Sustainability Studies Minor

The rapidly growing and linked ecological and social crises arising from stresses on supplies of energy, water, food, land use and other natural resources are among the most critical societal challenges of the next 50 years. These crises are not simply about the adequacy of supply relative to demand;  they are also the result of the complex social relations within and among societies, in the past, present, and future.  Sustainability is not a fixed state that can be achieved once and maintained. Creative solutions for socio-ecological problems require ever-evolving adaptive approaches and robust interdisciplinary collaborations among engineers, social scientists, economists, policy makers, artists and natural scientists. College graduates will need to be flexible and responsive,  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, a global perspective and practical know-how.  

The pedagogical underpinnings of this minor are anchored in design as a creative process and premised on relationships between classroom learning, character development, non-violent communication, community engagement, and  technical innovation through research and application. Broad interdisciplinarity and individual grounding in STEM,  social sciences and the arts 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,  art and mathematics (STEAM) 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 think past mere technology-based solutions to design and implement disruptive innovations that challenge the existing paradigm and invite regenerative systems that support our demands for energy, food, water, mobility and shelter by cultivating mutually beneficial relationships. Students are introduced to concepts and topics such as living-system and cradle-to-cradle design, life-cycle analysis, waste management, 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:

• 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. 

• 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.

• 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).

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Show awareness of risks and opportunities related to changing environments  and stakeholder interests on their work (e.g., extended costs, value, trade-offs, partnerships, regulations, policies, etc.).

• 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.).

• Feel familiar with ways to create robust, dynamic, and resilient systems and ways to develop transdisciplinary stakeholder networks.

• 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.

A minimum of 26 credits of CRSN courses and electives are required to complete the minor. Students should select upper-division courses based on remaining credits needed to satisfy the 26-credit minimum.

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

• ECE 80G/CRSN 80G is offered in the summer

• ECE 80H/CRSN 80H is offered in the fall

• ECE 80S/CRSN 80S is offered in the fall

And two quarters of CRSN 55 ( 2 credits per quarter)

CRSN 55	Rachel Carson College: Service Learning Practicum	2
CRSN 155	Rachel Carson College Sustainability Internship	2
CRSN 155S	Innovation & Sustainability for Global Impact Practicum	3

Students shall complete two quarters of CRSN 55 (2 credits per quarter). CRSN 55 is offered all three quarters; or CRSN 155S is offered for 3 credits during summer session; or CRSN 155 with permission.

Required Upper-Division Courses

The following three upper-division 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

Elective Upper-Division Courses

The following courses can be used to satisfy upper-division credits:

CRSN Electives

CRSN 151C	Sustainability Laboratory Tools, Techniques, and Applications	3
CRSN 155S	Innovation & Sustainability for Global Impact Practicum	3
CRSN 160	Developing Leadership to Facilitate Environmental Education	5
CRSN 161	Education for Sustainable Living Program	5

• These courses can be used to satisfy upper-division credits. 
• CRSN 151C will be offered all three quarters (fall, winter, and spring).  A 10-credit version of the course is proposed and has been approved by Global Engagement beginning summer 2022 for students interested in studying abroad. This course can be repeated for credit as topics change.
• If selecting to 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, and complete the IDEASS capstone (three quarters of CRSN 152).
• CRSN 61 may be substituted for CRSN 161 if the student otherwise has sufficient upper-division credit (26 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 Electives

ANTH 110E	Anthropology of Global Environmental Change	5
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
BIOE 107	Ecology	5
BIOE 108	Marine Ecology	5
BIOE 145	Plant Ecology	5
BIOE 155	Freshwater Ecology	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
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 191	Earth Sciences Capstone Seminar	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
ECON 170	Environmental Economics	5
ECON 171	Natural Resource Economics	5
ECON 175	Energy Economics	5
ENVS 110	Institutions, the Environment, and Economic Systems	5
ENVS 120	Conservation Biology	5
ENVS 121	Landscape Ecology	5
ENVS 130A	Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture	5
ENVS 130C	Field Experiences in Agroecology and Sustainable Food	5
ENVS 140	National Environmental Policy	5
ENVS 142	Sustainable Energy	5
ENVS 143	Sustainable Development: Economy, Policy, and Environment	5
ENVS 144 /POLI 179	Global Climate Change Politics	5
ENVS 145	Green Cities	5
ENVS 146	Water Quality: Policy, Regulation, and Management	5
ENVS 149 /LGST 149	Environmental Law and Policy	5
ENVS 151	Environmental Assessment	5
ENVS 152 /POLI 170	International Environmental Politics	5
ENVS 165	Sustainable Water Systems	5
ENVS 166	Agroecosystem Analysis and Watershed Management	5
FMST 124	Technology, Science, and Race Across the Americas	5
FMST 131	The Politics of Matter and the Matter of Politics	5
FMST 133	Science and the Body	5
HAVC 48	Climate Justice Now! Art, Activism, Environment Today	5
HAVC 141K	Activist Art Since 1960: Art, Technology, Activism	5
HAVC 143B	History of Urban Design	5
HIS 101C	Oceans in World History	5
HIS 101F	Global Environmental History	5
HIS 151	History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from Antiquity to the Enlightenment	5
HIS 196F	Topics in European Environmental History	5
LALS 80P	Environment and Society in Latin America	5
LALS 152	Consumer Cultures Between the Americas	5
LALS 163	The Amazon: Cultures and Perspectives	5
LGST 137	International Environmental Law and Policy	5
LGST 159	Property and the Law	5
METX 101	Sources and Fates of Pollutants	5
OCEA 101	The Marine Environment	5
OCEA 102	Oceans and Climate: Past, Present, and Future	5
POLI 114	Thinking Green: Politics, Philosophies, and Practices of Sustainability	5
POLI 132 /LGST 132	California Water Law and Policy	5
POLI 174	Global Political Ecology	5
PSYC 159E	Peace Psychology	5
SOCY 30A	Introduction to Global Information and Social Enterprise Studies	5
SOCY 119	Sociology of Knowledge	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

The list of breadth elective courses applies to all of the upper-division options above. This list is updated regularly, but course offerings change. Please consult course lists prior to each quarter to see what is being offered. Some of these courses require permission of the instructor to enroll). You can find the most updated listing of breadth electives here.

Capstone Options

Option 1 (6 credits)

• 152 IDEASS Quarter 1 (2 credits); and

• 152 IDEASS Quarter 2 (2 credits); and

• 152 IDEASS Quarter 3 (2 credits).

Option 2 (8-10 credits)

• Breadth elective; and

• CRSN 151C or breadth elective.

Option 3 (5 credits)

• CRSN 151C*, Leadership Training (3 credits); and

• CRSN 152-05, Leadership Training (2 credits).