Sustainability Studies, BPS

Roosevelt University’s Sustainability Studies (SUST) program is an exciting new undergraduate major that is interdisciplinary and environmentally-focused. Offered through the College of Professional Studies, the SUST program is the first such sustainability-themed bachelor's degree program in the Chicago area. Its overall goals include:

• Engaging students in the pressing public policy concerns surrounding consumption, energy usage, and viable economic growth;
• Fostering students’ environmental literacy using rigorous, scholarly-based research in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities;
• Exploring social justice issues on a range of fronts, including environmental justice, resource allocation, urban development, and social equity;
• Positioning Roosevelt University as a leader on issues of sustainability, which has become one of the critical social justice issues of the 21st century.

Students graduating with a major in Sustainability Studies will have a truly interdisciplinary understanding of the varied dimensions of sustainability, both from a local and global perspective; be fluent in articulating how sustainability issues relate to matter of the environment, the economy, and social equity; and demonstrate proficiency in critical thinking, reading, writing, and research skills. More specifically, students will learn how to:

• Identify and explain the central sustainability problems of the 21st century in multiple arenas, including energy, transportation, food production, waste management, water availability, conservation, and general consumption;
• Draw on a foundation of scientific, environmental, and quantitative literacy in order to understand and assess the science behind major sustainability problems, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the threats to natural resources;
• Apply the scientific method and quantitative literacy skills to the study of natural and social ecosystems;
• Recognize the local, national, and global social justice implications of resource allocation, food production, energy consumption, and waste production;
• Understand the political processes and policy actors central to progress in sustainability;
• Understand the importance of leadership as central to social change and technical innovation with respect to creating more sustainable communities;
• Apply knowledge about sustainability to their areas of personal interest and/or work professions.

* These courses must be chosen in consultation with advisor from these subjects: SUST, commerce, transportation, organizational leadership, GIS, biology, chemistry, environmental science, math (especially statistics), paralegal. They may be in the same subject as the Functional Area and may be used to complete a double-major. (see Double-Majors and Minors: Options for SUST majors in the catalog search)

Core Curriculum

BPS degrees replace traditional general education courses and electives with an innovative Core Curriculum, consisting of interdisciplinary seminars and a Senior Thesis research project. These seminars, designed for adult students, reduce the time required to complete degree requirements. Courses in the BPS core are designated with the PLS prefix (Professional and Liberal Studies). The BPS Core Curriculum includes:

Senior Seminars

* Students may waive one PLS Senior Seminar with nine semester hours of appropriate transferable credit with at least a 2.0 average in a single seminar area; students with 60 semester hours of transfer credit or an Associates’ Degree in Arts or Science may waive two Senior Seminars.

Other Requirements

• Students must be 24 years of age when they start the program.
• Students must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours at Roosevelt and maintain a 2.0 grade point average to graduate.
• Students must successfully complete a minimum of nine semester hours at the 300 level in the major at Roosevelt.
• Students must consult with an advisor every semester prior to registering to ensure that selected courses are appropriate for their specific BPS major.