Introduction
Per the recommendations of the President’s New Academic Directions (NAD) Committee, a
proposal has been created for an Environmental and Sustainability Bachelor of Arts degree. The
NAD recommended offering an interdisciplinary undergraduate major and a strategic plan for
service learning and community outreach in sustainable development (Stevens, et al).
Furthermore, there is growing evidence that environmental issues are an important issue among
undergraduate students. During the development of this degree proposal, several points
regarding the content have surfaced:
i. Is there a specific type of learning that should be taught for a
comprehensive sustainability education?
ii. How do we develop a curriculum? Do we modify existing content or create
entirely new courses?
iii. What should our fundamental /introductory courses contain and do the
classes in the proposal meet those requirements?
This research attempts to answer these questions by providing information about sustainability
majors at our peer institutions. The universities that these questions are answered in regard to
are: The Ohio State University (OSU), Arizona State University (ASU), the University of
Kentucky (UK), and the University of South Dakota (USD).
Backgrounds of Peer Institutions’ Sustainability Degrees
The Ohio State University (OSU)
Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability (EEDS), B.S.
Contact:
James Ryan, Program Assistant
Ryan.934@osu.edu
eeds@osu.edu
The Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability (EEDS) major is a multidisciplinary degree program that focuses on the human dimensions of sustainability. This
cutting-edge major provides the core knowledge and skills students need to launch a career in
sustainability in the private, public or non-profit sectors (The Ohio State University ).
The goal of the EEDS major is to provide students with rigorous coursework and training in
sustainability to prepare them for the career path they choose. EEDS gives students that have a
passion and a purpose the tools they seek to become agents of change.
Arizona State University (ASU)
Sustainability, B.A.
Contact:
Lisa M. Murphy, Program Development Specialist
Phone: 480-727-6963
lisa.m.murphy@asu.ed
The B.A. program introduces students to the concept of sustainability in the context of realworld problems, exploring the interaction of environmental, economic, and social systems. This
degree is best suited to students inclined towards social sciences, humanities, planning, and
related fields (Arizona State University).
University of Kentucky (UK)
Environmental and Sustainability Studies, B.A.
Contact:
Kari Burchfield, Academic Coordinator and Data Analyst
Klburc2@uky.edu
The new degree represents the logical, and essential, evolution from department-specific
studies, through cross-disciplinary studies, to one that emphasizes sustainability within the
context of fundamental environmental concepts. The ENS Program will be among the first in the
nation to provide a transdisciplinary, holistic approach to understanding, and making changes
in, the relationship between humans and their environment (University of Kentucky, College of
Arts and Sciences).
University of South Dakota (USD)
Sustainability, B.S.
Contact:
Dr. Meghann Jarchow, Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences
(605) 677-3115
sustainability@usd.edu
www.usd.edu/sustainability
Sustainability focuses on using our resources intelligently so that the social and economic
demands of present and future generations may be fulfilled. Sustainable living ensures that we
will have the water, energy and materials to maintain our quality of life while protecting the
environment.
The concept of sustainability encompasses a wide range of topics and endeavors, including
economic development, population, food security, ecosystems, energy, industry, and conflict
resolution. Its unifying core is a commitment to development that can be sustained over time
while preserving the health of both human society and the environment (University of South
Dakota).
Learning Objectives
OSU
An EEDS graduate will contribute to your organization with strong skills in:

Written and oral communications – Students learn to write logically and clearly by
completing a host of writing assignments, including research reports, policy briefs and
persuasive communications. Students learn effective presentation skills by frequently
presenting ideas, arguments and analyses in class.

Critical thinking – Case studies and project-based learning are used to develop students’
critical thinking skills. Students learn concepts from economics, business, sociology,
engineering and environmental sciences to develop a core knowledge of sustainability.
They develop their critical thinking skills by applying these concepts to specific
sustainability issues in a variety of settings.

Quantitative methods – Students are trained in the quantitative tools that are needed to
assess and manage sustainability-related projects. Students receive training in data
analysis, sustainability metrics and reporting, environmental impact assessment,
engineering cost analysis, economic benefit-cost analysis, and assessment of business
risks and opportunities.

Leadership – Students develop their ability to manage change, facilitate development,
and think strategically through the multi-disciplinary approach that defines the EEDS
program. They acquire the skills needed to manage organizational and social change.
They learn to think holistically in terms of systems by better understanding how nature
works and how the economy, society and the environment interact. They communicate
with people who hold beliefs that are different from their own by interacting with other
EEDS students, who bring a wide spectrum of beliefs and attitudes about sustainability.
They learn how to think strategically by better understanding and articulating the value
of sustainability in terms of risks and opportunities for businesses, organizations and
communities.

Project development – EEDS students graduate with hands-on experience in developing
sustainability projects and initiatives. Each student completes a sustainability-related
internship with a company, organization, institution or public agency. The EEDS
capstone course provides students with the opportunity to develop and pitch their own
sustainability project and to receive feedback from outside experts in the field.

