May 08, 2026

2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog

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2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog

Sustainability Major, BA - Public Policy Concentration

The Public Policy Concentration within the Sustainability major prepares students to address complex environmental and social challenges through policy analysis, leadership, and interdisciplinary approaches. Students gain foundational knowledge in economics, statistics, ecology, and sustainability principles, while developing skills in policy design, data visualization, and effective communication. This concentration emphasizes the intersection of sustainability and governance, equipping graduates for careers in public administration, environmental policy, and sustainable development.

Prerequisites

Students who enter the program with a different natural science lab sequence may petition to waive the prerequisite natural lab science sequence listed below.

Required course:
HBS 101* - Solving Public Problems 3 Credit Hours
Choose one of the following lab sequences:
GEOG 131* - Weather, Climate, and Climate Change 4 Credit Hours
GEOG 132* - Landscapes and Environmental Change 4 Credit Hours
OR
EEPS 101* - The Dynamic Earth 4 Credit Hours
EEPS 103* - The Earth’s Environments 4 Credit Hours
OR
BIOL 113* - Introductory Plant Biology I 3 Credit Hours
BIOL 114* - Introductory Plant Biology II 3 Credit Hours
BIOL 115* - Introductory Plant Biology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
OR
BIOL 150* - Organismal and Ecological Biology 3 Credit Hours
BIOL 160* - Cellular and Molecular Biology 3 Credit Hours
BIOL 159* - Skills of Biological Investigation 2 Credit Hours

Major Requirements

Complete:

Choose one:
HBS 201 - Leading Effectively 3 Credit Hours
POLS 240 - Introduction to Public Administration and Public Policy 3 Credit Hours
Choose one:
AREC 270* - Economic Perspectives on Natural Resource and Environmental Issues 3 Credit Hours
ECON 201* - Introductory Economics: A Survey Course 4 Credit Hours
ECON 211* - Principles of Microeconomics 3 Credit Hours
Choose one:
MATH 115* - Statistical Reasoning 3 Credit Hours
STAT 201* - Introduction to Statistics 3 Credit Hours
Choose one:
BIOL 260 - Ecology 2 Credit Hours
GEOG 204* - Understanding Climate Change 3 Credit Hours
SNR 250* - Conservation 3 Credit Hours
Choose one:
GEOG 415* - Quantitative Methods in Geography 4 Credit Hours
POLS 301* - Research Methods I 3 Credit Hours

Complete

GEOG 202 - Effective Science Communication for Geography and Sustainability Professionals 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 206* - Sustainability Principles and Practices 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 216S - Sustainability Service-Learning 1 Credit Hours

Public Policy

Complete:
HBS 301 - Thinking Analytically 3 Credit Hours
HBS 302 - Visualizing and Communicating Policy Data 3 Credit Hours
Choose two additional courses:
HBS 303 - National Challenges 3 Credit Hours
HBS 304 - State and Local Challenges 3 Credit Hours
HBS 424 - Energy Markets and Economics 3 Credit Hours
HBS 443 - Energy Transitions 3 Credit Hours
HBS 461 - Tools for Economic Development 3 Credit Hours

Sustainability and Society

Select one course:

ANTH 315 - The African Diaspora 3 Credit Hours
EEB 306 - Ecology and Society 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 466 - Political Ecology 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 344 - Population Geography 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 345 - People and Environment 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 346* - Environmental Ethics 3 Credit Hours
REST 343* - Religion, Nature, and Ethics 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 342 - Globalization and Justice 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 360* - Environment and Resources 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 361* - Environmental Justice 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 463 - Community, Sustainability and Justice 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 465* - Social Values and the Environment 3 Credit Hours
SNR 320* - Human Dimensions of Natural Resources 3 Credit Hours

Sustainability and the Environment

Select one course:

EEB 330* - Field Botany 3 Credit Hours
EEB 419* - Global Change Ecology 3 Credit Hours
EEB 422 - Landscape Ecology 3 Credit Hours
EEB 425* - Communicating the Science of Climate Change Biology 3 Credit Hours
EEB 484 - Conservation Biology 3 Credit Hours
ESS 462* - Environmental Climatology 3 Credit Hours
FORS 335 - Principles of Urban Forestry 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 331* - Natural Hazards 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 435 - Biogeography 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 436 - Water Resources 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 439 - Plants, People, and Climate in North America 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 443 - Urban Ecology 3 Credit Hours
EEPS 454 - Environmental Restoration 3 Credit Hours
EEPS 455 - Environmental Geology 3 Credit Hours
EEPS 456 - Global Climate Change 3 Credit Hours
EEPS 464 - Water Sustainability and Climate 3 Credit Hours
EEPS 466 - Water and Air Pollution 3 Credit Hours
PLSC 415* - Agroecology 3 Credit Hours

Sustainability Policy and Development

Select one course:

ALEC 485* - Global Sustainable Development Goals 3 Credit Hours
AREC 314* - Environmental Law 3 Credit Hours
AREC 345 - Natural Resource Economics 3 Credit Hours
AREC 470 - Policy Analysis for Environmental and Natural Resource Management 3 Credit Hours
ECON 322 - The Global Economy: Trade and Development 3 Credit Hours
ECON 362 - Environmental and Natural Resource Policy 3 Credit Hours
ECON 463 - Environmental Economics 3 Credit Hours
FORS 422 - Forest and Wildland Resource Policy 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 449* - Geography of Transportation 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 346 - Energy, Governance, and Sustainability 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 440* - Global Perspectives on Urban Sustainability 3-6 Credit Hours
GEOG 441* - Cities as Economic Engines 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 442* - Urban Spaces and Urban Society 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 451* - The Global Economy 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 446 - City and Community Sustainability Planning 3 Credit Hours
POLS 350 - Sources of Political Change in the Global South: Coups, Climate, and Conflict 3 Credit Hours
SOCI 442 - Comparative Poverty and Development 3 Credit Hours
SNR 420* - International Natural Resource Issues 3 Credit Hours

Sustainability and Geospatial Science and Technologies

Select one course:

GEOG 311* - Geovisualization and Geographic Information Science 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 409 - GIS for Environmental and Socio-Economic Applications 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 411 - Intermediate Geographic Information Science 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 412 - Environmental Modeling and Geospatial Analysis 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 413 - Remote Sensing of the Environment 4 Credit Hours
GEOG 420* - GIS in the Community 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 425 - Human Dimension in GIScience 3 Credit Hours

Applied Sustainability

Choose one:
GEOG 490 - Internship 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 496* - Field Experience for Sustainability 3 Credit Hours
Complete:
GEOG 499 - Practicing Geography and Sustainability 3 Credit Hours
* Meets Volunteer Core Requirement.