Principia College
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

"This interdisciplinary degree program provides students the opportunity to focus their intellectual inquiry on issues and problems related to local and global sustainability. The program emphasizes connections between society – including economy, production systems, and governance – and the natural environment. Students prepare for global citizenship by learning how to simultaneously maintain ecological and environmental health, create economic prosperity, and pursue social justice amid the complexities of the 21st century. In so doing, they join a community of peers, faculty and staff committed to seeking solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems in ways that “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (UN World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987)."

"Global Studies at Principia College is the study of contemporary issues that are truly global in scope, such as poverty, refugees, human trafficking, environmental degradation, climate change, systemic conflict, etc. The focus is both on the complex problems raised by these issues as well as their potential solutions. The program's purpose is to educate professionals who can communicate and work effectively across the boundaries of traditional bodies of knowledge; understand the interplay among local, national, regional, and global forces; and demonstrate the tools needed to solve complex global problems. Students with a major in Global Studies may choose to work for NGOs, government agencies or intergovernmental bodies tasked with addressing these problems on the ground, or they may prefer to become scholars working to create a more strategic understanding of complex global issues, developing solution landscapes, and deepening academic involvement."

"The academic structure of the Environmental Studies degree program allows students to customize their course of study to their own goals by enabling them to choose from a wide variety of courses and departments within four categories (Foundational Knowledge courses, Skills courses, Environmental and Economic Policy courses, Ecosystem Function courses). It is anticipated that environmental studies students will focus on a number of career areas including wildlife management, forest or forest resource management, environmental policy and law or environmental education."

"The minor requires six courses, including an introductory course, one elective chosen from each of four content spheres, and a culminating independent project. To be listed as an elective, a course must address at least one of the sustainability learning outcomes and must include a significant project or assignment looking at sustainability from the perspective of the course discipline." Content Spheres: "Electives in the Sociology, Ethics and Leadership sphere look at how human behavior and relations, ethical and theological values, and societal organization function as related to increasing sustainability. Electives in the Economy and Governance sphere deal with business practices and governance systems that lead to sustainable societies. Electives in the Environment and Natural Resources sphere focus on sustainable natural resource use and management, analyze environmental issues, and seek solutions to today’s resource needs while also conserving for future generations. Electives in the Production Systems and the Built Environment sphere examine how agriculture, architecture, industrial ecology, energy, and other systems of everyday life can be designed to reduce resource consumption and environmental damage, promote regenerative processes, encourage innovation, build community, and enhance quality of life."

"Students in the Sustainable Development concentration examine the complex, global issues involved in ending poverty and advancing human prosperity while protecting the environment, and in a way that is socially inclusive. Focusing on sustainability within the Global Studies context helps students to understand the social, cultural, and political aspects of these issues, that human well-being and environmental well-being are inextricably connected, and that these dynamics must be factored into lasting solutions to the world’s greatest challenges."

"In the social justice thematic area, students work to identify the social inequalities rooted in socio-economic status, gender, and ethnicity, and how these inequalities play out in different settings around the globe. Students seek an understanding of the root causes of these disparities and how to work effectively to eliminate them."

Global Studies Minor with a Concentration in Peace and Conflict http://catalog.principiacollege.edu/majors-minors/global-studies/minor/ "This concentration is for students interested in both the root causes of conflict as they appear in different forms around the world, and in strategies that could lead us toward lasting peace. Students selecting this concentration will learn about why nations go to war, the role of power in governmental interrelationships, and how security can be achieved." Environmental Studies minor http://catalog.principiacollege.edu/majors-minors/biology-natural-resources/minor-environmental-studies/ Educational Studies minor: Outdoor and Experiential Theory and Practice http://catalog.principiacollege.edu/majors-minors/educational-studies/minor-outdoor-experiential-theory-practice/