In 2006, UCCS established the minor in Sustainable Development to prepare students more fully for the challenges and obligations of the 21st Century. The success of higher education in the future will be judged increasingly by our ability to extend these lessons of sustainability and integrate them into broader society, a point highlighted by the United Nations’ naming 2005-2015 the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

Sustainable development, often defined as meeting today’s needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs, attends to three principal fields: environmental protection, social equity, and economic prosperity.

The interdisciplinary minor in Sustainable Development includes courses from a variety of departments and colleges at UCCS. Many of these emphasize experiential, project-based, and service learning. The minor is designed to foster a responsible citizenry at UCCS, which in turn contributes to sustainability efforts at local, regional, and national or international scales. Most broadly, the goal of the minor is to advance environmental protection, promote a fair and equitable society, and sustain a robust economy both locally and globally.

Academic Requirements

Students earning the minor in Sustainable Development must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours of coursework, 12 of which must be upper division. Students in the minor must choose one core course from two of the three general areas of environment, equity, and economy, and select at least one elective course from the third area (see requirements). Students must also complete a one-credit capstone course GES 480 - Sustainability Seminar, which functions as a structured independent study course culminating in a public presentation at the end-of-semester Sustainability Symposium.

Special topics courses, internships, independent studies, and other courses that are not listed in the minor may qualify for credit and will be evaluated case-by-case by the Director of the Sustainable Development Minor. Students may also count up to nine credit hours for the minor that overlap with and count toward a major. Such double counting is permitted for at most one major and one stand-alone minor pair. Coursework applied toward a minor may also be applied toward general education requirements.

For more information, please visit the UCCS Office of Sustainability