Sustainability Courses

Science and Other Stories: Reading the Mississippi River
Julie Maxson, Metropolitan State University
This course is an exploration of the nature of science and sustainability, focusing on the local system of the Upper Mississippi River.

Environmental Assessment
Maureen Padden, McMaster University
Students in this fourth-year course explore the policy and requirements of environmental assessment in both a Canadian and international context. Students gain familiarity with the environmental assessment process ...

Global Political Ecology
Pablo Toral, Beloit College
Global Political Ecology is an interdisciplinary, lab-based course that requires the students to study how societies organize themselves to address environmental challenges. The students will learn and apply ...

Agroecology
Bruno Borsari, Winona State University
An introduction to the theory of agroecology and the current practices of sustainable agriculture. The components of farm management will be studied within the context of a complex ecosystem. Class time will be ...

Hydrotopia: Toward a Hydraulic Society in the American West
Ed Barbanell, University of Utah
Interdisciplinary case study analysis of historical and emerging water issues in the western United States. Students learn the fundamental concepts and major issues related to water resources planning and ...

Energy, Power and Transportation
Tom Termes, Black Hills State University
This course provides an understanding of the principles of energy, power, transportation, and applied technology. Topics, among others, include technological literacy, history, and industrial uses of energy, power, ...

Human Impacts on Biogeochemical Cycles
Mari Lee, Colorado College
Human Impacts on Biogeochemical Cycles is an introductory environmental science course examining the pressures of modern civilization on natural Earth cycles. The course uses inquiry based learning to cover basic ...

Environmental Science, with Lab
Dan Vaughn, Vincennes University
This course focuses on the basic parameters of, and human interaction with, the natural environment. Labs involve environmental testing, field observations, review of case studies, and various "hands on" ...

Petrology
Laura Webb, University of Vermont and State Agricultural College
The course is an introduction to the scope and methods of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic petrology. Through lecture, class discussions, and laboratory exercises, students learn about the classification, ...

Natural Hazards and Risk Communication
Kathleen Phillips, Stanford University
This course will provide an introduction to the science behind natural hazards, the risks associated with these hazards, and effective methods of communicating those risks to a variety of audiences. Recent research ...

Interdisciplinary Sustainability Practicum
Steven Burian, University of Utah
This is an interdisciplinary project-based course where students are divided into multi-disciplinary teams and select projects to complete working for real clients.

Life cycle assessment
James Stone, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
This course will provide an introduction to life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling for students within various science and engineering degree programs at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. LCA data and ...

Sustainability Science
Tun Myint, Carleton College
This course is conceived within the dual challenge of the need to understand how societal dynamics and environmental dynamics interact over time AND how they help induce or inhibit sustainability of social ...

Plant Biology
Susan Singer, Carleton College
This is an interdisciplinary course that introduces students to the basic concepts of plant biology in the context of sustainable food and agriculture systems. The course is taught in an interactive format with ...

Solar Energy
Scott Cummings, Kenyon College
Solar Energy (CHEM 108) is a one-semester chemistry lecture and discussion course designed for students majoring outside of the natural sciences. With an emphasis on quantitative reasoning, the course explores the ...

Environmental Geology
Maureen Muldoon, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
This is a general geology course for non-majors. I introduce the course using a picture of the book "How Things Work in Your House (and what to do when they don't)". The course covers all the basic ...

Soils and Sustainable Agriculture
Jeff Walker, Vassar College
This intermediate-level lecture/lab earth science course explores the relationships between the geological parent and the character of the resulting soils. The lecture portions discuss the theoretical background ...

Sustainable Buildings and Planning
Lori Troxel, Vanderbilt University
This is an interdisciplinary, 4-week, study-abroad course. Seminars and field trips in Northern Ireland and Barcelona provide students an international perspective of urban planning, sustainable building design, ...

Sustainability Workshop: Green Building Seminar
Derek Larson, Saint Johns University
This class explores the environmental impacts of the construction, operation, and disposition of commercial and residential architecture with an emphasis on best practices as determined through a sustainability ...

Wilderness Philosophy
Thomas Beery, University of Minnesota-Duluth
This is an interdisciplinary field/lecture/discussion based course with a focus wilderness in an American context. The goal of the course is to deepen student understanding of the constructs wilderness and ...