Sustainability Studies

The STS Sustainability Studies degree prepares students to use techniques and insights from the social sciences and humanities to address environmental problems. Students learn the history of the environmental thought and law, about current environmental controversies, and about sustainable pathways and design. Threats to human health in different locations are put in ecological and global context, drawing out how culture, politics, industry, and every-day ways of living impact the environment and human well-being.

Rensselaer’s STS Sustainability Studies degree has significant social science and humanities depth. The degree requires 40 social science and humanities credit hours (10 courses), including four communication-intensive courses. During the senior year, students move through a capstone sequence that includes a methods and research design course, and a senior thesis. Rigorous and creative teaching of social science methods is a signature aspect of the program. The degree also requires a four-course “technical option” in which students develop sustainability-oriented expertise in another department. Alternatively, students can pursue a dual degree, pairing the STS Sustainability Studies degree with a degree in physics, mechanical engineering, economics, or a wide array of other choices.

Outcomes of the Undergraduate Curriculum
Students who successfully complete this program will be able to:

• demonstrate ability to map the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts of environmental problems and sustainability opportunities.
• demonstrate ability to identify sustainability problems, research needs and action pathways, recognizing diverse stakeholders and viewpoints, and uneven distributions of resources, risks, and rights.
• demonstrate ability to identify the issues, debates, forms of expertise, ethical ideas, and policy positions associated with environmental sustainability.