering, sociology, and political science. What you'll learn: • Fundamental concepts of energy, including units, conversion, and efficiency • The science underlying each of the major energy sources • The environmental impacts of producing and consuming energy • How to evaluate the sustainability of energy resources
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Climate Change and Society Certificate

The Climate Change and Society Certificate introduces students to how climate change affects people and earth systems. The certificate builds climate literacy and prepares students to bring climate awareness, mitigation, and adaptation thinking into their future workplaces.
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What students say

Receiving a minor in GES means everything to me. The knowledge I have gained through GES has helped me understand the importance we as people have on affecting Earth's systems and how to critically think about our actions and impacts.
Andrew Buel
2021 GES minor graduate
I feel like I can take the sustainability practices I learned into almost any field. It allowed a more complete look into my major program. It felt like I got a more comprehensive Natural Resource Management experience.
Grace Tierney
2020 GES minor graduate

Contact advising

For Minors in Global Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Energy Minor, and Sustainable Water Interdisciplinary Minor, contact Dr. Dale Lockwood, SoGES Academic Advisor.

To schedule a virtual appointment, click here – virtual meeting

For Climate Change Studies Minor and Climate Change and Society Certificate, contact Dr. Sarah Badding, Assistant Director of Education and Development.

To schedule a virtual appointment, click here – virtual meeting.

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Courses

Browse the full list of GES and CLMT courses available to undergraduate students.
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Student Sustainability Center

Get involved with student-led sustainabilitywork and engagement on campus.
Visit the student sustainability center

Graduate offerings

Graduate certificates and pathways for students continuing their studies.
Explore graduate offerings