Mission
Using an interdisciplinary approach, the mission of the Sustainable Practices program is to develop leaders, environmental stewards, and advocates who understand the critical interactions between humans and the natural and the built environments so as to advocate, use agency, and shift policy to address the most pressing issue of our time.
Additional Learning Opportunities
Internship
During their fourth year, students obtain practical, on-the-job training in a setting related to their environmental career and educational goals. The purpose is to gain experiential, impactful learning in a professional setting before graduation. Internship placements prioritize work with local, state, and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, or private companies that prioritize sustainable practices and support underrepresented people in STEM fields. Work experience is complemented by periodic meetings with the student’s on-campus career advisor.
In addition, Woodbury’s Career Development Office offers a variety of programs, services, and resources to assist students in exploring careers and securing internships. The staff works with students one- on-one to develop successful internship search strategies and help students connect with employers through internship postings, résumé collections, on- and off- campus interview opportunities, alumni connections, and employer outreach.
Sustainable Practices students can also consult with the Outreach Coordinator for the Sustainability Programs. This coordinator maintains active contacts with local businesses, governmental agencies, community partners, and other organizations that sponsor internships and offer opportunities for students to participate in real-world off-campus projects.
Work Experience
All students are required to fulfill 120 hours of work experience. This is not an internship requirement for credit. Students must find a job in an sustainability focused firm and work for a minimum of 120 hours. These hours do not need to be fulfilled at a single location or firm. It is recommended that students use these hours to experience several different types of workplaces, projects, and/or positions in order to gain a better idea of the types of work they might pursue upon graduation. The Career Development Office and the Sustainability Programs Outreach coordinator provide referral services for potential employers and will often send out emails with other potential employment opportunities.
Students can also find opportunities on the Woodbury University job board. It is recommended that students receive verbal confirmation that planned work experiences meet department requirements. Once work experience hours are completed, the student’s immediate supervisor must provide a letter on company letterhead indicating the student’s responsibilities at the firm, the number of hours worked, and an assessment of how well the student executed the assignments. This letter is to be sent to the department chair. Note that work experience hours are to be supervised by professionals in the various fields focused on sustainability and work must be compensated at a competitive wage, or no less than the applicable minimum wage. Up to 40 hours of required work experience hours may be volunteer.
On-Campus Initiatives
Students may organize and participate in a variety of on-campus initiatives organized by the Outreach Coordinator and the Healthy and Sustainable Campus Committee. Ongoing initiatives include the campus garden, composting, food pantry, campus fruit harvest, and meditation space.
Technology and Computer Requirements
The study of sustainable practices requires an investment in technology, from basic analog tools to cutting-edge computational devices. In addition to standard office applications, students engage in mapping, modeling, drawing, and presentation software packages. Upon admission, students are provided with a recommended purchase list that outlines the incoming resource expectations; students should expect additions to those lists each semester. These purchases constitute a substantial, but cumulative, investment toward becoming a practicing professional.
Students should anticipate spending a minimum of $2,000 in initial setup, and at least $500 each additional term.
Program Learning Outcomes
Sustainability
- Identify holistic ways of understanding sustainability problems, the concepts of sustainability, the issues involved, and the disciplines needed to address real- world problems.
- Apply ethical issues related to sustainability.
Technology
- Apply technology platforms that help assess the impact on the environment.
- Use analytic inquiry and interpretive applications when exploring innovative software (including open-source tools) in sustainability.
Policy
Evaluate sustainability policies among institutions for water, land, air, and urban management from the local to the global level.
Design Thinking, Systems Thinking and Innovation
Apply human- centered design principles when launching pilot initiatives that are designed as creative, adaptive solutions to sustainability challenges.
Research
Evaluate through research the role and effectiveness of a broad range of methods of inquiry and analysis.
Collaboration
Recognize and illustrate the importance of working collaboratively and in multidisciplinary teams.
Communication
Communicate effectively in written, verbal, and visual communications, taking into account media literacy (fact checking, disinformation, etc.).
Professional Practice
- Apply professionalism and ethics in the workplace.
- Demonstrate technical skills as a contributing member of the workforce.
- Solicit ideas from diverse stakeholders when solving complex problems.
- Discuss principles of equity and inclusion in the workplace, recognize such inequities when confronted and suggest improvements to such situational conditions.
