Degrees & Programs

Mission

Provide knowledge and mentoring that will transform students into leaders who apply systems thinking in order to envision and implement solutions towards sustainable development.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe social, environmental, and economic elements of sustainable human communities
2. Analyze the systemic nature of interrelationships among social, environmental, and economic elements of a thriving human community.
3. Apply knowledge through actions that promote a sustainable and balanced system between humans and the environment.

Contact:

For more information, contact any of the following faculty:

• Mark Van Steeter (vanstem@wou.edu)
• Shaun Huston (hustons@wou.edu)
• Mike McGlade, (mcgladm@wou.edu)

Sustainability Major (at least 60 credits)

Four year plan for a sample four-year graduation plan.

Foundations (16)

• BI 101 General Biology (4)
• GEOG 105 Nature & Society (4)
• GEOG 106 Sustainable World (4)
• PHL 255 Environmental Ethics (4)

Core (18) 

• COM 380 Environmental Communication (4)
• GEOG 380 Environmental Conservation (4)
• GEOG 425 Urban Planning and Policy (4)

            or EC 436 Environmental Economics and Public Policy (4)

• GEOG 470 Energy, Environment, and Society (4))
• PS 447 Environmental Politics and Policy (4)                                   

Research Tools (8)

Choose two:

• GEOG 321 Field Geography (4)
• GEOG 341 or ES 341 Geographic Information Systems (4)
• GEOG 384 Qualitative Research Methods (4)
• GEOG 385 Quantitative Research Methods (4)

Choose one area of concentration:

 Environment (choose 4)

•  BI 370 Humans and the Environment (4) 
• BI 461 Conservation Biology (4)
• GEOG 306 Geographies of Development (4)
• GEOG 331 Environmental Justice (4)
• GEOG 390 Global Climate Change (4)
• GEOG 391 Biogeography (4)
• GEOG 409 Practicum (3-12 credits)
• GEOG 412 Selected Topics (4)
• GEOG 480 Nature in the American West (4)
• SOC 350 Food and Hunger (4)
• PS 449 Environmental Values and Political Action (4)
• SOC 350 Food and Hunger (3-4)

Or

Business (choose 4)

• BA 362 Business Ethics (3)
• BA 370 Business and Society (3)
• EC 321 Public Choice Theory (4)
• EC 417 Development Economics (4)
• EC 436 Environmental Economics and Public Policy (4)*
• GEOG 409 Practicum (3-12 credits)
• GEOG 412 Selected Topics (4)

GEOG 418 International Trade & Transportation (4)

*pre-req of Econ 201 and 202

Capstone (4)

GEOG 499 (4)

Course substitutions are possible but only with advisor approval.
Potential courses include: BI 357 Ecology (4), BI 461 Conservation Biology (4), CH 371 Environmental Chemistry (3), ES 473 Environmental Geology (4), PS 409W Administrative Internship (3-12), PS 410W Political Science Internship (3-12), SOC 400 Globalization and Development (3), Study Abroad (School for Field Studies, Sea Semester, credit in GEOG 409 or 412, Internships, credit in GEOG 409 or 412).