University of Texas at Austin
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 4.00 |
Jim
Walker Director of Sustainability, Financial, and Administrative Services University Operations |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Student sustainability research incentives
Yes
A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
Bridging Disciplines Programs
The Bridging Disciplines Programs (BDPs) at The University of Texas at Austin allow undergraduates to develop a secondary area of specialization that complements their major. To earn a BDP certificate, students must complete 19 credit hours combining interdisciplinary coursework with hands-on research, internship, or creative experiences.
Texas Undergraduate Studies offers interdisciplinary concentrations in 16 different interdisciplinary concentrations.
One of the goals of the BDP is to help students make their education fit their individual interests and goals. BDP advisors help students find courses, research opportunities, and internship experiences that complement their majors, while also supporting them in developing knowledge and experience they would not otherwise find within their degree plans.
The Environment & Sustainability BDP gives students the opportunity to explore a variety of disciplinary approaches to environmental processes and contemporary environmental issues. By bringing together courses in natural sciences, social sciences, design disciplines, and the humanities, this program affords a complex understanding of how the diverse parts of Earth’s environment interact.
For example, a Geology major might choose to deepen an appreciation of human-environment interactions with a selection of government, history, and geography courses in liberal arts, while a journalism major might use natural science courses to develop an understanding of the scientific method. Designed to complement a range of majors, the Environment & Sustainability BDP prepares students to address environmental issues in careers as researchers, writers, policy makers, sustainable business leaders, and educators.
An interdisciplinary panel of faculty with an interest in the environment helps students design individualized programs of study that complement their majors and interests, and they are instrumental in helping students find internships and opportunities to participate in faculty research.
https://ugs.utexas.edu/bdp/programs/env
The Bridging Disciplines Programs (BDPs) at The University of Texas at Austin allow undergraduates to develop a secondary area of specialization that complements their major. To earn a BDP certificate, students must complete 19 credit hours combining interdisciplinary coursework with hands-on research, internship, or creative experiences.
Texas Undergraduate Studies offers interdisciplinary concentrations in 16 different interdisciplinary concentrations.
One of the goals of the BDP is to help students make their education fit their individual interests and goals. BDP advisors help students find courses, research opportunities, and internship experiences that complement their majors, while also supporting them in developing knowledge and experience they would not otherwise find within their degree plans.
The Environment & Sustainability BDP gives students the opportunity to explore a variety of disciplinary approaches to environmental processes and contemporary environmental issues. By bringing together courses in natural sciences, social sciences, design disciplines, and the humanities, this program affords a complex understanding of how the diverse parts of Earth’s environment interact.
For example, a Geology major might choose to deepen an appreciation of human-environment interactions with a selection of government, history, and geography courses in liberal arts, while a journalism major might use natural science courses to develop an understanding of the scientific method. Designed to complement a range of majors, the Environment & Sustainability BDP prepares students to address environmental issues in careers as researchers, writers, policy makers, sustainable business leaders, and educators.
An interdisciplinary panel of faculty with an interest in the environment helps students design individualized programs of study that complement their majors and interests, and they are instrumental in helping students find internships and opportunities to participate in faculty research.
https://ugs.utexas.edu/bdp/programs/env
Faculty sustainability research incentives
Yes
A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
UT Austin's Bridging Barriers research initiative was launched in 2016 as a series of university-wide, themed, interdisciplinary research challenges, engaging faculty and staff researchers across colleges, schools and units.
The first research theme under this initiative is Planet Texas 2050. Launched in the fall of 2017, Planet Texas 2050 is a university-wide research endeavor to tackle realities of population growth and weather intensity, and their impact on water, energy, dependable infrastructure, and ecosystems' ability to support them. This work brings together more than 120 faculty and staff researchers, with the ability for others to join the research initiative in the future if desired. Together, they will explore how the state of Texas will be able to ensure its own resilience in the year 2050, in both the built and natural environments, as it faces the synergistic stresses of climate extremes and rapid urbanization.
https://bridgingbarriers.utexas.edu/
The first research theme under this initiative is Planet Texas 2050. Launched in the fall of 2017, Planet Texas 2050 is a university-wide research endeavor to tackle realities of population growth and weather intensity, and their impact on water, energy, dependable infrastructure, and ecosystems' ability to support them. This work brings together more than 120 faculty and staff researchers, with the ability for others to join the research initiative in the future if desired. Together, they will explore how the state of Texas will be able to ensure its own resilience in the year 2050, in both the built and natural environments, as it faces the synergistic stresses of climate extremes and rapid urbanization.
https://bridgingbarriers.utexas.edu/
Recognition of interdisciplinary, transdisciplnary and multi-disciplinary research
No
A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
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The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
Current faculty tenure and promotion guidelines do not specifically define interdisciplinary research, and do not state a positive, or negative, position on such research.
Library support
Yes
A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
The UT Libraries spends about $18m per year on information resources, the bulk of which is electronic. This provides access to about 800 databases, such as Web of Science (https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/db/370 - accessible by students, staff, faculty with their UT id) and Texas Scholar Works (https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/). Sustainability cuts across many areas, but most disciplinary areas include sustainability related databases. This list for Environmental Studies (https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/az.php?s=90451), for example, lists 21 databases, and there are similar results for Architecture & Planning, Geography, Geology, Law, Business and the many other disciplines that include research related to sustainability.
Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Several research support databases and networks are funded centrally by the university and therefore accessible to students, staff, faculty with their UT id and not accessible to general public through a UT website.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.