| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.89 |
| Liaison | Julie Newman |
| Submission Date | Oct. 23, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AC-3: Undergraduate Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
MIT
Office of Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
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)?:
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program:
A brief description of the undergraduate degree program:
Those students who choose to major in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning earn a Bachelor of Science in Planning (SB), an interdisciplinary pre-professional major designed to prepare students for careers in both the public and private sectors. It also provides a sound foundation for students intending to do graduate work in law, public policy, economic development, urban design, management, and planning. Majors take a set of common core courses, complemented by further course work in one of three streams: urban and environmental policy and planning; urban society, history and politics or urban and regional public policy. The courses in the major teach students how the tools of economics, policy analysis, political science, and urban design can be used to solve social and environmental problems in the United States and abroad. In addition, students learn the skills and responsibilities of planners who seek to promote effective and equitable social change.
The Department of Urban Studies and Planning offers many possibilities for creating a concentration tailored to a student's needs and interests in the following categories.
Designing the Urban Environment
Environmental Policy
Urban History & Society
Policy Analysis and Urban Problems
International Development
Education
The website URL for the undergraduate degree program:
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
The Civil and Environmental Engineering degree is designed to prepare students to make an impact in solving the world’s greatest challenges. The program offers possibilities to select tracks of study for in-depth exploration of particular areas, or to focus on cross-cutting, multidisciplinary studies within and outside the department in emerging areas of civil and environmental engineering, broadly defined. The undergraduate program provides significant flexibility through a track structure that is consistent with the diverse nature of our disciplinary groups and responsive to students' interests in new educational offerings. The program is built around a solid foundation in mathematics, big data, sensing, and computing, and is complemented by laboratory subjects on data analysis. It includes a capstone subject that provides ample opportunities for students to solve complex problems. The program enables students to design individualized programs to meet particular educational objectives. For example, students interested in careers in fields such as sustainability, environmental science and engineering, microbiology, sustainable materials, geochemistry, energy resources, structural/architectural engineering, oceanography, or environmental law can design programs that provide both depth and breadth.
The website URL for the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
Course 2-A is a twist on the original Course 2 mechanical engineering degree, allowing a customizable curriculum in which students can hone in on their personal interests, such as robotics, entrepreneurship, energy, or sustainability.
Introduction to Course 2-A
As is often the case, the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering is leading the way. This time, it’s in the area of undergraduate education, with the newly revamped flexible degree program 2-A. One of the first mechanical engineering programs in the world to offer a customizable curriculum alongside a rigorous core in mechanical engineering and the ability to concentrate in one of several modern engineering areas, the Department’s 2-A program is garnering a lot of attention in the US and around the world.
The Mechanical Engineering core requirements for all three degree programs (2, 2-A, and 2-OE) are exactly the same in the sophomore year; changes start to occur in the junior year, when Course 2 students are required to take four specific courses, but Course 2-A students only two, allowing them to begin honing in on an area of focus for their remaining third-year credits. From there, Course 2-A students are given the flexibility to take 6 12-credit upper-level courses in a concentration area they choose in conjunction with their Course 2-A advisor.
The 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, concentrations or certificates for undergraduate students?:
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:
A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:
MIT's Environment and Sustainability minor launched in the fall of 2017.
The design of the Minor encompasses four focus areas—Earth System and Climate Science, Environmental Governance, Engineering for Sustainability, and Environmental History and Culture. Together with existing foundational subjects in ecological science and social perspectives on environment and sustainability, the four areas comprise a flexible multidisciplinary architecture in which students will be able to build both breadth and depth to complement their major area of study. Students must complete two core classes and can choose from 3 electives, either from one focus area described below or from across multiple focus areas.
Earth System and Environmental Science involves ecology, earth, and climate science, providing students with knowledge and understanding of the physical processes that govern our Earth and climate as well as the quantitative tools needed to analyze them.
Environmental Governance imparts knowledge of and expertise in laws and regulation, economics, policy and politics, and business and organizational strategies for environmental management, including the tools we have at our disposal to address environmental concerns.
Engineering for Sustainability addresses the critical importance of incorporating the principles of sustainability and industrial ecology in engineering teaching and practice, as well as forward-looking analysis of emerging technologies.
Environmental History and Culture leverages diverse humanities, arts, and social sciences to explore anthropogenic transformation of the environment through history and across geographies, demonstrate how the environment shapes society, and wrestle with how to re-position humankind within the global ecosystem.
The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
The Energy Studies Minor for undergraduates is an Institute-wide program that complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, economics, social science, and technology/engineering in context as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges. The Minor curriculum integrates these four domains in a thoroughly multidisciplinary program.
Completion of the Energy Studies Minor requires coursework in each of the four Core Curriculum categories listed below plus twenty-four Energy Elective units. Approved subjects in each category are listed inside this brochure and updated at web.mit.edu/energystudies.
The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
The Minor in Civil and Environmental Systems
The Civil and Environmental Systems minor is brand new for 2016-2017 and is unique because it combines principles and knowledge from across civil, environmental and systems engineering into a hyper-concentrated study focused on both the built and natural worlds.
The Minor in Civil and Environmental Systems consists of the following subjects:
1.011 Project Evaluation and Management
1.020 Principles of Energy and Management
1.022 Urban Networks
1.041 Transportation Systems Modeling
1.075 Water Resource Systems
1.101 Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering Design I
1.102 Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering Design II
The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused undergraduate minors, concentrations and certificates:
Undergraduate minor in Environmental Engineering Science; https://cee.mit.edu/undergraduate/minors/
Environmental Concentration in Chemical Engineering
https://cheme.mit.edu/10-eng-environmental/
Environmental and Toxicological Studies Concentration in Biological Engineering
http://be.mit.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Environmental_and_Toxicological_Studies.pdf
Environment core focus in Civil and Environmental Engineering
https://cee.mit.edu/undergraduate/undergraduate-degrees/
Environmental Policy Concentration in Urban Studies and Planning
http://dusp.mit.edu/degrees/undergraduate
Environmental Systems Concentration in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
https://eapsweb.mit.edu/majors/new-degree-chart
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.