Schools

School of Natural Sciences

Certificate in Sustainability

The certificate program provides an interdisciplinary combination of courses in a liberal arts setting that will prepare students for careers in environmental and sustainability education, advocacy, and management. The Brundtland Commission (formerly, the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) envisioned the concept: sustainable development is development that “meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The logical components of a sustainable development strategy encompass environmental, economic, social, and political elements.  Students attracted to the environmental and sustainability management certificate are expected to work for governments, private businesses, and special interest organizations that seek to sustain and improve both current and future conditions for life on earth. The interdisciplinary certificate program seeks to provide them with skills and perspectives that will serve the development of their own rewarding careers in this field. The strengths of the certificate program are: Offers a holistic interdisciplinary approach; Engages students in relevant civic engagement opportunities in the Southern Indiana - Louisville metropolitan region; Provides an alternative program for students interested in environmental issues but less interested in scientific occupations; Enhances the liberal arts experience with courses in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, education and business.

Student Learning Goals

  1. Comprehend the three pillars of sustainability: Environmental, Social and Economic.
  2. Explain their inter-relationships Environmental, Social and Economic sustainability. 
  3. Identify sustainability principles within their academic specialty.
  4. Be able to begin to analyze local, national and global problems using sustainability principles
  5. Be able to begin to apply principles of sustainability to propose solution local, national and global problems. 
  6. Document how sustainability principles have influenced personal and professional values.  

Sustainability Certificate Residency Requirement

The Sustainability Certificate program enforces the IU Southeast Certificate Residency Requirement (minimum of 50% of total credits) with no additions. 

Core Program
All courses listed below require a grade of C or better.

Dept.

Course Number

Title

Credit Hours

Minimum Grade

Primary Courses (Complete each of the following)

PHYS-P

120

Energy & Technology

3

C

PHIL-P

237

Environmental Ethics

3

C

SOC-S

309

The Community

3

C

Secondary Courses (Complete one course from each discipline below)

Environmental Science (Choose one)

EDUC-Q

450 & 550

Science Technology & Society in a Changing World

3

C

BIOL-L

200

Environmental Biology

3

C

Social Sustainability (Choose one)

SOC-S

305

Populations & Human Ecology

3

C

SOC-S

308

Global Society

3

C

Economic Sustainability (Choose one)

ECON-E 363

Environmental & Natural Resources

3 C
POLS-Y 376

International Political Economy

3 C

Specialization Are (Choose one are and complete a minimum of 8 credit hours in that area.)

Environmental Sustainability Course List

BIOL-L 303

Field Biology

3 C
BIOL-L 343

Applied Conservation Biology

5 C

BIOL-L &

BIOL-L

473 &

474

Ecology &

Ecology Lab

3/2 C

BIOL-L

579

Community Ecology

3 C

CHEM-C

303

Environmental Chemistry

3 C

CHEM-C

305

Environmental Chemistry Seminar

1 C

CHEM-C

318

Spectrochemistry & Separations

3 C

CHEM-C

333

Experimental Environmental Chemistry

2 C

GEOG-G

213

Introduction to Economic Geography

3 C

GEOG-G

307

Biogeography

3 C

GEOG-G

315

Environmental Conservation

3 C

GEOG-G

338

Geographic Information Science

3 C

GEOG-G

432

Current Issues in Environmental Conservation

3 C

GEOG-G

438

Advanced Geographic Information Systems

3 C

GEOG-G

439

Seminar in Geographic Information

3 C

GEOL-G

400

Energy: Sources and Needs

3 C

MICR-M

420

Environmental Microbiology

5-6 C

PHYS-P

310

Environmental Physics

3 C

Social Sustainability Course List

REL-R 371

Religion, Ethics, and the Environment

3 C
POLS-Y 303

Formation of Public Policy

3 C
PSY-P 457

Topics in Psychology: Environmental Psychology & Sustainable Living

4 C
SOC-S 305

Populations & Human Ecology

3 C
SOC-S 308

Global Society

3 C

Economic Sustainability Course List

ECON-E 363

Environmental & Natural Resources

3 C
POLS-Y 376

International Political Economy

3 C
SOC-S 360

Topics in Social Policy

3 C
SOC-S 419

Social Movements and Collective Action

3 C
SOC-S 403

Industry, Labor, & Community

3 C

Internship (A max. of 2 credits of Internship may be applied toward specialization area)

COAS-S 399

Internship

1-2 C

Financial Aid

Students may not currently receive Financial Aid for the Sustainability Certificate.

Academic Bulletins

PDF Version

Click here for the PDF version.