A new minor in sustainability studies will be available this fall for UF students who want to try their hands at ecologically friendly practices in an academic setting.
The minor, offered through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is an interdisciplinary program spanning multiple colleges and departments in an effort to include as many majors as possible, said Les Thiele, UF political science professor and the minor's faculty adviser.
"It's not out of the question that we could have hundreds and hundreds, or even thousands, of students taking it as a minor," Thiele said.
The minor's requirements amount to an 18-credit-hour program that includes a gateway course, Facets of Sustainability, and an optional capstone course, Sustainability in Action, which has a service learning, internship or integrative research project component, according to the proposal prepared by a joint student-faculty committee.
The remaining credits can be earned from a list of courses divided into four clusters: Ethics, Culture and Human Behavior; Economics, Law and Policy; Production Systems and the Built Environment; and Ecology and Environmental Stewardship.
Students must complete one course from each cluster, according to the proposal.
Students can apply for the capstone course or substitute it with an individually obtained internship with approval from Thiele. Students who do not choose to take the capstone course must complete a fifth course from any of the clusters.
Those who have previously taken classes within the required clusters can apply those credits retroactively toward receiving the minor.
Internships and service-learning opportunities may be offered locally and on campus in a "town and gown" effort, Thiele said.
Although not directly involved with the minor's academic coordination, many of the internships will be provided through the Office of Sustainability, which will create a database of service-learning opportunities open to students taking the capstone course, said Dedee DeLongpre, the office's director.
Plans for sustainability's academic future at UF may include a graduate minor or certificate program, but anything beyond that seems unlikely.
This mindset is in contrast to the programs offered at Arizona State University, where students can earn a minor, major, graduate degree and doctorate degree in sustainability, DeLongpre said.
"Maybe it's not obvious that we're in real trouble as a human species and a society," she said. "The things that we rely on for life itself are in jeopardy. There aren't enough people telling that story."
Jade Ward, a UF psychology senior, said she thinks the minor is an amazing opportunity for students.
"While sustainability isn't a future career for me, it will be great to graduate with an official minor and incorporate what I have learned into a way of life," Ward said.