Global understanding – Students develop global awareness and understanding through
coursework that exposes them to global sustainability issues and an international study
abroad program that explores the connections between humans and the natural
environment in different parts of the world (The Ohio State University ).
ASU
Students will be adaptable, capable of both communicating and learning across a number of
disciplines, and have a strong orientation towards problem solving and quantitative methods.
In addition to the common learning outcomes, B.A. students will be able to:
 Understand the concepts and methods of environmental economics, sociology,
anthropology, environmental politics, ethics, design, and human geography relevant to
the sustainability of environmental resources and social institutions.
 Apply these concepts and methods to developing sustainable institutions for water, land,
air, and urban management at the local to global level. Evaluate the sustainability of
environmental institutions, legal frameworks, property rights, and culture (Arizona State
University).
Students will deepen their understanding of:
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Systems Dynamics: Social systems and environmental systems are linked. Changes in
any part of any system have multiple consequences or cascading effects that reach far
beyond the initial change. While some of the consequences of the decisions that we make
are intended, unintended consequences, both positive and negative, are common.
Scale: Sustainability problems exist across multiple spatial scales. Solving a problem at a
local level is a very different thing than solving a problem across international
boundaries. Local activities might have impacts on other regions and even on the global
scale.
Long Term Development: Sustainability hinges on an understanding of long term
consequences of the decisions that we make today. Solutions that work in the short term
may pose problems over a longer time frame. Challenges that seem small in the
present may magnify over time.
Tradeoffs: There is no one “solution” to address sustainability. Solving almost all
problems related to sustainability involves tradeoffs involving the socio-economic needs
of multiple stakeholder groups and environmental capacities. There are rarely perfect
solutions with no costs, and there are often winners and losers.
Collaboration and Participation: Sustainability problems are caused by, and affect,
multiple stakeholders with specific experiences, resources, perspectives and preferences.
Solving sustainability problems requires strong collaborations and negotiations among
scientists of all disciplines, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, farmers, business and
community leaders, and you (Arizona State University).
UK
Student Learning Outcomes for the E&SS B.A.:
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Development and utilization of critical thinking skills
Ability to work independently in the creation of new knowledge
Demonstration of excellence in communication, with an emphasis on writing
Factual academic knowledge in a broad range of environmental issues
Expertise in a specific area of environmental and sustainability studies
Understanding sustainability as the means to a healthy, productive, equitable quality of
life for future generations (University of Kentucky, College of Arts and Sciences).
USD
 An understanding of the fundamental scientific concepts that contribute to assessing the
sustainability of human activities (e.g., environmental impact and resource depletion)
and to evaluating sustainable technologies (e.g., energy and food production).
 Familiarity with the social, political, and economic context of sustainability issues.
 An understanding of how public policy can be employed to promote or inhibit social and
scientific solutions to sustainability-related problems.
 The ability to communicate proficiently about sustainability, in both written and oral
presentation (University of South Dakota).
Curriculum Development
Three out of the four universities used existing classes to fill the course listings and core
requirements. Only OSU noted a development of four new courses.
Introductory Classes or Core Class Requirements
OSU
This university requires two courses from each of the following specializations as the core
requirement. Then, the remaining sustainability requirements must come from one
specialization:

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Sustainability and Business: Study how and why businesses are moving to a
sustainability management approach and learn the tools needed to assess, manage and
lead sustainability in a business context.
Environmental Economics and Policy Analysis: Study how to measure the benefits of
ecosystem services and learn how to design and evaluate policies that address
environmental problems by accounting for the natural science and social dimensions of
economic activity.
Community Development: Study the theories and processes of community planning,
local economies, and social change. Learn the skills needed to implement positive social,

economic and environmental change while taking a holistic community approach and
encouraging citizen engagement.
International Development: Study the theory and practice of sustainable development in
an international setting and learn how to reduce long-term poverty by developing
approaches that promote improved, secure and sustainable livelihood strategies for
those whose basic survival depends directly on the natural environment.
ASU
ASU requires two introductory courses, Sustainable World and Sustainable Cities:
 SOS 110: Sustainable World lays the groundwork for understanding the fundamental
geological, biological, and social processes that gave rise to the world we live in and
continue to maintain its viability for human life.

SOS 111: Sustainable Cities introduces technological, social, and cultural principles
and innovations for cities under the notion of sustainability and sustainable
development within the global, regional, and local contexts.
UK
UK requires six classes for all concentrations of the major:
 ENS 201, Environmental & Sustainability Studies I: Humanities and Social Sciences
This new course exposes students to core ideas, theoretical concerns and practical
approaches to environmental studies framed within the disciplines of the humanities
and social sciences. Students will study human interactions with the environment,
both natural and built, and inter-human relations conditioned by local and global
environmental factors. Core ideas surveyed in this class include: the meaning of an
environmental philosophy, historical and cultural perspectives (Eastern and Western
philosophies) of nature, the social construction of nature, environmental justice,
environmental racism, local-global linkages, population, consumption and
commodity chains, and political ecology. Upon completion of this course students
will be able to:
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Explain the differences in historical, cultural, and philosophical
traditions towards the environment.
Analyze and critique a specific sustainability management
program instituted at the local level.
Evaluate the roles that stakeholder and societal diversity play in
environmental concerns.
Explain how and why environmental toxins and hazards
disproportionately affect people of color, low income
communities, women, and people of the Global South.
Analyze the link between local and global environmental concerns.
Apply knowledge gained through the course to reveal social,
cultural, gendered, racial and other dimensions of diversity to a
given environmental issue (such as a “commodity chain”).

