The Sustainability Minor is available for students interested in learning current and best practices for planetary sustainability on an individual, institutional, regional and global level. This minor offers a broad education in sustainability from many perspectives. Core courses seek to educate students in the concepts of sustainability, the best practices in sustainability and to teach students to consider all factors: economic, environmental and social both in the short term and in the long term in making decisions. Elective courses are chosen from an individual’s field of interest where the emphasis is on issues relating to sustainability. The Minor complements many academic majors, and many of the courses offered within the program satisfy requirements or electives for other degree programs.
Students interested in declaring the Sustainability minor can email Dr. Sindhuja Bhakthavatsalam: sindhuja.bhakthavatsalam@csun.edu to schedule a virtual advisement appointment.
For information regarding CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability, please visit their website.
The Sustainability Minor consists of 3 Core Requirements (9 units):
- SUST 300, Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Sustainability (3) (GE: Social Sciences)
- SUST 310, Best Practices in Sustainability (3) (GE: Lifelong Learning)
- SUST 401, Best Practices in Sustainability (3) *Offered only in the Spring semester.
In addition, 9 units of Electives are required. Please choose from the following list:
- ANTH 430: Ecological Anthropology (3) (P)
- ANTH 432: Environmental Justice and health (3)
- ANTH 486: Interrogating Globalization: The Ethnography of Global Problems (3) (P)
- BIOL 327: Ecology and People (3) (P) (GE: Lifelong Learning, Information Competence)
- BIOL 456: Conserv Biol (3) (P)
- BIOL 492O: Field Study Con BIOL (1)
- CAS 355: Environment, Development and Social Exclusion in Central America (3)
- CHEM 541/L: Environmental Chemistry I/Lab (2/2) (P)
- CHEM 542/L: Environmental Chemistry II/Lab (1/2) (P)
- CM 336/L: Fundamentals of Green Buildings (1/2) (P) (GE: Lifelong Learning, Information Competence)
- ECON 360: Environmental Economics (3) (P) (GE: Social Sciences)
- EOH 454: Environmental Health Law (3)
- EOH 468: Air Pollution and Health (3) (P)
- FCS 414: Senior Comprehensive Interior Design Project (3-3) (P)
- FCS 496S: Sustainability in Family and Consumer Sciences (3) (P)
- FCS 512: Sustainable Building and Interior Design (3)
- GEOG 316: Environmental Geography (3)
- GEOG 351: Urban Geography (3) (GE: Social Sciences) (P)
- GEOG 364/L: Geography of World Ecosystems (3)
- GEOG 416: Global Warming (3) (P)
- JS 151: Natural Environment and Judaism (1) and *RTM 151F: Survival (2)
- ME 482: Alternative Energy Engineering I (3)
- ME 483: Alternative Energy Engineering II (3) (P)
- ME 485: Introduction to Environmental Engineering (3) (P)
- PHIL 240 or SUST 240 (3)
- POLS 461: Environmental Policy (3)
- POLS 464: Comparative Public Policy (3)
- RS 370: Religion and Ecology (3)
- RTM 151F: Survival (2)
- RTM 251: Recreation and the Natural Environment (3) (GE: Lifelong Learning, Information Competence)
- RTM 351: Outdoor and Environmental Education (3)
- RTM 481: Sustain Tourism
- SUST 111/L: Understanding Climate Change (3/1)
- URBS 150: The Urban Scene (3) (GE: Social Sciences)
- URBS 300: The Planning Idea (3) (P)
- URBS 310: Sust Dev. Cities (3)
- URBS 400: Planning for the Natural and Built Environment (3) (P)
- URBS 415: The California Environmental Quality Act for Urban Planners (3)
P = Course has prerequisite(s). Please refer to University Catalog for more information.
GE = Course satisfies corresponding General Education requirement(s)
ITALIC = Course is a pre-approved substitution. Please alert your advisor if italicized courses are taken so that the proper substitution can be processed during your last semester of attendance.
