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Program Description
The Intercollege Minor in Sustainability Leadership has been designed for students who wish to promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability in their personal and professional lives. Administered by a University-wide faculty committee, the program provides an opportunity for students in any academic major to develop key competencies that will be the foundation for their growth as sustainability leaders in their civic and professional endeavors. Students cultivate these sustainability leadership competencies in the context of thematic tracks that allow them to focus on particular topics within sustainability studies. The competencies cut across all thematic tracks so that all students in the minor will develop capabilities in:
- systems thinking
- application of sustainability concepts, metrics and analysis
- ethics
- self-knowledge and leadership
- change agency
- collaboration
While these competencies are developed in the context of a specific thematic track, they are transferrable to numerous settings and problems, and graduates of the Sustainability Leadership program will be able to apply them to ethical, social, business and civic issues that they encounter after leaving the University.
All students in the minor are required to take the introductory course, Foundations of Leadership in Sustainability (SUST 200). Within each thematic track, students select twelve credits related to the chosen theme in sustainability leadership. These must include three credits of approved leadership coursework (scholarly explorations of leadership concepts related to the chosen theme) and three credits that offer an immersive experience in sustainability (that is, an opportunity to engage, observe and learn in depth about sustainability challenges and solutions related to the student’s chosen theme). The final three credits for each student in the minor is the 400-level Sustainability Leadership Capstone experience. Capstone selection is in consultation with the student’s major adviser, the minor adviser or coordinator, and the course instructor. The capstone coursework must be relevant to the chosen theme, must have an approved capstone project that includes scholarly applied or theoretical research on a current issue in sustainability leadership, and must include a critical synthesis of the student’s minor curriculum and an articulation of its crosscutting themes.
Design for Sustainable Communities Track
This track allows students to investigate sustainability and leadership in community and urban planning; courses focus on both technical design and community development.
Educating for Sustainability Track
This track provides students with the opportunity to explore a variety of approaches to sustainability education and leadership in sustainability.
Humanistic Understanding of Sustainability Track
Through reading and analysis of significant sustainability-focused texts in philosophy, history, literature, and the social sciences students delve into the evolution and history of thinking on sustainability and leadership in sustainability.
Sustainability and Food Systems Track
Students in this track learn about the nature of food and sustainable food systems, and about sustainability policy and leadership issues related to food, including food security, sustainable production practices, distribution, and safety.
Applicants to the minor present a proposed plan of study for the chosen minor track. The proposed plan of study must be approved by the student’s major faculty adviser and by the minor adviser. Entrants to the minor are required to have declared a major field of study.
New Sustainability Leadership minor tracks will be developed over time, and students are encouraged to consult with the minor coordinator early in their program planning, in order to be aware of upcoming additions to the curriculum. In exceptional cases, and by written approval of the program coordinator and major adviser, students may propose a specialized track of their own design.
What is Sustainability Leadership?
Sustainability Leadership competencies cut across disciplines so that all students in the minor will develop capabilities in: systems thinking; application of sustainability concepts, metrics and analysis; ethics; self-knowledge and leadership; change agency; and collaboration. While these competencies are often developed in the context of particular disciplines, they are transferrable to numerous settings and problems. Graduates of the Sustainability Leadership program will be able to apply them to ethical, social, business and civic issues that they encounter after leaving the University.
You Might Like This Program If...
- You care about the state of the world.
- You want to first develop expertise in sustainability themes through engaged scholarship experience in and out of the classroom.
- You want to apply sustainability expertise to your own creative, innovative, and original capstone sustainability project.
- You want to improve your marketability and employability for sustainability-related positions upon graduation.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 18 |
Students may apply toward the minor no more than six credits from their major requirements and no more than six credits from their other minor requirements. The Sustainability Leadership Capstone credits may not be used simultaneously to fulfill capstone or thesis requirements for any other degree program. All minor programs must include at least six credits at the 400 level.
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| SUST 200 | Foundations of Leadership in Sustainability  | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Take the following 6 credits, or approved substitutions, in consultation with the minor adviser: | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following: | 3 | |
| Internship | ||
| Internship | ||
An approved substitution that provides an immersive sustainability experience | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following: | 3 | |
| Special Topics (or approved substitution that offers a capstone project in sustainability leadership) | ||
An approved substitution that offers a capstone project in sustainability leadership | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select a track (allowable courses in this area vary by Sustainability Leadership Thematic Track) | 9 | |
At least three credits from the Additional Courses or the Supporting Courses must be from outside the student’s major department.