ENS 202, Environmental & Sustainability Studies II: Natural Sciences and Policy
This second new course is an introduction to Natural Science and Policy as they
pertain to understanding environmental concepts and sustainability issues. The core
ideas include understanding how the ecological theories of population dynamics,
community structure, and ecosystem dynamics lay a scientific foundation to
understanding the nature of current environmental issues and how they might be
addressed individually and through governmental legislation. The course will provide
core concepts that will be utilized and developed further in the degree electives. The
New Course Form and Syllabus for ENS 202 is included in this document. Upon
completion of this course students will be able to:
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Understand basic ecological theory from a scientific perspective.
Explain the reasons for existing environmental problems.
Understand different approaches and strategies to solve existing
environmental problems.
Show how environmental policies require fundamental scientific
developments.
Understand the implications of environmental policies for the
public well-being.

ENG 205, Intermediate Writing
This nonfiction writing course will train students to improve their writing and critical
thinking skills in the context of environmental issues. The course could also
incorporate engagement activities, particularly through the study of Robinson Forest
in sections taught by Erik Reece. The underlying goal of making this a required
course is to train students to be able to communicate effectively in writing, a skill that
is particularly critical when describing environmental subjects. The students will also
be required to make oral presentations related to their writing assignments. The
course will further develop students’ critical thinking skills and ability to conduct
independent scholarly research. Upon completion of this course students will be able
to:
◊ Understand the origins and purposes of environmental writing.
◊ Write effective, clear, and concise descriptions of environmental
subjects.
◊ Communicate effectively, in written and oral form.
◊ Write literature reviews for specific, targeted audiences.
◊ Observe the importance of clear, factual writing in educating the
public.

ENS 300, Special Topics in Environmental & Sustainability Studies This course will
serve two primary purposes within the ENS B.A. Degree. It will provide a means of
introducing new courses that are needed within the Major Requirements within the
Degree Themes. The course will allow the introduction of new, important topics into
the degree program, possibly on a multi-year basis or more frequently.

PHI 336, Environmental Ethics
This course will provide an introduction to moral problems that arise in human
interaction with the natural environment. Upon completion of this course students
will be able to:
◊ Account for one's own connection to local, regional, and global
community.
◊ Identify and differentiate the historical and cultural
presuppositions underlying different ethical standpoints.
◊ Analyze ethical environmental issues as they arise in public policy
individual lifestyles.
◊ Formulate potential responses to these issues based on widely
respected ethical theories such as utilitarianism, deontology,
virtue ethics, social constructivism, and feminist critique.
◊ Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a range of such
responses.
◊ Evaluate different environmental strategies implemented on a
regional and a global scale
◊ Defend one's own view on these issues.

ENS 400, Capstone Course in Environmental and Sustainability Studies
ENS 400 will be the culmination of the students’ activities in the ENS Major. It
will be taught by a single instructor. This will be the course where the student’s
training, education, and engagement are applied to a specific project (activity or
study) of the student’s own choosing. It will create the transdisciplinary learning
that is the over-arching goal of the entire Program. The students will use the
skills they have developed, their fundamental knowledge of core concepts, and
Area expertise, to complete a Capstone Project.
USD
USD has four major fundamental classes:
 SUST 201 - Sustainability and Society
This course will examine what is meant by the term sustainability and will assess
how sustainability can be used as a framework to address complex societal issues
including our food systems, social justice, and sustainable development.

SUST 203 - Sustainability and Science
This course will examine how science seeks to answer questions and how it can
be used to address sustainability-related issues including climate change as well
as energy production and use.

SUST 489-Sustainability Capstone

POLS 226 - Introduction to Public Policy
Provides an introduction to the politics and processes of public policy making in
the U.S. through the study of one or more areas of public policy. The dynamics of
agenda setting, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation are explored
with an emphasis on particular cases (University of South Dakota).
Conclusion
While a nomenclature for the type of thinking sustainability education requires is unknown and
unexpressed, there are certain concepts that are encompassed by most of the peer institutes that
were researched:
 Global Understanding
 Connectivity and Systems
 Critical Thinking.
In order to be a leader in sustainability education, IU’s Environmental and Sustainability
Studies B.A. core classes must include the aforementioned concepts.
Bibliography
Arizona State University. Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability. n.d. 2013.
Geegan, Sarah. "A&S Offers New Major: BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies." 30
January 2013. University of Kentucky News . News Article. 2013.
Stevens, Phil, et al. "Report from Committee to develop Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Environmental and Sustainability Studies." 2012.
The Ohio State University . EEDS. 2013. 2013.
University of Kentucky, College of Arts and Sciences. Environmental and Sustainability Studies
. 2013. 2013.
University of South Dakota. Academic Catalog . 2013. 2013.