2024-25 Edition

Global Sustainability, Minor

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.

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).

A. Introductory Course
Select one of the following:
Introduction to Earth System Science
Oceanography
The Atmosphere
Introduction to Global Climate Change
B. Introductory Course B
Select one of the following:
Tropical Biology: Race to Save the Tropics
Global Change Biology
Introduction to Ecology
From Organisms to Ecosystems
C. Introductory Course C
Select one of the following:
People, Cultures, and Environmental Sustainability
Global Issues in Anthropological Perspective
Global Cultures and Society
Introduction to International Relations
Introduction to Urban Environmental Health
Environmental Quality and Health
Introduction to Environmental Analysis and Design
Births, Deaths, and Migration
D. Electives
Select three courses from among a list of quarterly approved courses, with each elective course drawn from a different category. Two of the three courses must be upper-division and none of the three courses may overlap with selected introductory courses. As per university policy, students may overlap a maximum of two courses between their major and minor.
Category 1 - Social Practice (Ethics, Identity, Culture, Wellness, Education Business):
Topics in Gender/Sexuality
People, Cultures, and Environmental Sustainability
Global Issues in Anthropological Perspective
Introductory Topics in History
Writing About History
Colloquium
Applied Ethics
The Science and Practice of Compassion
Environmental Quality and Health
Natural Disasters
Foundations of Community Health
Health and Global Environmental Change
Category 2 - Governance and Allocation (Natural Resource Management, Economics, Development, Poverty Alleviation, Social Justice):
Economic Anthropology
Economics of the Environment
Economics of the Environment II
Economic Anthropology
Introduction to Urban Studies
Urban Sociology
Poverty and Change in Developing Countries
Environmental Sustainability I
Environmental Sustainability II
Water Resource Policy
Urban Design Principles
US and World Geography
Special Topics in Geography
Introduction to Environmental Analysis and Design
Births, Deaths, and Migration
Category 3- Physical Sciences (Earth System Science, Engineering, Computing):
Introduction to Earth System Science
Oceanography
The Atmosphere
Global Change Biology
Introduction to Global Climate Change
Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Other Catastrophes
Introduction to Modeling the Earth System
On Thin Ice: Climate Change and the Cryosphere
Air Pollution: From Urban Smog to Global Change
Land Interactions
Earth's Atmosphere
Sustainable Energy Systems
Sustainable Food and Water Systems
Consequences of Air Pollution
Ecosystem Ecology
Environmental Sustainability I
Environmental Sustainability II
Contemporary and Emerging Environmental Challenges
Environmental Processes
Water Resources Engineering
Sustainable Energy Systems
Air Pollution and Control
Global Disruption and Information Technology
Social Analysis of Computing
Category 4 - Biological Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Sciences):
Sustainable Landscaping: Design and Practices
Introduction to Ecology
From Organisms to Ecosystems
Processes in Ecology and Evolution
Ecosystem Ecology
Marine Biology
Physiological Plant Ecology
Conservation Biology
Limnology and Freshwater Biology
Mediterranean Ecosystems: Biodiversity and Conservation
Environmental Ethics
E. Methods
Select one of the following:
Field Biology
Introduction to Modeling the Earth System
Earth System Science Laboratory and Field Methods
Introduction to Environmental Data Science
Aquatic Field Methods
Methods II: Probability and Statistics
Introduction to Computational Problem Solving
Urban and Regional Planning
Introduction to Environmental Analysis and Design
Research Design
Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology
Probability and Statistics
and Probability and Statistics
and Probability and Statistics
F. Senior Capstone Sequence
BIO SCI 191A- 191B- 191CW Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability I
and Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability II
and Writing/Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability III
or
EARTHSS 190A- 190B- 190CW Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability I
and Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability II
and Writing/Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability III
or
SOCECOL 186A- 186B- 186CW Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability I
and Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability II
and Writing/Senior Seminar on Global Sustainability III