Sustainability Minor

The interdisciplinary minor in Sustainability is housed in the Liberal Studies Program housed in the College of Humanities: https://www.csun.edu/humanities/liberal-studies/sustainability-minor.

The minor offers a broad education in sustainability for many disciplines. Core courses educate students in sustainability issues and practices, and teach students about the economic, environmental and social factors considered in making decisions. Elective courses are chosen from an individual’s field of interest where the emphasis is on issues relating to sustainability. For more information about the minor and Liberal S

Advising Information:

Students interested in pursuing a minor in Sustainability should schedule an appointment with the Liberal Studies Program at (818) 677-3300. Their office is located in the Education Administration building, room 100.

For information regarding CSUN’s Liberal Studies program, please visit their website.

For more information on what you can do with a Sustainability Minor check out our flier and this website.

Minor Requirements:

A complete list of courses can be viewed here: Course List. At least one section of each of the core courses is currently offered each semester.

Core Courses- Complete all 3

SUST 300: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Sustainability (3) (GE: Social Sciences)
SUST 310: Best Practices in Sustainability (3) (GE: Lifelong Learning)
SUST 401: Applied Sustainability (3)

Electives – Select 3 of the following:

AFRS 488: Sustainability and Environmental Justice in African and African Diaspora Communities (3)
ANTH 346: Urban Anthropology (3) (P)
ANTH 430: Ecological Anthropology (3) (P)
ANTH 432: Environmental Justice and Health (3) (P)
ANTH 486: Interrogating Globalization: The Ethnography of Global Problems (3) (P)
BIOL 327: Ecology and People (3) (P) (GE: Lifelong Learning, Information Competence)
BIOL 533/592C: Conservation Biology/Field Studies in Biology (3/1) (P)
CAS 355: Environment, Development and Social Exclusion in Central America (3)
CHEM 541/L: Environmental Chemistry I/Lab (2/2) (P)
CHEM 542/L: Environmental Chemistry II/Lab (1/2) (P)
CMT 336/L: Fundamentals of Green Buildings (1/2) (P) (GE: Lifelong Learning, Information Competence)
ECON 300: Economic Principles and Problems (3) (P) (GE: Social Sciences)
ECON 360: Environmental Economics (3) (P) (GE: Social Sciences)
EOH 454: Environmental Health Law (3)
EOH 468: Air Pollution and Health (3) (P)
FCS 414: Senior Comprehensive Interior Design Project (3-3) (P)
FCS 496S: Sustainability in Family and Consumer Sciences (3) (P)
FCS 512: Sustainable Building and Interior Design (3)
FCS 516: Interior Design and the Building Process (3)
GEOG 111/L: Understanding Climate Change (3/1) (co-listed as SCI and SUST) (GE: Natural Sciences)
GEOG 316: Environmental Geography (3)
GEOG 351: Urban Geography (3) (Social Sciences) (P)
GEOG 364: Geography of World Ecosystems (2)
GEOG 416: Global Warming (3)
GEOG 444: Conservation (3) (P)
GEOG 459: Environmental Impact Studies (3) (P)
JS 151: Natural Environment and Judaism (1) section linked to RTM 151F
JS 318: Jewish Ethics and Society (3) (P) (GE: Social Sciences)
ME 122: Energy and Society (3) (GE: Lifelong Learning, Information Competence) (P)
ME 322: Principles of Recycling and Municipal Waste Management (3) (GE: Lifelong Learning)
ME 482: Alternative Energy Engineering I (3)
ME 483: Alternative Energy Engineering II (3) (P)
ME 485: Introduction to Environmental Engineering (3) (P)
MGT 466: Strategic Leadership of Sustainability (3) (P)
POLS 461: Environmental Policy (3)
POLS 464: Comparative Public Policy (3)
RS 370: Religion and Ecology (3) (GE: Arts and Humanities)
RTM 151F: Survival (2) section linked to JS 151 (1)
RTM 251: Recreation and the Natural Environment (3) (GE: Lifelong Learning, Information Competence)
RTM 351: Outdoor and Environmental Education (3)
RTM 481: Principles of Sustainable Tourism (3)
SCI 111/L: Understanding Climate Change (3/1) (co-listed as GEOG and SUST) (GE: Natural Sciences)
SUST 111/L: Understanding Climate Change (3/1) (co-listed as GEOG and SCI) (GE: Natural Sciences)
URBS 150: The Urban Scene (3) (GE: Social Sciences)
URBS 300: The Planning Idea (3) (P)
URBS 310: Growth and Development of Cities (3) (GE: Social Sciences)
URBS 400: Planning for the Natural and Built Environment (3) (P)
URBS 415: The California Environmental Quality Act for Urban Planners (3)
P = Course has prerequisite(s). Please refer to University Catalog for more information.
GE = Course satisfies corresponding General Education requirement(s)

About the Minor:

A minor in sustainability, comprising three core courses and three electives to be chosen from a list of existing courses that meet two or more SLOs, was developed and is housed in the College of Humanities under the interdisciplinary Liberal Studies program.  The minor and three core courses with the “SUST” designation were approved by the Educational Policies Committee (EPC) for implementation Fall 2011. The Minor in Sustainability was developed in 2009/10 and first offered in Fall 2011. Additional curriculum offerings in sustainability have been developed since then including a track within the Liberal Studies degree, and a path within General Education.