The goal of the Minor in Sustainability is to offer Portland State undergraduate students an understanding of the multidisciplinary concepts and practices integral to sustainable living. The minor has two primary components: the first is to educate the students in a balanced and rigorous manner about the various concepts, theories and methods related to sustainability, and the second is to have the students work with a community partner on a project applying sustainability concepts and measures.
Requirements
To obtain a minor in sustainability a student must complete at least 30 credits (at least 15 of which must be taken in residence at PSU), to include the following:
Courses
- ESM 150 Orientation to Environmental Sciences and Management (1 credit)
- UnSt 224 Environmental Sustainability (4 credits)
- ESM 222 Applied Environmental Studies: Policy Consideration (4 credits)
- Upper-division credits (15-16 credits)
- For the upper-division credits, students must take a total of four courses, including at least one course from each of the following categories and one additional course from any of the categories.
Economics and Business Issues
- Ec 332U Economics of Environmental Issues (4 credits)
- Ec 444 Economics of Green Power (4 credits)
- Ec 433/ESM 433 Advanced Natural Resource Economics (4 credits)
- Ec 434/ESM 434 Business Environmental Management Economics (4 credits)
- Ec 443/ESM 443 Global Environmental Economics (4 credits)
- USP 490 Green Economics and Sustainable Development (3 credits)
- Ec 430 Resource and Environmental Economics (4 credits)
- ESM 357U Business Solutions for Environmental Problems (4 credits)
Social and Management Issues
- Arch 367U Fundamentals of Environmental Design (4 credits)
- Geog 340U Global Water Issues and Sustainability (4 credits)
- Geog 345U Resource Management (4 credits)
- Geog 346U World Population and Food Supply (4 credits)
- Geog 347U Environmental Issues and Action (4 credits)
- Geog 442 Sustainable Cities (4 credits)
- Hst 339U The Environment and History (4 credits)
- Phl 310U Environmental Ethics (4 credits)
- PS 319U Politics of the Environment (4 credits)
- Sci 321U Energy and Society I (4 credits)
- Sci 322U Energy and Society II (4 credits)
- Soc 341U Population Trends and Policy (4 credits)
- Soc 465 Environmental Sociology (4 credits)
- SySc 334U Modeling Social-Ecological Systems (4 credits)
- USP 313U Urban Environmental Issues (4 credits)
- USP 325U Community and the Built Environment (4 credits)
- USP 419/Soc 441 Population and Society (4 credits)
Environmental and Ecological Issues
- ESM 355U Understanding Environmental Sustainability I (4 credits)
- ESM 356U Understanding Environmental Sustainability II (4 credits)
- ESM 420 Ecological Toxicology (4 credits)
- ESM 424 Wetland Ecology (4 credits)
- ESM 426 Ecology of Streams and Rivers (4 credits)
- ESM 428 Urban Ecology (4 credits)
- ESM 445 Old-growth Forest Ecology (4 credits)
- ESM 460/CE 488 Air Quality (4 credits)
- Sci 335U Water in the Environment I (4 credits)
- Sci 336U Water in the Environment II (4 credits)
- Sci 352U Science and Policy of Climate Change (4 credits)
Capstone or Internship
In addition, students must choose an appropriate capstone or internship:
- UnSt 421 Capstone (6 credits)
- ESM 450 Case Studies in Environmental Problem Solving (4-6 credits)
- ESM 404 Cooperative Ed/Internship ESM Sustainability Minor (6 credits)
Total Credit Hours: 30-31
Courses taken under the undifferentiated grading option (pass/no pass) will not be accepted toward fulfilling minor requirements. Courses with omnibus numbers (401, 404, 405, 406, 407) are not allowed for the minor. Additional courses may be required as prerequisites. Only grades of C- or above count toward satisfying the minor requirement.
Note: Students earning the minor in Sustainability may not also earn the Sustainable Urban Development minor offered by the Nohad Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning unless the courses presented for the minors differ by at least 12 credits.