Global Sustainability

Overview

Valerie Olson, Department of Anthropology, Co-Chair of the Minor in Global Sustainability Advisory Committee
Matthew Bracken, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Co-Chair of the Minor in Global Sustainability Advisory Committee
Jessica Pratt, Associate Professor of Teaching in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Coordinator of the Minor's Capstone Course Sequence
321 Steinhaus Hall
949-824-6006
Fax 949-824-2181
http://environment.uci.edu/degree/minor-gs

The interdisciplinary minor in Global Sustainability prepares students to consider the challenges of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, with emphasis upon addressing the extreme poverty that afflicts at least 20 percent of the world’s current population. The Earth is a complex system comprised of interactions between its various physical, biological, social, and political components, and human populations have initiated many global trends that cannot be sustained indefinitely. Some of these trends are physiochemical or biological in nature (the depletion of fossil fuels, the accumulation of ozone-depleting chemicals, the destruction of wildlife habitat, and high rates of species extinction), while others are social and political (accelerating urbanization, population displacement, environmental injustices, and regional economic imbalance).

As a result, the vitality of the Earth depends upon interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches that draw on the strengths of multiple fields. In this program, students will become aware of the main drivers of climate change, both natural and human-induced, the intrinsic as well as the resource values of species, ecosystems, and communities, and how the loss of cultural diversity and a growing income gap between nations leads to additional pressure for biological resource exploitation. Students will become familiar with foundational sustainability concepts in social practice, governance and allocation, the physical sciences, and the biological sciences to better understand and effectively deal with contemporary environmental and social equity crises.

The minor is open to all UCI students. Courses in addition to those already approved for the minor (below) may be petitioned to the program.

Requirements

Students are required to complete three introductory courses (12 units), three electives (12 units), one methods course (4 units), and three quarters of a senior capstone sequence (8 units).