Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.10
Liaison Fortino Morales
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of California, Riverside
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Fortino Morales
Sustainability Officer
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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:
Sustainability Studies

A brief description of the undergraduate degree program:

Sustainability is broadly understood as the pursuit of a livable world for all human and non-human life at present and in the future. The Sustainability Studies Bachelor of Science degree offered by the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department investigates the historical and contemporary ways environments change, and are changed by, human activity. Focusing on a range of challenges to sustainability including climate change, air and water pollution, toxic contamination, energy demands, economic growth, agricultural production, and environmental injustice, the B.S. curriculum offers a comparative, interdisciplinary, transnational approach to the theories and practices of building a sustainable future. Courses in gender and sustainability, natural and earth sciences, engineering, health and medicine, cultural studies, policy, media, and social sciences prepare students to respond to challenges to local, regional, and global sustainability. Students will be trained in feminist paradigms and methodologies associated with intersectionality, dialogue, and relation. Through in-depth, engaging learning experiences, this major educates global citizens who will be prepared for careers in industry, health care, public service, policy advocacy, education, and social activism relevant to sustainability.


Website URL for the undergraduate degree program:
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering

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

Environmental engineering deals with the design and construction of processes and equipment intended to lessen the impact of man’s activities on the environment. With the growing importance of environmental quality, the environmental engineer plays a pivotal role in modern industrial activity. Environmental engineers are involved in a wide range of activities including the design of alternative fueled vehicles, the development of renewable energy sources, the design of equipment for solid waste collection and disposal, municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, air pollution control systems, and hazardous waste management. At UCR, the B.S. degree in Environmental Engineering allows students to concentrate on air and/or water quality.


Website URL for the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
Environmental Sciences

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

An interdisciplinary department within the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at UC Riverside with both undergraduate and graduate programs in environmental science. The Department seeks to expand knowledge of the physical, chemical, biological and human components of the Earth System, through cutting edge research, rigorous student training and service to the community. The Department consists of 16 faculty and 50 graduate students, postdocs and research staff working within and across the fields of soil sciences, aquatic sciences, microbial ecology, atmospheric sciences and environmental economics and policy.


Website URL for the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program(s):

Bioengineering (p129-130)
http://students673.ucr.edu/docsserver/registrar/UCR_Catalog_1819_web.pdf
The major in Bioengineering allows students to complete a B.S. degree that provides a basic education to enter the fields of bioengineering and biotechnology. Bioengineers develop processes and products that are important for health and treatment of diseases, new materials, protecting environments, and food production. They are employed by the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and environmental and food industries. For students interested in medicine, the bioengineering program provides the basic courses to prepare for application to medical schools.

Earth Sciences (p 247)
http://students673.ucr.edu/docsserver/registrar/UCR_Catalog_1819_web.pdf
Students who choose Earth Sciences Major study the past, present, and future of our Earth through the interdisciplinary study of its various systems. Earth Sciences majors choose between concentrations in Geosystems, Climate Change, Geophysics, and Geobiology, which are explored from a combination of lab-based, field based, and computational perspectives.

Geophysics
https://epsci.ucr.edu/undergraduate_programs#geology_major
The Geophysics option is for geology students who wish to learn more about geophysical theories and techniques, and how they can be used to solve geological problems.Students who choose the Geophysics major apply the principles and concepts of physics, mathematics, geology, and engineering to the study of the physical characteristics of the earth and other planets

Geology
https://epsci.ucr.edu/undergraduate_programs#geology_major
Students entering the General Geology option study the nature, distribution, age and origin of minerals, rocks and their contained fossils, placed within a global framework of the Earth as an evolving geologic system

Global Climate Change
https://epsci.ucr.edu/undergraduate_programs#geology_major
The Department offers four options within the Geology Major: General Geology, Geobiology, Global Climate Change, and Geophysics. Students who choose the Geology major study the structure, composition, processes and history of the Earth. In particular, the Geology major stresses features of the Earth's surface, and interactions between its atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, rocky crust and interior. The Global Climate Change option immerses students in the first principles of studying and interpreting the record of climate change. Students explore the sciences of climate change and its impact on society.

Global Studies (p 343)
http://students673.ucr.edu/docsserver/registrar/UCR_Catalog_1819_web.pdf
At UCR, Global Studies majors are expected to master general theoretical and historical literatures on global cultural and economic processes, while pursuing tailored expertise on a specific region or thematic area, such as global heath and the spread of disease, human rights and the politics of migration, global arts and media, global economic systems of trade and finance, or sustainability and environmental politics.

Media and Cultural Studies (p 407)
http://students673.ucr.edu/docsserver/registrar/UCR_Catalog_1819_web.pdf
The Media and Cultural Studies focuses an interdisciplinary lens on the analysis of the dynamic relationship between media and society with special emphasis on race, gender, class, sexuality, and ethnicity as well as political economy and globalization. Our students critically engage in major debates about social and environmental justice within both global and local contexts. They also learn through practicing creative interventions in media ecologies, for example, creative, documentary, and ethnographic film; photography; multimedia production; and journalism. Media literacies are essential for the making of engaged global citizens, capable of moving flexibly between the applied and the critical, the professional and scholarly, the empirical and the theoretical

Plant Biology
https://plantbiology.ucr.edu/
The Plant Biology major’s mission is to conduct cutting-edge research in plant biology to advance fundamental scientific knowledge and solve critical issues for the state of California, and to educate and train undergraduate students to become science professionals and informed global citizens. The department has strong programs in basic plant cell biology, responses of plants to environmental stresses, plant ecology, genetics, genomics, and evolution. These strengths in basic research complement applied research programs that use the traditional tools of plant science and the new technologies of genomics to meet the evolving needs of California's $27 billion agricultural industry. Development of new varieties and crop management strategies help address the challenges of climate change and new pest and disease.

Political Science/ International Affairs (p 466- 467)
http://students673.ucr.edu/docsserver/registrar/UCR_Catalog_1819_web.pdf
The Political Science/International Affairs major offers classes in the study of globalization, human rights, economic development, etc. that deal with themes of sustainability and environmental political thought.

Public Policy
https://spp.ucr.edu/undergraduate
Students who choose Track 4. Urban/Environmental Policy learn about issues such as sustainability of cities, climate change, air and water pollution, waste management, preserving wildlife and natural resources, and many others.


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:
Global Climate Change

A brief description of the undergraduate minor or concentration:

The Global Climate Change option immerses students in the first principles of studying and interpreting the record of climate change. Students explore the sciences of climate change and its impact on society.


Website URL for the undergraduate minor or concentration:
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration (2nd program):
Environmental Science

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

Environmental Sciences encompasses a wide range of disciplines merged together to understand the natural environment. The field includes interactions among the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the world and human institutions. The Environmental Sciences program is designed to prepare individuals for careers in business, industry, or government; or to pursue graduate studies in environmentally-related science, law, public health, or business.


Website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):
Geology

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

Students entering the General Geology option study the nature, distribution, age and origin of minerals, rocks and their contained fossils, placed within a global framework of the Earth as an evolving geologic system


Website URL for the undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused undergraduate minors and concentrations:

Geophysics
https://epsci.ucr.edu/undergraduate_programs#geology_major
The Geophysics option is for geology students who wish to learn more about geophysical theories and techniques, and how they can be used to solve geological problems. Students who choose the Geophysics major apply the principles and concepts of physics, mathematics, geology, and engineering to the study of the physical characteristics of the earth and other planets


Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Credit prepared by Michelle Baron and revised by Chelsea Lee.


Credit prepared by Michelle Baron and revised by Chelsea Lee.

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