Sustainability Studies

Sustainability studies is an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary program that provides knowledge and skills in the emerging field of sustainability studies.

Overview

Sustainability studies investigates the means to maintain environmental health, create economic welfare and pursue social justice in a changing world. Students in this major will gain an understanding of the ways in which these three goals are interdependent and explore how they can best be pursued in the long term at local, national and global levels.

Coursework for the Major

Students are required to complete 33 credit hours of sustainability studies coursework; 15 of these 33 credits must be at the 3000-4000 level. All courses must be passed with grades of C or better and a minimum of 15 credit hours of sustainability studies courses must be completed at UF.

Required Coursework

• IDS 2154 Facets of Sustainability (3 credits)
• Three required CLAS core courses (9 credits)
• Six cluster courses, with at least one course chosen from each of the four clusters (18 credits)
• IDS 4942 Sustainability in Action, a capstone course (3 credits)

Core Courses (nine hours/three courses required)

Take one 2000-level core course from each of the three disciplinary groups:

Humanities

• AMH 2631 History of Sustainability
• CLA 2521 Classical Antiquity and Sustainability
• REL 2071 Religion and Sustainability

Natural Sciences

• BSC 2862 Global Change Ecology and Sustainability
• GLY 2038 Sustainability and the Changing Earth

Social Sciences

• ANT 2402 Anthropology of Sustainability
• POS 2032 Politics of Sustainability

Cluster Courses

Select six courses from the following clusters, with at least one course from each of the four clusters. Refer to the CLAS website to view courses accepted for each of the four clusters:

• Cluster A: Ethics, Culture and Human Behavior
• Cluster B: Economics, Law and Policy
• Cluster C: Production Systems and the Built Environment
• Cluster D: Ecology and Environmental Stewardship
  

Critical Tracking

To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college and major requirements. For degree requirements outside of the major, refer to CLAS Degree Requirements — Structure of a CLAS Degree.

Equivalent critical tracking courses as determined by the State of Florida Common Course Prerequisites may be used for transfer students.

Semester 1

• 2.0 UF GPA required
• 2.0 GPA required on all critical-tracking coursework Semesters 1-5
• Complete IDS 2154 Facets of Sustainability

Semester 2

• 2.5 UF GPA required
• Complete 1 CLAS core course (from the list above)
  Note: For semesters 2, 3 and 4, students must choose one CLAS core course for a total of three courses (one from each group) to be on track by the end of Semester 4.

Semester 3

• 2.75 UF GPA required
• Complete 1 additional CLAS core course

Semester 4

• 3.0 UF GPA required
• Complete 1 additional CLAS core course

Semester 5

• 3.0 UF GPA required
• Complete 1 additional course at the 3000 level or higher from one of the four clusters (A, B, C, or D)

Recommended Semester Plan

Students are expected to complete the writing and math requirement while in the process of taking the courses below. Students are also expected to complete the general education international (GE-N) and diversity (GE-D) requirements concurrently with another general education requirement (typically, GE-C, H or S).

* Depending on the course(s) taken, the CLAS core courses and cluster courses may also meet the general education biological sciences, humanities, international, physical sciences, or social and behavioral sciences requirements. If a general education requirement is met through a core or cluster course, the student may substitute elective credit where the GE requirement is listed.