University of St. Thomas
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Environmental Studies degree provides students with a broad interdisciplinary background as well as a basis for career specialization and practical application and problem solving. The program is based upon an investigation both of the Earth’s environment and the wide variety of human interactions with that environment.

The major has three basic objectives:
1. to transmit an understanding of environmental problems and their complexities,
2. to motivate productive responses to those problems, both vocational and avocational, based on that understanding, and
3. to foster the development of critical, inquiring minds.

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary science program focused on solving environmental problems that lie at the interface between biology, chemistry, and geology. Students participate in one of three concentrations (biology, chemistry, or geology) leading to the Bachelor of Science degree, each of which contains substantial coursework from each of these disciplines. This program provides excellent preparation for students wishing to pursue graduate degrees in conservation biology, environmental science, earth system science, or other environmentally-focused programs of study in the sciences. It also provides solid preparation for students planning other types of environmental careers, such as environmental consulting, law, policy, or research.

Justice and peace studies is an interdisciplinary department designed to prepare students to be responsible critics of contemporary societies and effective agents for positive social transformation. The program offers a general major or minor, along with three optional tracks for major concentrations:

The Conflict Transformation concentration prepares students to analyze the dynamics and identify transformative opportunities in conflicts at multiple levels, from interpersonal to international, while developing practical skills in mediation and conflict resolution through partnerships with local practitioners and organizations that exemplify best practices in the field.

The Public Policy Analysis and Advocacy concentration develops social analysis skills for public policy formation, evidence-based research and argumentation, as well as communication and networking skills for effective advocacy around issues such as environmental sustainability and climate change, foreign policy and peacebuilding, and economic justice and social welfare.

The Leadership for Social Justice concentration helps students anticipate and begin preparing for the full arc of a career in which successful community organizing requires them to institutionalize the changes they seek, through social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management.

The goals of the university-wide Sustainability Minor are
1) to prepare students to work skillfully to address social challenges, particularly those associated with environmental change,
2) to foster interactions and research collaborations across traditional academic disciplines,
3) to make St. Thomas more environmentally sustainable, and
4) to help promote sustainability in the broader community.

The Sustainability Minor brings together students, faculty, and staff from across the university to discuss and work on issues related to sustainability. It also serves as a foundation on which research and community service projects can be developed and connected. Sustainability Careers are growing rapidly, whether it is increased need for traditional jobs such as Water Resource Lab Technician, new positions such as Corporate Sustainability Coordinator, or adding a sustainability twist to jobs like Accounting, Journalism, Psychology, and Marketing. Students from any disciplinary major can add a Sustainability Minor and be prepared to enter the workforce of the future.

The purpose of the peace engineering program is to engage and teach students to collaborate with and empower those experiencing injustices to develop innovative and sustainable solutions from a service mindset. The integrative program brings the social analysis of justice & peace studies together with the technical skills of engineering to find the best way for our engineers to promote the common good.

Peace Engineers might work on projects such as:
- energy & water resources
- aid of technology in areas of conflict or natural disaster
- public safety in engineering decisions
- agricultural tools to fight poverty and hunger

Justice and peace studies is an interdisciplinary department designed to prepare students to be responsible critics of contemporary societies and effective agents for positive social transformation. The program offers a general major or minor, along with three optional tracks for major concentrations:

The Conflict Transformation concentration prepares students to analyze the dynamics and identify transformative opportunities in conflicts at multiple levels, from interpersonal to international, while developing practical skills in mediation and conflict resolution through partnerships with local practitioners and organizations that exemplify best practices in the field.

The Public Policy Analysis and Advocacy concentration develops social analysis skills for public policy formation, evidence-based research and argumentation, as well as communication and networking skills for effective advocacy around issues such as environmental sustainability and climate change, foreign policy and peacebuilding, and economic justice and social welfare.

The Leadership for Social Justice concentration helps students anticipate and begin preparing for the full arc of a career in which successful community organizing requires them to institutionalize the changes they seek, through social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management.