Requirements for Sustainability Leadership Minor Thematic Tracks
Design for Sustainable Communities Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 6 credits from the following, or approved substitutions: | 6 | |
CE 410W | ||
| Community Development Concepts and Practice | ||
| Land Economics and Policy | ||
| Land Use Planning and Procedure | ||
CED 427 | ||
| Environmental Law | ||
| Urban Geography: A Global Perspective | ||
| Geographic Perspectives on Global Urbanization | ||
| Ecology, Economy, and Society | ||
| Property and the Global Environment | ||
| Built Environment and Culture: Examining the Modern City | ||
| Ecology and Plants I | ||
| Design IV: Expanded Use, Scale, and Context | ||
| Natural Resources Conservation and Community Sustainability | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following leadership courses or approved substitutions, in consultation with the SUSLD adviser: | 3 | |
| Leadership Practices: Power, Influences, and Impact | ||
| Integrative Energy and Environmental Design | ||
| Community, Local Knowledge, and Democracy | ||
| Community Structure, Processes and Capacity | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Educating for Sustainability Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 6 credits from the following, or approved substitutions: | 6 | |
| Teaching Methods for Agricultural and Environmental Laboratories | ||
| Global Agriculture Education | ||
| Methods of Teaching Agriculture and Environmental Science | ||
AEE 450 | ||
| Child Labor and Education in the Global Economy | ||
| Introduction to Philosophy of Education | ||
| Principles of Environmental Interpretation | ||
| Environmental Education Methods and Materials | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following leadership courses, or approved substitution, in consultation with the SUSLD adviser: | 3 | |
| Interpersonal Skills for Tomorrow's Leaders | ||
| Developing Youth Leadership through Organization and Program Structure | ||
| Leadership Development for Small Groups | ||
| Foundations in Leadership Development | ||
| Leadership Practices: Power, Influences, and Impact | ||
| Leadership Studies in Popular Film | ||
| Introduction to Educational Leadership | ||
| Ethical Leadership | ||
| Leadership and Group Dynamics in Recreation Services | ||
| Advanced Theory and Practice in Small Group Facilitation | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Humanistic Understanding of Sustainability Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 6 credits from the following, or approved substitutions: | 6 | |
| Cultures of Globalization | ||
| Ethics, Justice, and Rights in World Literature | ||
| Literature and the Natural World | ||
| Adventure Literature: Exploring the Chesapeake Bay | ||
| Adventure Literature: Exploring Cape Cod | ||
| The Beach: Exploring the Literature of the Atlantic Shore | ||
| Adventure Literature: Exploring the Literature of American Wilderness | ||
| Creative Writing and the Natural World | ||
| The American Renaissance | ||
| Introduction to U.S. Environmental History | ||
| Introduction to Global Environmental History | ||
| Introduction to U.S. Food History | ||
HIST 151 | ||
| American Environmental History | ||
| Nature and Environment | ||
| Environmental Philosophy | ||
| Seminar in Environmental Ethics | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following leadership courses, or approved substitution, in consultation with the SUSLD adviser: | 3 | |
| Conflict Resolution and Negotiation | ||
| Democratic Deliberation | ||
| Ethical Leadership | ||
PLSC 112 | ||
| Leadership Studies | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Sustainability and Food Systems Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 3 credits from the following food/nutrition courses, or approved substitutions: | 3 | |
| Physiology of Nutrition | ||
| Introductory Principles of Nutrition | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following food system courses, or approved substitutions: | 3 | |
| Economics of the Food System | ||
AGECO 134 | ||
| Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture | ||
| Environmental Factors and Their Effect on Your Food Supply | ||
| Introduction to U.S. Food History | ||
NUTR 430 | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following leadership courses, or approved substitution, in consultation with the SUSLD adviser: | 3 | |
| Interpersonal Skills for Tomorrow's Leaders | ||
| Leadership Practices: Power, Influences, and Impact | ||
| Ethical Leadership | ||
PLSC 112 | ||
| Leadership and Group Dynamics in Recreation Services | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university’s academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Carter A. Hunt
Associate Professor, Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management
801A Ford Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-863-9773
cah59@psu.edu
Erie
Sherri A. "Sam" Mason, Ph.D.
Director of Sustainability
4701 College Dr.
27 Hammermill
Erie PA 16563
814-898-7019
sam7201@psu.edu
Contact
University Park
DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION, PARK, AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
801 Ford Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-863-9773
cah59@psu.edu
https://sites.psu.edu/carterahunt/
Erie
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE
27 Hammermill
Erie, PA 16563
814-898-7019
bdsustainability@psu.edu
https://behrend.psu.edu/school-of-science/academic-programs/minors/sustainability-leadership