Sustainability

You are here

Home › Sustainability › Education & Research › Sustainability-Related Courses at UMD

Sustainability-Related Courses at UMD

Sustainability is multidisciplinary in nature and is already a major theme of many courses across UMD’s colleges and departments. Making the changes necessary for UMD to operate more sustainably requires the unique contributions and creativity from students and faculty in all areas of study. Education is essential to UMD sustainability efforts, as outlined in the Energy Action Plan.

Liberal Education Requirement

Liberal education is a key component of UMD’s mission to prepare students to thrive as lifelong learners and globally engaged citizens. To that end, UMD requires that students take a set of courses outside of their concentration in order to ensure that their undergraduate education encompasses a broad range of historical and contemporary knowledge. Beginning in Fall 2012, sustainability will be included in the liberal education curriculum at UMD. Courses in this category focus on ways in which the science of the natural environment interacts with economic, social, and political forces in a local, national and/or global context. Below is a list of courses that relate to sustainability. Courses shaded in Black in the below list fulfill the sustainability category of the liberal arts curriculum.

Courses related to sustainability

As of September 2015, to read a course description, please use the Course Catalog Search

American Indian Studies

  • AMIN 2015 – Ojibwe History and Culture

Accounting

  • ACCT 3705 – Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Anthropology

  • ANTH 3888 – Anthropology of Food
  • ANTH 4500 – The New Commons
  • ANTH 4623 – Anthropology and Contemporary Human Problems
  • ANTH 4631 – Anthropology and the Environment
  • ANTH 4632 – Anthropology of Landscapes
  • ANTH 4633 – Ethnobotany
  • ANTH 4653 – Senior Seminar

Art and Design

  • ART 3305 – Sustainability Studio: Theory and Practice

Biology

  • BIOL 1001 – Biology and Society
  • BIO 1012 – General Bio II
  • BIO 1012 –  Evolution
  • BIOL 1010 – Home Horticulture
  • BIOL 4803 – Field Ecology
  • BIOL 5870 – Wetland Ecology

Chemical Engineering

  • CHE 1020 – Sustainable Engineered Systems
  • CHEM 1103 – Aspects of Chemistry
  • CHEM 1105 – From the Industrial Revolution to Green Chemistry
  • HE 1143 – Life Cycle Analysis
  • CHE 2001 – Introduction to Environmental Engineering
  • CHE 2111 – Materials and Energy Balances
  • CHE 2121 – Thermodynamics
  • CHEM 2212 – Environmental Chemistry
  • CHEM 2901 – Principles of Green Chemistry
  • CHE 3251 – Introduction to Pulp and Paper Process Technology
  • CHE 4501 – Chemical Engineering Design I
  • CHE 4603 – Biorenewable Resources

Chemistry

  • CHEM 1103 – Aspects of Chemistry
  • CHEM 1105 – From the Industrial Revolution to Green Chemistry
  • CHEM 2212 – Environmental Chemistry
  • CHEM 2212 – Principles of Green Chemistry

Civil Engineering

  • CE 1100 – Green Homes
  • CE 1100 – Geologic Principles for Civil Engineers
  • CE 3026 – Project Management
  • CE 4515 – Sustainable Design and Construction
  • CE 5515 – Sustainable Design and Construction

Communication

  • COMM 3405 – Health Campaigns
  • COMM 3620 – Controversy in the Boundary Waters

Cultural Studies

  • CST 1101 – Introduction to Cultural Studies
  • CST 4500 – The New Commons: Activism, Culture, History

Economics

  • ECON 3721 – Natural Resource and Energy Economics

Education

  • EDUC 1201 – Managing Planet Earth
  • EDUC 5230  - Indigenous Peoples and the Environment
  • EDUC 4234 – Science, Technology, and Society

Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • ECE 5501 – Energy Conversion Systems

Environmental Education

  • ENED 4555 – Foundations of Environmental Education
  • ENED 5325 – Environemtal Issues Investigation
  • ENED 4455/5565 – Young Children, Nature and Sustainability

Environment and Sustainability

  • ES 1001 – Introductory Seminar
  • ES 2095 – Special Topics (recently: Sustainable Agriculture Field Techniques)
  • ES 2803 – Issues in Global Ecology
  • ES 3100 – Sustainable Food Systems
  • ES 3500 – Ecological Economics
  • ES 4010 – Seminar
  • ES 4090 – Internship Preparation
  • ES 4097 – Internship

Environmental Science

  • ESCI 2210 – Science and Management of Environmental Systems
  • ESCI 3102 – Renewable Resources

Geography

  • GEOG 1202 – World Regional Geography
  • GEOG 1304 – Human Geography
  • GEOG 2306 – Environmental Conservation
  • GEOG 1414 – Physical Geography
  • GEOG 3334 – Urban Geography
  • GEOG 3461 – Geography of Global Resources
  • GEOG 3481 – Urban Ecology
  • GEOG 5573 – GIS in Regional Sustainability Applications

Geology

  • GEOL 1110 – Geology and Earth Systems
  • GEOL 1130 – Introduction to Environmental Science
  • GEOL 1610 – Oceanography

Health

  • HLTH 3101 – Community Health
  • HLTH 1100 – Health and Wellness Strategies for Life
  • HLTH 3500 – Environmental Health

Mechanical Engineering

  • ME 2211 – Thermodynamics

Management Studies

  • MGTS 4495 – Sustainable Management

Marketing

  • MKGT 3751 – Marketing Ethics

Philosophy

  • PHIL 3325 – Environmental Ethics

Physics

  • PHYS 1035 – Energy

Psychology

  • PSY 3211 – Group Dynamics

Social Work

  • SW 1210 – Global Issues

Sociology

  • SOC 4860 – Environmental Sociology

Spanish

  • SPAN 2550 – Globalization and Sustainability in Latin America

Urban and Regional Studies

  • URS 1001 – Introduction to Urban and Regional Studies

Water Resources Science

  • WRS 5101  – Water Policy

Women’s Studies

  • WS 3600 – Ecofeminist Theories and Practices
  • WS 3775 – Gender, Globalization, and Food

Study Abroad

NOTE:  If you know of a course at UMD with a sustainability focus that is missing from this list, please let us know, by e-mail us at sustain@d.umn.edu