Michigan Technological University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Students in the Sustainability Science and Society (SSS) major explore real world problems to understand the interaction of environmental, economic, and social systems. Students will gain the tools needed to study the causes of environmental degradation and help solve pressing environmental problems. The Sustainability Science and Society major will help students understand and respond to complicated issues and lead creation of a sustainable future, while preparing them for new jobs in the emerging green economy. Students in this major will develop the interdisciplinary social science knowledge and skills needed to address the world’s most significant environmental sustainability problems. Challenges in environmental sustainability involve significant social dimensions, so finding solutions and providing leadership on sustainability issues benefits from an interdisciplinary foundation in the social sciences. Students will learn that there’s no single technical solution to address sustainability. We need people from many disciplines, including social scientists, engineers, and natural and physical scientists to work toward a more sustainable future.

Green Campus Enterprise is an organization of students working to make the Michigan Tech campus more sustainable through both low and high profile projects. We are collaborating with University personnel on many of our projects and gaining professional experience and leadership skills. Green Campus Enterprise was created in fall, 2008 as a result of the Carbon Neutral Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) project. The Carbon Neutral AQIP project was initiated to improve the integration of sustainability into Michigan Tech's research and education. Under the AQIP project Green Campus is charged with estimating the University's carbon footprint and suggesting ways to reduce it. Green Campus works with the Executive Team and provides them with project progress reports at the end of each term. Determining the carbon footprint is instrumental in selecting energy reduction projects which will eventually reduce Michigan Tech's impact on the environment and save the University money. We have several teams working on projects that target various aspects of energy usage on campus. These include computing practices, lighting and heating in buildings and energy efficiency in the dorms and dining halls. Green Campus believes that the attitudes and opinions of students, faculty and staff need to be considered when implementing new ideas on campus. Successfully reducing Michigan Tech's carbon footprint is going to require a commitment from the entire campus. For this reason, we also have a team dedicated to "campus culture" to ensure all are aware of the importance of being more "green".

The Alternative Energy Enterprise is a multidisciplinary, student-run company out of the Chemical Engineering department at Michigan Tech. Our goal is to create or improve technologies to create a sustainable future where our energy needs are met via carbon-neutral sources, lowering our carbon footprint and allowing for energy independence in local communities. Starting out focusing on biofuels (a team which AEE is still proud to have actively running tests,) we have branched out to include geothermal heat, solar power, and sustainability, not only to follow the interests of our students, but to meet the growing demand for engineers and scientists with a familiarity with alternative energy technology. As we continue to grow, we are constantly on the look out for team members with new ideas for projects that would be a good fit for our enterprise and are willing to work with members on the projects they would like to see built by AEE. We welcome any and all majors to contact us or visit our meetings in room 211 of the Chemical Engineering building at 4pm on Tuesdays.

The Environmental Studies minor emphasizes the environmental aspects of public policy, sociology, anthropology, history, and ecology. This minor explores the social and political dimensions of contemporary environmental issues.

Sustainable Biomaterials: New Minor as of Fall 2019 - see pdf for more info Alternative Energy Technology: https://www.mtu.edu/chemical/undergraduate/minors/