Pictured | Cori Jones | Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability Studies | Bremen, Indiana (hometown)

Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability Studies

Collaborative Online Degree

This 100 percent online, consortial program is taught by IU South Bend, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, and IU Southeast. This consortial model allows you to take coursework from several campuses and learn from a wide range of faculty.

Many online support services are available to assist you as you progress through the program.

Sustainability studies is quickly becoming one of the most important fields as the global population faces increasingly pressing environmental challenges. As a student in the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability Studies, you study climate, energy, geography, history, sociology, and economics to understand the complex environmental problems of today. You learn modern conservation methods and techniques and adopt a transformative mindset so that you can become an effective agent of change. 

When you complete the program, you will be able to:

• Identify fundamental environmental, social, and economic concepts associated with sustainability.
• Synthesize historical and contemporary and scientific and ethical arguments to develop a systems approach to sustainable practices.
• Use skills of persuasion, audience analysis, and aesthetic expression to advance rhetoric and argument, media communications, public relations, and political/community organizing related to sustainability.
• Apply quantitative and qualitative tools and metrics to design innovative sustainable practices and assess their impact.
• Demonstrate professional skills of leadership and collaboration through experiential learning (civic engagement, service learning, research, or internship) in order to apply sustainable solutions in real-life settings.

Admissions

Students who meet the admission standards of their home campus will be admitted directly into the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability Studies major.

Degree Requirements (120 cr.)

Students complete the standard degree requirements (including general education requirements) of your campus and school of enrollment, plus the 42 hours of the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability Studies major requirements.

Students receiving the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability Studies must complete 120 total credit hours including:

• IU South Bend Campuswide General Education Curriculum (33 cr.)
• The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences additional requirements (14-23 cr.).
• Major Requirements  (42 cr.)
• Required Minor taken in any campus school or interdisciplinary program (15-18 cr.)
• Free Electives (balance of credits needed to equal 120 credit requirement)

• Courses required for the major must be completed with a grade of C- or higher.
• A minimum CGPA of 2.0 i required
• All courses are 3 credit hours unless otherwise noted

Major Requirements (42 cr.)

• SUST-C 301 Fundamentals of Sustainability Studies

Scientific Foundations of Sustainability (6-7 cr.)

Select one from the following:

• BIOL-L 100 Humans and the Biological World
• GEOG-G 107 Physical Systems of the Environment
• GEOG-G 108 Physical Systems of the Environment Laboratory (2 cr.)
• GEOG-G 110 Human Geography in a Changing World
• GEOL-G 101 Introduction to Earth Science
• GEOL-G 185 Global Environmental Change

Select two from the following:

• BIOL-L 325 Ecological Principles (4 cr.)
• BIOL-L 333 Environmental Science
• GEOL-G 400 Energy: Sources and Needs
• GEOL-G 476 Climate Change Science
• SUST-C 330 Scientific Foundations of Sustainability

Social and Behavioral Foundations of Sustainability (6 cr.)

Select two from the following:

• AAAD-A 301 Community Planning and Development
• GEOG-G 315 Environmental Conservation
• POLS-Y 308 Urban Politics
• POLS-Y 346 Politics in the Developing World
• SOC-S 308 Global Society
• SUST-C 340 Social and Behavioral Approaches to Sustainability 

Arts and Humanities and Sustainability (3 cr.)

• ENG-L 390 Children's Literature
• SUST-C 350 Sustainability in the Arts and Humanities
  Methods and Techniques for Sustainability Studies (6 cr.)

Methods and Techniques for Sustainability Studies (6 cr.)

Select two from the following:

• ECON-E 270 Introduction to Statistical Theory in Economics and Business
• GEOG-G 338 Geographic Information Systems
• GEOG-G 438 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
• SOC-S 261 Research Methods in Sociology
• SOC-S 262 Statistics for Sociology

Written Communication (3 cr.)

Select one from the following:

• ENG-W 230 Writing in the Sciences
• ENG-W 231 Professional Writing Skills
• ENG-W 234 Technical Report Writing
• ENG-W 250 Writing in Context
  VT: Writing Nature
• ENG-W 270 Argumentative Writing

Business and Economics of Sustainability (3 cr.)

Select one from the following:

• GEOG-G 314 Urban Geography
• GEOG-G 320 Population Geography
• GEOG-G 369 Geography of Food
• GEOG-G 478 Global Change, Food, and Farming Systems
• PHIL-P 306 Business Ethics
• SUST-C 360 Business and Economics of Sustainability

Sustainability Electives (6 cr.)

• Two additional courses selected from the list of eligible courses. Electives cannot be used to satisfy other BA in Sustainability requirements

Sustainability Capstone (3 cr.)

• SUST-C 490 Sustainability Practicum