Latest News from the Sustainability Studies Blog

Chicago Center for Green Technology Hosts Talk on Sustainable Landscaping Tomorrow at 6pm

Feb 22, 2012

The Chicago Center for Green Technology (445 N. Sacramento) hosts Kurt Dreisilker of the Morton Arboretum discussing “Sustainable Landscape Concepts from a Public Garden” tomorrow at 6pm. Many ponds in northern Illinois suffer from similar problems: extreme fluctuations in water … Continue reading →

Greencorps Helps Chicagoans & Their Environments

Feb 21, 2012

The City of Chicago has several programs and institutions that aid the local environment. Some, like the Chicago Center for Green Technology, offer courses. Some, like the Hazardous Household Waste Dropoff Center on Goose Island, provide residents with ways of … Continue reading →

Roosevelt’s Schaumburg Campus Hosts Documentary The Interrupters Friday Afternoon

Feb 20, 2012

This coming Friday, Feb. 24th, RU’s Schaumburg Campus will host a film screening and discussion at 5:30pm of The Interrupters, a critically-lauded story of three “violence interrupters” in Chicago who now protect their communities from the violence that they once employed. … Continue reading →

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Sustainability Studies Program Overview

Welcome to the new Sustainability Studies program at Roosevelt University's College of Professional Studies, the first degree program of its kind in the Chicago region and one of the few bachelor's degree in sustainability programs in the US.

The nation and the world face an unprecedented challenge in the 21st century: we need to redesign and rethink much of our way of life to make it sustainable given the planet’s limited and fragile resources. Rigorous science has explained that current consumption trends threaten the planet with extraordinary climate change, which threatens extreme social dislocation by placing hardships on vulnerable peoples. Modern systems ranging from transportation networks to community building to food production will need to be significantly changed and adapted to this new reality. The leaders of this critical effort will be the next generation of college-educated students.

Roosevelt University's Sustainability Studies Program

• Engages students in the pressing public policy concerns surrounding consumption, energy usage, and viable economic growth;
• Fosters students' environmental literacy using rigorous, scholarly-based research in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities;
• Explores social justice issues on a range of fronts, including environmental justice, resource allocation, urban development, and social equity; and
• Positions 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, 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 by forming hypotheses, gathering empirical data (in classroom- and field-based contexts), critically analyzing said data, and effectively presenting them in graphical and written form;
• Recognize not only issues of concern to the U.S., but also the global social justice implications of resource allocation, food production, energy consumption, waste production, and related issues;
• 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; and
• Apply knowledge about sustainability to their areas of personal interest and/or work professions.

You can pursue an undergraduate major in Sustainability Studies through two different pathways: a 120 semester-hour Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, for students of all ages), and a fast-track Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) degree (for students 24 and older). In both cases, the major requirements are the same -- what differs are the general education requirements and the number of elective courses.

In both the BA and BPS options, you can choose a minor in a related field to make your sustainability studies major more focused and powerful.

Consider pursuing a double-major in SUST and another discipline offered in the College of Professional Studies.

Majoring in something else? Consider complementing your chosen field of study with a minor in Sustainability Studies. The course sequence for the minor (18sh) can be completed fully online, or through a mix of online and on-campus classes.

For more information on which SUST degree option is right for you, contact a College of Professional Studies advisor.

Check out our Sustainability Blog for news, events, student activities, and faculty accomplishments.