Assessment Process
Placement Exam Requirements
Sustainable Practices students who have not received transfer credit for a 200-level Math course are encouraged, but not required, to take the Math Placement Exam. See the Academic Proficiencies and Placement section of the Academic Journey chapter of this catalog for more information.
Formative Assessment Experiences
Assessment of program learning outcomes is an ongoing part of the Sustainable Practices pedagogical process. Assessment of student success in meeting these criteria occurs throughout the curriculum.
Formative assessment processes include: opportunities for students to provide structured feedback to their peers; detailed feedback from instructors on homework submissions through Moodle; Moodle forums; evaluation of students’ formal presentations.
The majority of Sustainable Practices studio courses include graphic presentations of projects’ proposals that ask students to demonstrate their ability to apply technical skills to specific design challenges. In addition, students engage in both individual and group research projects.
Summative Assessment Experiences
The major capstone course is SUPR 450, Capstone Thesis, for which students complete an extensive research project, applying what they have learned in Sustainable Practices to a real-world problem or question of their choosing. Seniors present their completed projects in a public forum to be evaluated by members of the Woodbury community as well as professionals in the field.
Program Specific Academic Standards
In addition to the University academic standards as detailed in the Academic Journey section of this catalog, students are required to maintain a grade point average of “C” (2.0) or higher for any two consecutive design studios to continue in the design studio sequence. A student whose two-studio GPA drops below 2.0 must repeat one of these two studios as necessary to achieve the minimum GPA prior to enrollment in the succeeding studio. The design studio courses include SUPR 100, Introduction to Environmental Problems and Design; 201, Sustainable Practice: Design; 202, Environmental Core Design; 301, Third Year Studio; 401, Fourth Year Studio; and 450 Capstone Thesis.
Curriculum Summary
Program Major Curriculum
| Unit Type (UT) |
Number of Units (U) |
| Major (MA) |
55 |
| General Education (GE) |
52 |
| Unrestricted Electives (UE) |
10 |
| Internship (IN) |
3 |
| Minimum Total Units Required |
120 |
Suggested Sequence of Courses
First Year
Fall Semester
| WRIT 113 | First-Year Academic Writing | 3 |
| CORE 101 | Computer Science I | 3 |
| SUPR 100 | Intro to Environmental Prob & Des | 3 |
| SUPR 110 | Intro to Environ Policy and Management | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Spring Semester
| ENVT 100 | Introduction to GIS | 3 |
| ENVT 230 | Ecology/Earth Science/Infrastructure | 3 |
| ENVT 220 | Environmental Studies | 3 |
| MATH 200 | Math Ideas | 3 |
LSCI ___
| Information Sources | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 13 |
Second Year
Fall Semester
| SUPR 201 | Sustainable Practices: Design | 3 |
| SUPR 210 | Intermediate GIS: Design | 1 |
| MDST 120 | Public Speaking | 3 |
____ ___
| Natural Science with Lab Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Art History Elective | 3 |
INDS ___
| Interdisciplinary Core Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Type:
SUPR 201 and SUPR 210: MA.
MDST 120, Natural Science with Lab Elective, Art History Elective, and INDS (Interdisciplinary Core Elective): GE.
Spring Semester
| SUPR 202 | Environmental Core Design | 3 |
| SUPR 203 | Core Workshop Management | 3 |
____ ___
| General Education Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| General Education Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Social Science Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
SUPR 202 and SUPR 203: MA.
General Education Elective and Social Science Elective: GE.
Third Year
Fall Semester
| SUPR 301 | Third Year Studio | 3 |
| SUPR 302 | Environmental Research Seminar | 3 |
____ 3__
| Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
| PHIL 210 | Ethical Systems | 3 |
| WRIT 313 | Advanced Academic Writing | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
| SUPR 320 | Environmental Economics | 3 |
| SUPR 321 | Energy and Society | 3 |
____ 3__
| Urban Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Humanities Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
SUPR 320, SUPR 321, and Urban Elective: MA.
Humanities Elective and General Education Elective: GE.
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
| SUPR 450 | Capstone Thesis | 6 |
| POHI 352 | | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Program Minor Curriculum
SUPR 100, SUPR 110, and ENVT 100: These courses are required for the Sustainable Practices minor.