Sustainability Studies Minor
Among the most critical societal challenges of the next 50 years are the rapidly growing and linked ecological and social crises arising from stresses on supplies of energy, water, food, and other natural resources. These crises are not simply about the adequacy of supply relative to demand, however; they are also the result of the complex social relations within and among societies, in the past, present, and future. Dealing with such socio-ecological problems therefore requires robust interdisciplinary collaborations among engineers, social scientists, and natural scientists. Moreover, in today’s rapidly-changing economy, college graduates will need to be flexible and adaptable, able to learn new knowledge and skills rapidly, and cognizant of the complex organization of society and technology. The minor in sustainability studies administered by Rachel Carson College takes a “learning by doing” approach to prepare students as change-makers equipped with professional conduct, analytic abilities, and practical know-how.
The pedagogical underpinnings of this minor are premised on relationships between classroom learning, character development, community engagement, and research and application. Broad interdisciplinarity and individual facility in both STEM and social sciences are critical elements at the center of the minor’s core courses. The curriculum is therefore structured to 1) facilitate interdisciplinary academic and research collaborations among faculty and students across multiple UC Santa Cruz divisions (drawing on but outside of the divisional structure) and in the off-campus community; 2) teach and train students in ecology and sustainability for regenerative design thinking, entrepreneurship and impact assessment in the built and natural environment; 3) integrate the use of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills and social science knowledge to these ends; and 4) meet undergraduate demand for a sustainability curriculum with focuses distinct from those offered in existing UCSC departments.
The program is designed to graduate students who can design and conduct interdisciplinary design research projects in issues and topics that are related to sustainability, including energy, food, water, the built environment, life-cycle analysis, waste disposal and recycling, coastal and marine conservation, and natural resource management. During the program, students will design and participate in service-learning projects in collaboration with on- and off-campus units, agencies, and organizations; and apply the knowledge and skills acquired through the minor.
No specific prior preparation or prerequisites are required for entry to the minor.
Program learning objectives are as follows:
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Demonstrate whole system awareness with the ability to identify and understand interconnectedness (intersecting, related and/or connected systems; synergies and rebound effects) and how all human-made designs rely upon and are embedded within nested ecological systems.
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Demonstrate awareness that a design is a system, that users interact with designs and that designs and users are embedded in higher level systems that include environmental ecosystems and the life they sustain.
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Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of whole life-cycle and closed-loop systems thinking as related to the impact of mitigation work (e.g., understanding of life-cycle burdens of design alternatives).
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Comprehend and apply understanding of the causes, features, data, complexities, policies, and practices giving rise to and needed to address a perceived crisis in the contemporary global socioecological context including the role of production, consumption, politics, policies, markets and human behavior in this crisis.
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Show proficiency in applying basic STEM skills needed for evaluation and design practices in real-world applications including quantitative and qualitative metrics for impact and risk assessments and a selection of software and hardware-specific skills (e.g.. computer animated design, 3D printing, Arduino programming etc.) Use cognizance of appropriate social science knowledge/methods and entrepreneurial practices to design and implement social enterprise and service learning projects in sustainability and ecological design and practice.
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Demonstrate the ability to forecast the near- and long-term costs and value of their work to the environment and society through the efficient use of resources (e.g., efficient for whom?) and socially/culturally responsible engagement with stakeholders.
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Show awareness of risks and opportunities related to changing environments on their work (e.g., extended costs, value, trade-offs, partnerships, regulations, policies, etc.).
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Demonstrate the ability to identify relevant cultural implications and influences in the context of their work (e.g., cultural expressions and sensitivities, services and goods procurement, heritage site appreciation) as well as equity awareness (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, class, etc.).
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Feel familiar with ways to create robust, dynamic, and resilient systems and ways to develop transdisciplinary stakeholder networks.
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Understand ethical implications relative to social impact of their work.
Course Requirements
Substitutes for any of the required courses must be approved by the program director.
Lower-Division Courses
One of the following courses
| ECE 80G
/CRSN 80G
| Creating and Financing a Sustainable Startup in the Global Economy | 5 |
| ECE 80H
/CRSN 80H
| Bending the Curve: Solutions to Climate Change | 5 |
| ECE 80S | Sustainability Engineering and Practice | 5 |
And two quarters of CRSN 55 ( 2 credits per quarter)
| CRSN 55 | Rachel Carson College: Service Learning Practicum | 2 |
Students shall complete two quarters of CRSN 55 (2 credits per quarter). CRSN 55 is offered all three quarters.
Upper-Division Courses
The following three courses are required
| CRSN 151A | Sustainability Praxis in the Natural and Built Environment | 5 |
| CRSN 151B | Innovation and Professionalization for Sustainability Designers, Engineers, and Entrepreneurs | 5 |
| CRSN 151C | Sustainability Laboratory Tools, Techniques, and Applications | 3 |
CRSN 151C will be offered all three quarters (fall, winter, and spring). This course can be repeated for credit as topics change.
Upper-Division Options
Option 1
The following course:
| CRSN 161 | Education for Sustainable Living Program | 5 |
CRSN 61 may be substituted for CRSN 161 if the student otherwise has sufficient upper-division credit (25 credits of required courses and electives). Students should discuss with the sustainability minor academic coordinator to determine if they have sufficient upper-division credits.
IDEASS Capstone
Plus three quarters (6 credits total) of CRSN 152.
CRSN 152 has four sections 01-04, each offering a different topic. The three quarters must cover three different topics. All four topics are offered fall, winter, spring annually.
This is considered the capstone for the minor. Students may substitute two breadth electives if they are not able to complete a capstone IDEASS project.
