Minor in Sustainability

Students at GW come from around the world to connect to diverse ideas, cultures, and ways of life. The 18-credit minor in sustainability offers students a rigorous platform to examine critical sustainability issues and solutions. The program begins with Introduction to Sustainability, a team-taught course that equips students with a strong foundation in global sustainability principles and paradigms. Students build on this foundation by further investigating sustainability through the lenses of ecosystems, economies, communities, and practices. The capstone experience provides students with a structure for applying what they’ve learned through a semester-long research, service, and/or internship project. Students are empowered to consider the competing perspectives of stakeholders, the unintended consequences of decisions, and how interventions at different levels and scales affect systems and their component parts. Ultimately, students gain the tools necessary for creating healthy and thriving resource systems.

Requirements

All students in the minor program are required to take SUST 1001 Introduction to Sustainability; at least one course in each of four pillars (below); and at least 3 credits in an experiential learning course (below) selected from SUST 3094 Culminating Experience in Sustainability, SUST 3096 Research in Sustainability, or SUST 3097 Culminating Experience in Sustainability, acts as a capstone course for the minor.

At least 9 credits (3 courses)—e.g., SUST 1001, the student’s selected capstone course, and one selected pillar course—must be unique to the minor and cannot be double counted toward the requirements of any other major and/or minor program. The unique course requirement does not apply to SEAS students, who are governed by their school's policy regarding unique/double counting course requirements with the minor program.

At least 6 credits (two courses) must be taken at the 2000 level or above. These courses could include the student’s selected capstone course and one of their selected pillar courses.

Pillars

• Pillar I: Sustainable Ecosystems—Earth Sciences and Public Health
• Pillar II: Sustainable Economies—Business, Markets, Technology, and Trade
• Pillar III: Sustainable Communities—Culture, Politics, and Society
• Pillar IV: Sustainable Practices—Leadership, Values, Norms, and Behaviors

Experiential Learning Experience

The experiential learning experience is required as a capstone for the minor. Students may fulfill this requirement in their junior or senior year through directed research, fieldwork, an internship (paid or unpaid), or community service. Students may enroll in SUST 3094, SUST 3096, or SUST 3097 to fulfill the requirement. Successful completion of SUST 1001 and approval of the instructor or program director are required prior to enrollment in the capstone course.

Each semester, GW departments and programs offer special topics courses that may fulfill the pillar requirement. Topics relevant to the concentration must be approved by the program director prior to enrollment. Consult the Schedule of Classes for topics offered.

With prior approval of the program director, courses taken in study abroad programs may be used to fulfill one of the pillar requirements.

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Sustainable Ecosystems: Earth Sciences and Public Health Pillar

Required

One 3-credit course from this pillar must be selected as part of the minor program or if a course fits this pillar but is not listed, it can be approved by the program director. Also, the following list of course options does not include special topics courses, which also may count toward the minor with the prior approval of the program director. Topics relevant to the concentration must be approved by the program director prior to enrollment. Visit the sustainability minor website for current course offerings.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
BISC 1005	The Biology of Nutrition and Health
BISC 1006	The Ecology and Evolution of Organisms
BISC 1007	Food, Nutrition, and Service
BISC 1008	Understanding Organisms through Service Learning
BISC 2454	General Ecology
CHEM 2085	Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 3140	Geochemistry
GEOG 1002	Introduction to Physical Geography
GEOG 2134	Energy Resources
GEOG 2136	Water Resources
GEOG 2137	Environmental Hazards
GEOG 3275	Sustainable Food Systems
GEOL 1001	Physical Geology
GEOL 1005	Environmental Geology
GEOL 2106	Oceanography
GEOL 3131	Global Climate Change
GEOL 3138	Hydrogeology
GEOL 3191	Geology of Energy Resources
SUST 3002	Climate Change and Policy
SUST 3003	World on a Plate
School of Engineering and Applied Science
CE 1020	Introduction to a Sustainable World
CE 2510	Environmental Sustainability
CE 3520	Environmental Engineering Design: Drinking Water Treatment
CE 3521	Environmental Engineering Laboratory
CE 3604	Physical Hydrology
CE 4530	Wastewater Treatment Design and Reuse
School of Public Health and Health Services
PUBH 3132	Health and Environment
PUBH 3133	Global Health and Development
PUBH 3150	Sustainable Energy and Environmental Health

Sustainable Economies: Business, Markets, Technology, and Trade

Required

One 3-credit course from this pillar must be selected as part of the minor program or if a course fits this pillar but is not listed, it can be approved by the program director. Also, the following list of course options does not include special topics courses, which also may count toward the minor with the prior approval of the program director. Topics relevant to the concentration must be approved by the program director prior to enrollment. Visit the sustainability minor website for current course offerings. 

Sustainable Communities: Culture, Politics, and Society Pillar

Required

One 3-credit course from this pillar must be selected as part of the minor program or if a course fits this pillar but is not listed, it can be approved by the program director. Also, the following list of course options does not include special topics courses, which also may count toward the minor with the prior approval of the program director. Topics relevant to the concentration must be approved by the program director prior to enrollment. Visit the sustainability minor website for current course offerings. 

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
AMST 2440	The American City
AMST 3810	Planning Cities
ANTH 3501	Anthropology of Development
ANTH 3502	Cultural Ecology
ANTH 3513	Anthropology of Human Rights
ANTH 3804	Origins of the State and Urban Society
GEOG 2127	Population Geography
GEOG 2141	Cities in the Developing World
GEOG 3143	Urban Sustainability
GEOG 3143W	Urban Sustainability
PHIL 2133	Philosophy and Nonviolence
PHIL 2134	Philosophy of Human Rights
PHIL 2281	Philosophy of the Environment
PPPA 2701	Sustainability and Environmental Policy
PSC 2240	Poverty, Welfare, and Work
PSC 2367	Human Rights
SOC 2169	Urban Sociology
SUST 2002	The Sustainable City
SUST 3002	Climate Change and Policy
School of Public Health and Health Services
EXNS 1114	Community Nutrition
PUBH 2114	Environment, Health, and Development
School of Engineering and Applied Science
CSCI 1030	Technology and Society
or CSCI 1030W	Technology and Society

Sustainable Practices: Leadership, Values, Norms, and Behaviors

Required

One 3-credit course from this pillar must be selected as part of the minor program or if a course fits this pillar but is not listed, it can be approved by the program director. Also, the following list of course options does not include special topics courses, which also may count toward the minor with the prior approval of the program director. Topics relevant to the concentration must be approved by the program director prior to enrollment. Visit the sustainability minor website for current course offerings.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
ANTH 3407	Conservation in a Changing World: Human and Animal Behavior
GEOG 3132	Environmental Quality and Management
HSSJ 1100	Introduction to Human Services and Social Justice
HSSJ 2200	Principles of Ethical Leadership
PSC 2220	Public Opinion
School of Engineering and Applied Science
CSCI 4532	Information Policy
School of Business
MGT 3305	Human Capital Sustainability
ORSC 2116	Leading Change
ORSC 2123	Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
PSTD 1010	Introduction to Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
School of Public Health
HLWL 1104	Outdoor and Environmental Education
PUBH 3151	Current Issues in Bioethics