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Sustainability Minor

The Sustainability Minor provides an interdisciplinary prospective on finding sustainable solutions to social and environmental problems. Sustainability is a discipline that combines leadership, environmental and social sciences, economics, social justice, and ethics to promote global well-being, meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

This minor is recommended for students who are developing expertise in other areas who would like to apply those skills in a “green” career, and students with a strong personal interest in sustainability.

Many courses in the minor are also BACRs, and electives that are compatible with a wide variety of majors. SUST 371 serves as a culminating experience providing practice in developing unique sustainability solutions.

Required Courses
SUST 100
& 100L		CONCEPTS IN SUSTAINABILITY
and CONCEPTS IN SUSTAINABILITY LAB		4
SUST 371EWU CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY3
or SUST 395 INTERNSHIP
or SUST 399 DIRECTED STUDY
or SUST 495 INTERNSHIP
or SUST 499 DIRECTED STUDY
Choose one of the following5
THE EARTH'S CLIMATE AND WEATHER
HOT EARTH: PEOPLE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
ENERGY, SOCIETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Choose one of the following5
GENDER, HEALTH AND MARGINALIZATION
INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH, WELLNESS AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING
THE CITY
ENERGY/WATER NEXUS
Required Elective–choose one upper-division elective–highly relevant to Sustainability–with the approval of a Sustainability faculty advisor.3
Total Credits20
Students who earn a Sustainability Minor from EWU should be able to:
  • demonstrate a personal and interdisciplinary perspective on sustainability and its application to problem solving;
  • demonstrate competence in evidence-based decision making;
  • experience scientific foundations of sustainability;
  • experience social foundations of sustainability;
  • use leadership and communication skills to effectively advocate for change within diverse communities.

Sustainability Courses

SUST 100. CONCEPTS IN SUSTAINABILITY. 3 Credits.

Pre-requisites: Corequisite: SUST 100L.
Satisfies: a BACR for natural science.
Introduces sustainability emphasizing ecosystems; environmental justice; and sustainable energy, food, water, and transportation systems. Examines scientific processes in sustainability, introduces techniques for quantifying impacts, and covers how to evaluate the scientific basis for sustainability claims. Companion course to SUST 100L.

SUST 100L. CONCEPTS IN SUSTAINABILITY LAB. 1 Credit.

Pre-requisites: Corequisite: SUST 100.
Companion lab to SUST 100.

SUST 120. SUSTAINABILITY AS A COLLABORATIVE EXPERIENCE. 1 Credit.

This course focuses on immersing students in sustainability issues at the urban-wildland interface in the Spokane region and to build student community through a two-day outdoor experience.

SUST 139. SPECIAL TOPICS IN SUSTAINABILITY. 2 Credits.

Notes: may be repeated with permission of advisor.
This course provides participants with an opportunity to evaluate their values surrounding topics in sustainability, and to learn ways to connect their values with their actions. Each term, a single topic will be explored through a mix of lectures, speakers, readings and film, or through a singular medium as determined by the instructor. Instructors for this course will rotate through discipline area expertise across the campus community and include relevant topics.

SUST 235. ENERGY/WATER NEXUS. 4 Credits.

Cross-listed: GEOS 235.
Satisfies: a BACR for social sciences.
Energy and water are intrinsically linked. Each is needed to extract, harness, and transport the other and modern society demands that both are readily available. This class will review water availability, use, classifications and spatiotemporal considerations. Students will learn about the history and current state of technology of energy systems. The water energy nexus and how it prevails in different systems will be discussed throughout the course.

SUST 300. WRITING FOR THE PROFESSIONS. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: ENGL 300, TCOM 300.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201.
This course focuses on analyzing and creating effective communication practices for professional writing. Communication projects such as proposing new research projects, creating and integrating data graphics into professional reports, and reporting data to recommend problem-based solutions through reports and presentations will be emphasized in this course.

SUST 336. GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE. 4 Credits.

Pre-requisites: MTHD 104 and any college-level PHYS or CHEM course.
This course focuses on the underlying science of climate change, greenhouse gas monitoring policies and protocols, and the use of current best practice methods to monitor greenhouse gas emissions in proposed and existing systems.

SUST 371. EWU CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY. 3 Credits.

Pre-requisites: SUST 100 and junior or above status, or permission of the instructor.
Using EWU as a living laboratory, students will learn how to develop proposals that seek to improve the sustainability of an organization’s operations. Students will work with EWU staff and faculty to identify issues and opportunities to improve campus sustainability. Using this information students will design and draft detailed proposals for sustainability focused improvement projects. At the end of the quarter students will present these proposals to campus stakeholders.

SUST 395. INTERNSHIP. 1-5 Credits.

Internship.

SUST 399. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Directed study.

SUST 435. LAND USE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. 3 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing. Corequisite: SUST 435L.
Describes and applies the tools and techniques of environmental land use planning and management, representing the integration of environmental research with the spatial analysis of complex data sets around land use management and decision-making. Companion course to SUST 435L.

SUST 435L. LAND USE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT LAB. 1 Credit.

Pre-requisites: junior standing. Corequisite: SUST 435.
Companion lab to SUST 435.

SUST 470. SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT DEVELOPMENT I: RESEARCH, PROSPECTUS AND LEADERSHIP. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: SUST 371.
The first in a three course series, wherein the advanced student of sustainability synthesizes interdisciplinary scholarship with community-focused, practical application. Working collaboratively with the instructor and community partner organizations, student-groups will relate the theories and methods of sustainability in the built, natural and social environments toward the resolution of unsustainable practices in public infrastructure, policies or institutions.

SUST 480. SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT DEVELOPMENT II: FIELD WORK, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS. 3 Credits.

Pre-requisites: SUST 470. Corequisite: SUST 480L.
The second in a three course series, wherein the advanced student of sustainability synthesizes interdisciplinary scholarship with community-focused, practical application. Working collaboratively with the instructor and community partner organizations, student-groups relate the theories and methods of sustainability in the built, natural, and social environments toward the resolution of unsustainable practices in public infrastructure, policies, or institutions. Companion course to SUST 480L.

SUST 480L. SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT DEVELOPMENT II: FIELD WORK, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS LAB. 2 Credits.

Pre-requisites: SUST 470. Corequisite: SUST 480.
Companion lab to SUST 480.

SUST 495. INTERNSHIP. 1-5 Credits.

Internship.

SUST 499. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Directed study.