Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.69
Liaison Deborah Steinberg
Submission Date Feb. 7, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Carnegie Mellon University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Abigail Owen
Assistant Teaching Professor
History Dept & Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research
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Does the institution offer at least one sustainability-focused major, degree program, or the equivalent for undergraduate students (I.e. an interdisciplinary academic program that concentrates on sustainability as an integrated concept)?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program:
Additional Major in Environmental Policy

A brief description of the undergraduate degree program:

The major in Environmental Policy (which is only offered as an additional major, not as a primary major) focuses attention on the interaction of humans with the environment from a multitude of perspectives. Human activities have had and continue to have large-scale and long-term consequences for environmental quality. Environmental quality relates to the quality of our daily lives, to our physical health, and to the future vitality and even survival of human society. The Additional Major in Environmental Policy is designed to provide students with the interdisciplinary background and skills necessary to understand environmental issues. It emphasizes three general areas: (1) humanities and the arts; (2) social sciences; and (3) natural science and technology
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The humanities emphasis concerns the ethical, legal, and historical basis of environmental concerns as well as their aesthetic manifestations. The social science area concentrates on the economic and political nature of environmental problems and possible policy options and responses. The natural science and technology focus includes the exploration of ecology as well as the role of technology as both problem creator and problem solver.


The website URL for the undergraduate degree program:
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
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A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
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The website URL for the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
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Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
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A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
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The website URL for the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
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The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program(s):

Undergraduate level degree programs:
Architecture
BXA Intercollege Degree Programs
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Scholars in Humanities and Sciences Program


Does the institution offer one or more sustainability-focused minors, concentrations or certificates for undergraduate students?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:
Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies

A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:

By creating a single program with clear learning goals and a flexible curriculum, the Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies improves intellectual cohesiveness and supports a cohort experience for students from all six undergraduate colleges of Carnegie Mellon. With a shared introductory course dedicated to social and scientific approaches for thinking about the environment, students in the minor can meet each other early in their undergraduate careers, and begin important conversations across disciplines during their time at CMU.

The required course for the Minor, “Introduction to Environmental Ideas” introduces concepts, themes, and skills intended for sophomore-level students. The course serves to introduce key concepts for Environmental Science, based in Ecology or Geoscience. The course is co-taught with one faculty from Dietrich College (at present: Abigail Owen) and one faculty from the Sciences, either Ecology or Geoscience.


The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
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A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
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The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
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Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused undergraduate minors, concentrations and certificates:

Minor in Science, Technology and Society
Minor in Architecture
Minor in Building Science and Design

Information about all undergraduate minors can be found in the course catalog: https://coursecatalog-new.web.cmu.edu/servicesandoptions/undergraduateoptions/#minorstext


Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.