Prescott College
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Given the urgency of developing more just, sustainable, and resilient communities, the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Community Development is designed to give students a home for their personal vision of how to design and implement measures that create or restore communities. The program defines community as humans and all other resident life forms of local ecosystems and the habitats that support all life. Students study the physical environment of their community, the values, practices, and needs of humans who reside there, and the influences of, and access points to, relevant government and private enterprises whose activities affect the well-being of the community.

Projects done throughout the program will distill from studies and be designed to address authentic needs in the student’s chosen community. As we work to provide an innovative educational experience that is more relevant and timely than ever, Prescott College offers graduate-level curricula through accelerated master’s degrees in Resilient and Sustainable Communities and Sustainable Food Systems

This undergraduate major degree requires that students select from over 80 courses from all around the college (from nearly every department) in the areas of "Ecological Communities/Systems", "Planning and Policy", "Human Social Systems", and "Community Engagement". These courses include several immersive field courses and many if not most are experiential in design. It also creates emphasis areas to accommodate student interest in areas titled, "Sustainable Food Systems", "Regenerative Ecological Design", "Place-based community-oriented initiatives - abroad" and "Place-based community-oriented initiatives - domestic"

Food System perspectives are emerging to ensure our food security and wellbeing in the face of inequities, the profound impact of human-induced climate change, and increased pressure on natural resources and organisms. Food systems encompass all of the elements and activities associated with what we eat and what nourishes us: growing, harvesting, processing, distributing, marketing, consuming and waste. Students learn how to produce food in their communities with an emphasis on localized, urban and suburban farming systems. Prescott College’s Sustainable Food Systems undergraduate degree program is grounded in the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations “10 Elements of Agroecology” because “...agroecology is the basis for evolving food systems that are equally strong in environmental, economic, social and agronomic dimensions.”

This degree explores food systems from agricultural processes, to marketplace dynamics, to the issues of food justice. Students engage in interdisciplinary study and practice, drawing on history, environmental studies and sciences, the humanities, as well as business and economics. Agroecology plays a central role in this degree.

The Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability Management is designed to give students a home for their personal vision of how to design and implement measures that facilitate business goals and enterprise while considering environmental concerns. The program supports the physical environment of their community, the values, practices, and needs of humans who reside there, and the influences of, and access points to, relevant government and private enterprises whose activities affect the well-being of the community. Projects done throughout the program will distill from studies and be designed to address authentic needs in the student’s community. Students may focus on rural or urban settings.

Environmental Studies: https://www.prescott.edu/environmental-studies-ba

In an age defined by climate change, increasing economic inequalities, and a fraying of the social fabric, societies around the world find themselves in need of innovative solutions to such challenges. By developing an understanding of energy economics, looking at other more sustainable cultural models, and applying ecological design principles to a range of contemporary challenges, students will be at the forefront of innovation in energy systems, planning and policy, and community leadership. Regenerative Ecological Design students learn skills in architecture, energy systems, and policy change that lead to more sustainable homes, workplaces, and communities.

The ESS concentration is for students seeking rigorous exploration of the natural systems and processes of the Earth and the role of humans who both depend on and influence these systems and processes. With a strong foundation in the natural sciences and a broad understanding of the policy implications of environmental science, students with this degree will be well prepared for graduate study in this field and for employment with both public agencies and private businesses working toward a more sustainable future. Students will become well informed about natural history and ecology, as a context in which to embed their scientific study. Students will also consider ethics and policy as they build strong, meaningful applications for scientific endeavor.

Conservation Biology is an interdisciplinary field that has developed rapidly to respond to a global crisis confronting biological diversity and the cultural diversity that depends upon it. Practitioners of Conservation Biology attempt to guide society toward the maintenance of organisms, landscapes, ecological processes, and natural and cultural systems, and toward sustainable management of environmental, human, and evolutionary resources. Conservation Biology represents shifting sets of interactions among three realms: values, policy, and science. Students in this field will become competent to conduct relevant research, make balanced value judgments, and take effective action on behalf of nature and the environment.