Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Sustainability Studies

This program is an exciting new undergraduate major that is interdisciplinary and environmentally-focused. Offered through the College of Professional Studies, the SUST program is the first such sustainability-themed bachelor's degree program in the Chicago area. Its overall goals include: engaging students in the pressing public policy concerns surrounding consumption, energy usage, and viable economic growth; fostering students' environmental literacy using rigorous, scholarly-based research in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities; exploring social justice issues on a range of fronts, including environmental justice, resources allocation, urban development, and social equity; and positioning Roosevelt University as a leader on issues of sustainability, which has become one of the critical social justice issues of the 21st century. Students graduate with a major in Sustainability Studies will have a truly interdisciplinary understanding of the varied dimensions of sustainability, both from a local and global perspective; will be fluent in articulating how sustainability issues relate to a matter of the environment, the economy, and social equity; and will demonstrate proficiency in critical thinking, reading, writing, and research skills. More specifically, students will learn how to: identify and explain the central sustainability problems of the 21st century in multiple arenas, including energy, transportation, food production, waste management, water availability, conservation, and general consumption; draw on a foundation of scientific, environmental, and quantitative literacy in order to understand and assess the science behind major sustainability problems, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the threats to natural resources; apply the scientific method and quantitative literacy skills to the study of natural and social ecosystems; recognize the local, national, and global social justice implications of resource allocation, food production, energy consumption, and waste production; understand the political processes and policy actors central to progress in sustainability; understand the importance of leadership as central to social change and technical innovation with respect to creating more sustainable communities; and apply knowledge about sustainability to their areas of personal interest and/or work professions. Graduates with training in sustainability and other environmental areas are well prepared for careers in a host of fields in natural science, social science, humanities, business and more.