University of Utah
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Environment & Sustainability Studies Program (ENVST) convenes interdisciplinary scholars who provide scientific training in its social context to prepare students to meet these local and global challenges. Students receive training in the foundations of environmental science and environmental studies, with upper division coursework focusing on global climate change, challenges to sustainability, and environmental justice, as well as a diverse set of interdisciplinary electives across four emphases that allow students to tailor their education toward their interests and career goals.Students in the program also take their education out of the classroom and into the community and field through capstone and community-based research projects that broaden their perspectives and make lasting impacts. As one of the first programs in the nation to include environmental justice coursework as a degree requirement, the program faculty feel strongly about the need to embed teaching and research in contexts that help solve pressing environmental and social problems. Emphasis areas in the program are: Air Water & Health, Conservation & Land Management, Food Systems & Community, & EcoJustice Education

Urban ecology is the study of human settlements – from rural communities to megacities – consisting of dynamic relationships between social, natural, and built systems. The Urban Ecology program in City and Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah takes an action-oriented, community-engaged approach to help students gain the knowledge and skills to foster sustainable, resilient, and equitable communities. The program is responsive to urban and rural problems and opportunities that exist in the Intermountain West such as population growth and demographic change, economic restructuring, natural resource management, and climate change.
Students in the Urban Ecology program engage with topics such as sustainability, ecological planning, land use and transportation, economics, law, housing, disaster resilience, dark skies, and community engagement. Many of the classes will take students out of the classroom and involve them in hands-on research and engagement in local communities and environments. In their senior year, students take the Ecological Planning Workshop, which applies and synthesizes what they have learned to tackle a real-world planning project with a local community.
The undergraduate program in Urban Ecology will prepare students for graduate study or a career in planning or design, sustainability, public health, public policy, community development, and other fields working at the nexus of people, place, and design.

Sociology is the study of how human behavior shapes and is shaped by larger cultural and social contexts.It provides a lens to analyze, understand and explain important matters in our
personal lives,relationships,family conflict ethnic & gender identity, communities, crime & law, poverty & wealth, social movements, health outcomes, the world, population growth, globalization, and economic development. In today’s world, it's increasingly important to understand key social issues like race, poverty, urbanization, inequalities, globalization, immigration, environmental change, gender, power, and class. Students will become critical observers, participants and actors in the world using the perspective and insight gained from sociological theories and methods. This versatile undergraduate major introduces students to social issues and processes in a variety of domains, including deviance, criminology, and the law; globalization, environment, and politics; population and health; and diversity and inequality.

Atmospheric Sciences BS
Required courses for all majors (choose 3/4)
--ATMOS1010 - Severe and Unusual Weather (3)
--ATMOS1020 - Climate Change (3)
--ATMOS3100 - Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Pollution (3)
--ATMOS3200 - Mountain Weather and Climate (3)
Emphasis Areas
--Environmental Science Track
--Professional Meteorology Track
--Snow & Water Sciences Track
https://atmos.utah.edu/undergraduate/academics/degrees/major.php

Civil and Environmental Engineering BS
https://www.civil.utah.edu/bs-civil-engineering/

Geography BA/BS
Required courses for all Majors:
-GEOG 1000-- Earth Environments and Global Change
-GEOG 1400—Human Geography
Emphasis Areas (as of 2022)
--Climate Change & Landscape Dynamics Emphasis
--Geographic Information Science Emphasis
--Population Development & Sustainability Emphasis
--Hazards, Resilience & Human Security Emphasis
--Remote Sensing of the Environment Emphasis
https://geog.utah.edu/undergrad/index.php

Parks, Recreation, and Tourism BA/BS
--Commercial, Community and Sport Management Emphasis
--Outdoor Recreation Studies Emphasis
--Sustainable Tourism & Hospitality Management Emphasis
https://health.utah.edu/health-kinesiology-recreation/recreation/degrees/undergraduate

Peace and Conflict Studies BA/BS
https://peace.utah.edu/students/majorandminor.php

Undergraduate Degrees with Sustainability-Focused Emphasis Areas

Biology BA/BS
--Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Emphasis
https://www.biology.utah.edu/undergraduate-students/

Chemistry BA/BS
--Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Emphasis
https://chem.utah.edu/undergraduate/degree-options.php