Breadth Requirement
Plus one 2-credit or one 5-credit breadth elective (see list of Breadth Electives course list below).
Option 2
Take a second quarter of CRSN 151C (the two quarters must cover different skill sets, e.g., 3D printing vs CAD drawing), a 5-credit breadth elective (see list of Breadth Elective courses below), and complete the IDEASS capstone (three quarters of CRSN 152; see Option 1 for more details).
Option 3
The following course:
| CRSN 161 | Education for Sustainable Living Program | 5 |
CRSN 61 may be substituted for CRSN 161 if the student otherwise has sufficient upper-division credit (25 credits of required courses and electives). Students should discuss with the sustainability minor academic coordinator to determine if they have sufficient upper-division credits.
Breadth Requirement
Plus two breadth electives for a minimum of 7 credits (either a 2-credit and a 5-credit course, or two 5-credit breadth electives at the student’s discretion). See Breadth Electives course list below.
Breadth Electives
The following list of breadth elective courses applies to all of the upper-division options above.
Breadth Electives
| ANTH 110K | Culture Through Food | 5 |
| ANTH 110W | Land and Waterscapes Entropology | 5 |
| ANTH 111 | Human Ecology | 5 |
| ANTH 135A | Cities | 5 |
| ANTH 137 | Consuming Culture | 5 |
| ANTH 146 | Anthropology and the Environment | 5 |
| ANTH 147 | Anthropology and the Anthropocene | 5 |
| ANTH 160 | Reproductive and Population Politics | 5 |
| ANTH 161 | The Anthropology of Food | 5 |
| ART 125 | Environmental Art Studio | 5 |
| CLTE 105 | The Making and Influencing of Environmental Policy | 5 |
| CMMU 133 | Making California: Landscapes, People, Politics, Economy | 5 |
| CMMU 149 | Political Economy of Food and Agriculture | 5 |
| CMMU 156 | Politics of Food and Health | 5 |
| CMMU 162 | Community Gardens and Social Change | 5 |
| CMMU 186 | Food and Agriculture Social Movements | 5 |
| CMPM 80L | Entrepreneurial Organization and Leadership | 5 |
| EART 107 | Remote Sensing of the Environment | 5 |
| EART 116 | Hydrology | 5 |
| EART 121 | The Atmosphere | 5 |
| EART 142 | Engineering Geology for Environmental Scientists | 5 |
| EART 146 | Groundwater | 5 |
| EART 191A | Climate Change Science and Policy | 5 |
| EART 191B | Planetary Capstone | 5 |
| EART 191C | Practical Geophysics | 5 |
| BIOE 107 | Ecology | 5 |
| BIOE 108 | Marine Ecology | 5 |
| BIOE 145 | Plant Ecology | 5 |
| BIOE 147 | Community Ecology | 5 |
| BIOE 155 | Freshwater Ecology | 5 |
| ECON 170 | Environmental Economics | 5 |
| ECON 171 | Natural Resource Economics | 5 |
| ECON 175 | Energy Economics | 5 |
| ECE 175 | Energy Generation and Control | 5 |
| ECE 175L | Energy Generation and Control Laboratory | 2 |
| ECE 176 | Energy Conservation and Control | 5 |
| ECE 176L | Energy Conversion and Control Laboratory | 2 |
| ECE 177 | Power Electronics | 5 |
| ECE 177L | Power Electronics Laboratory | 2 |
| ECE 180J | Advanced Renewable Energy Sources, Storage, and Smart Grids | 5 |
| ENVS 149
/LGST 149
| Environmental Law and Policy | 5 |
| ENVS 152
/POLI 170
| International Environmental Politics | 5 |
| FMST 124 | Technology, Science, and Race Across the Americas | 5 |
| FMST 133 | Science and the Body | 5 |
| HIS 101C | Oceans in World History | 5 |
| HIS 177 | Smoke, Smallpox, and the Sublime: Thinking about the Environment in the 19th Century | 5 |
| HIS 196F | Topics in European Environmental History | 5 |
| HAVC 141I | Be Here Now: Art, Land, Space | 5 |
| HAVC 141K | Activist Art Since 1960: Art, Technology, Activism | 5 |
| HAVC 143B | History of Urban Design | 5 |
| LALS 152 | Consumer Cultures Between the Americas | 5 |
| LGST 131 | Wildlife, Wilderness, and the Law | 5 |
| LGST 137 | International Environmental Law and Policy | 5 |
| LGST 159 | Property and the Law | 5 |
| METX 101 | Sources and Fates of Pollutants | 5 |
| METX 144 | Groundwater Contamination | 5 |
| OCEA 101 | The Marine Environment | 5 |
| OCEA 102 | Oceans and Climate: Past, Present, and Future | 5 |
| PHIL 125 | Philosophy of Science | 5 |
| POLI 132
/LGST 132
| California Water Law and Policy | 5 |
| POLI 174 | Global Political Ecology | 5 |
| PSYC 159E | Peace Psychology | 5 |
| SOCY115 | Green Governance | 5 |
| SOCY 119 | Sociology of Knowledge | 5 |
| SOCY 125 | Society and Nature | 5 |
| SOCY 130 | Sociology of Food | 5 |
| SOCY 132 | Sociology of Science and Technology | 5 |
| SOCY 167 | Development and Underdevelopment | 5 |
| SOCY 173 | Water | 5 |
| SOCY 177E | Eco-Metropolis: Research Seminar in Urban and Environmental Studies | 5 |
| SOCY 177G | Global Cities | 5 |
| SOCY 179 | Nature, Poverty, and Progress: Dilemmas of Development and Environment | 5 |
Substitutes for any of the required classes must be approved by the program director.