University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

One of the greatest challenges facing the 21st-century world is jointly sustaining the environment, as well as human health and well-being. The sustainability studies minor provides students from across the University with a unique opportunity to address this sustainability challenge. Students will explore the fundamental ecological, social, ethical, political, and economic forces that influence the long-term quality and viability of human society and the natural environment. The introductory core course provides a conceptual overview of various models for understanding sustainability, and uses case studies to demonstrate the challenges of putting sustainability into practice. Additional electives are chosen from courses that explore multiple disciplinary perspectives related to sustainability. Finally, the capstone experience allows students to synthesize and apply their knowledge to real sustainability problems. For this minor, students must complete 6 credits of required courses for the core and the capstone, and 9-12 restricted electives, for a total of 15-18 credits.
https://onestop2.umn.edu//pcas/viewCatalogProgram.do?programID=2945&strm=1189

The University is leading by example by cutting its greenhouse gas emissions, and we are happy to announce that as of 2020, the Twin Cities campus has reached a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2008. This achievement comes one year ahead of the date for this milestone established in the campus’ 2011 climate action plan. Achieving this goal early would not have been possible without the hard work of staff across the University. "Staff in a variety of departments across the University made reaching this milestone a possibility with their commitment and consistent work to make the University more sustainable," says Bill Paulus, Associate Vice President of Facilities Management. "From Planning, Space, and Real Estate's campus planning efforts to Capital Project Management's B3 implementation to Energy Management's energy conservation program and every individual doing their part, the commitment to the University's path to carbon neutrality is evident across the board."

The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) bring together community and University knowledge and resources to drive sustainability in four focus areas: agriculture and food systems, clean energy, natural resources and resilient communities. We support local projects through five regional boards made up of community members and University faculty and staff. We also support multi-region food systems work across Greater Minnesota and provide energy programming through the Clean Energy Resource Teams.