Communication BA/BS
--Science, Health, Environmental and Risk Communication Emphasis
https://communication.utah.edu/undergraduate/index.php

Geoscience BS
--Environmental Geoscience Emphasis
https://earth.utah.edu/future-students/undergraduate-programs.php

International Studies Program BA/BS
--Development & Sustainability Focus
--Global Health Focus
--Human Rights Focus
https://international-studies.utah.edu/undergraduate/index.php

Political Science BA/BS
--Community Involvement and Nonprofit Leadership Emphasis
--Public Policy Emphasis
https://poli-sci.utah.edu/undergraduate/bachelor.php

Environmental and Sustainability Studies students develop an understanding of ecological systems and the consequences of human-environment interactions, with grounding in earth systems and social science. The curriculum emphasizes human impacts on the environment, policy and decision making, ethics, and historical approaches to the human-environment relationship. This interdisciplinary program is unique in its emphasis on peer learning and community engagement regarding the environment, social responsibility, and sustainability.
Required Course include:
-- ENVST 2050 – Intro to Environmental Science (4) SUSL
-- ENVST 2100 – Intro to Environmental Studies (3) SUSC
-- ENVST/GEOG 3210 – Global Climate Change (3) SUSC
-- ENVST 3364 – Challenges to Global Sustainability (3) SUSC
-- ENVST 3365 – Environmental Justice (3) SUSC

The local becomes global in an 18-credit hour Honors Ecology and Legacy Minor, the majority of which will be earned during an intensive 6-week summer block. This block will be strongly place-based at the University of Utah; The Great Salt Lake; Centennial Valley, Montana; and the Peninsula Valdes in Patagonia, Argentina. Students will use science, arts and the humanities to critically think about interactions between humans and their world. The program will explicitly make connections between ecosystems in the western USA and in Patagonia, Argentina thereby allowing students to understand broad patterns, similarities and differences in arid, rich, but sensitive landscapes, across cultural and political spectrums.

This program will provide students with cutting edge knowledge about climate, climate change, impacts and relevance. By taking earning the certificate, the students will:
• Understand the fundamentals of climate systems.
• Understand the fundamentals and scientific background of climate change.
• Understand the science of global warming.
• Learn about mitigation and adaptation strategies for dealing with climate change.
• Learn how climate change permeates nearly every aspect of our lives.

Atmospheric Sciences Minor
https://atmos.utah.edu/undergraduate/academics/degrees/minor.php

Peace and Conflict Studies Minor
https://peace.utah.edu/students/majorandminor.php

Urban Ecology Minor
https://plan.cap.utah.edu/urban-minor/

Dark Sky Minor (Urban Ecology)
https://plan.cap.utah.edu/dss/

Other Sustainability Focused Undergraduate Certificates

Undergraduate Sustainability Certificate
https://sustainability.utah.edu/undergraduate-certificate/

Hazards and Emergency Management Certificate (Geography)
https://geog.utah.edu/undergrad/degrees/index.php

River Studies and Leadership Certificate (Parks, Recreation and Tourism)
The University of Utah offers this certificate in partnership with the River Management Society (RMS), a national organization whose mission is to support professionals who study, protect and manage North America’s rivers.
https://health.utah.edu/health-kinesiology-recreation/recreation/degrees/undergraduate/river-studies-and-leadership-course.php

Social Justice Advocacy Certificate (Department of Social Work)
https://socialwork.utah.edu/certificates/social-justice-advocacy.php

NOTES

Emphasis Areas
An emphasis is a program of study within an established major that enables a student to focus on courses in a particular field within a degree program. The emphasis pursued appears on the student's transcript but not on their diploma. (Policy 6-117: Undergraduate Emphasis).

Undergraduate certificates are given in recognition of a pattern of courses, often drawn from several departments, which, when taken together, produce an emphasis that is not the same as an academic major or minor but that gives a student a competence worthy of some formal recognition. Undergraduate certificates shall require at least 20 semester hours of designated work. Minimum hours may be adjusted by the Undergraduate Council. (Policy 6-116: Undergraduate Certificates)

SOURCES
University of Utah General Catalog, 2021-2022
https://catalog.utah.edu/#/home