Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.23
Liaison Josh Lasky
Submission Date March 5, 2020

STARS v2.2

George Washington University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Tara Scully
Director of the Sustainability Minor Program
Assistant Professor of Biology
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution offer at least one ​sustainability-focused​ major, degree, or certificate program for undergraduate students?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program:
Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies

A brief description of the undergraduate degree program:

he Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies is a multidisciplinary, science-based degree program that focuses on interactions between people and the natural and built environments. Housed in the Department of Geography, the program explores sustainability issues through the social sciences, humanities and physical and life sciences. Students learn to analyze broad-based environmental and development policy, both domestically and internationally. All environmental studies majors must complete a capstone course in the spring of their senior year. The capstone includes a group field project and an accompanying portfolio. Many environmental studies alumni go on to graduate school and to careers as educators, managers, public officials and lawyers.


Website URL for the undergraduate degree program:
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
B.S. in Public Health

A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):

The Bachelor of Science (BS) in Public Health program offers students the chance to acquire knowledge and skills in the critical component elements of public health. The ASPPH defines public health as a force that "protects and improves the health of individuals, families, communities, and populuations, locally and globally." In this context, the GW SPH undergraduate program is intended to convey technical detail and analytical thinking, but with a liberal arts philosophical base, to create professionals with the skills and commitment to improve the public's health. The curriculum prepares students for future practice and study, with courses such as Epidemiology, Principles of Health Education & Promotion, Health Policy, and more. Students develop their abilities in critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis of information, applying them to the historical and current trends in public health and health care delivery. The BS Public Health program hopes to matriculate students who will take their public health voice into diverse fields of professional practice, bringing an informed and evidence-based viewpoint to public health issues affecting society at large.


Website URL for the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
B.A. in Geography

A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):

Geography majors complete required courses in physical and human geography, techniques, nature and society as well as electives. Coursework spans continents and cultures, covering everything from environmental sustainability to city planning to computer-assisted map creation. All geography majors also complete a geography capstone course in the spring of their senior year, which includes a group field project and a portfolio.

The culminating experience for many undergraduates is the annual senior field trip to Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, Virginia. During the trip, students work in small groups to refine their final project ideas and conduct research. Students also enjoy getting out of the city and camping while connecting with other professors and fellow students.


Website URL for the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program(s):
Does the institution offer one or more sustainability-focused minors or concentrations for undergraduate students?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration:
Sustainability Minor

A brief description of the undergraduate minor or concentration:

he George Washington University is an institution where students come from all over the world to connect to diverse ideas, cultures, and ways of life. Our Sustainability Minor offers students a platform to examine the critical sustainability issues, and solutions, that affect us all. Students begin with Introduction to Sustainability, a team-taught course that equips students with a strong foundation in global sustainability principles and paradigms. Students build on this foundation by further Investigating sustainability through the lenses of ecosystems, economies, communities, and practices. The capstone experience provides students with a structure for applying what they’ve learned through a semester-long research, service, and/or internship project. Students will be empowered, to consider the competing perspectives of stakeholders, the unintended consequences of decisions, and how action at different levels and scales will affect systems and their component parts. Ultimately, students will gain the tools necessary to bring us closer to achieving our supreme goal: creating healthy and thriving resource systems for all.

Our program collaborates with key faculty and staff spanning a multitude of departments and disciplines across campus. We work closely with Planet Forward, the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, the Food Policy Institute and the Environmental and Energy Management Institute. We support these partners by encouraging students to enroll in their sustainability courses, participate in research and service, and engage in their events and activities. These partners support the minor by identifying students who are committed to sustainability and are interested in pursuing the minor.


Website URL for the undergraduate minor or concentration:
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration (2nd program):
B.S. Civil Engineering - Environmental Engineering Concentration

A brief description of the undergraduate minor or concentration (2nd program):

GW's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering, and the program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the ABET (http://www.abet.org/). Read more about our program objectives: https://www.cee.seas.gwu.edu/mission.

The first two years of the civil engineering curriculum establish a foundation in computers, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and the humanities and social sciences. This core is equivalent to those in other School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) majors, so switching to another engineering discipline is easy during this period, as is transferring from another SEAS discipline.

The third and fourth years narrow the focus to the professional education. In these years, studies include basic structural engineering, materials engineering, water resources, and environmental engineering.

Students majoring in civil engineering may also elect to study one of several options offered by the Department.

https://www.cee.seas.gwu.edu/programs-degrees (see bottom of the page where it says "Please click on this link to find the curriculum sheets and more detailed information about the requirements of the Civil Engineering Program."


Website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):
B.A. International Affairs - International Environmental Studies Concentration

A brief description of the undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):

This concentration offers a multidisciplinary exploration of international environmental challenges by examining such issues as sustainable development in relation to the environment, climate change, energy and natural resources, and environmental security. Graduates of this concentration should have the ability to analyze and understand international environmental challenges and their underlying causes, and the ways in which states, non-state actors, and the international community seek to address these challenges.


Website URL for the undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused undergraduate minors and concentrations:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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