Catalog

Sustainable Practices (BA)

Christoph Korner

Interim Department Chair

 

Emily Bills, PhD

Program Director

 

Introduction

The Sustainable Practice program aims to foster dynamic opportunities for learning through hands-on, collaborative experiences, flexible learning modalities, and pathways to obtaining knowledge and skills. The program prepares students for both present and future careers that are impactful, rewarding, and mission-driven.

The Sustainable Practices degree comes within the remit of the School of Architecture, and integrates knowledge of energy, behavior, services, and materials while considering their impacts on air, water, land, and life as a whole.

Sustainable Practices is a STEM-designated program centered around design as a tool for change with opportunities in the green jobs market. Human-centered design-thinking principles are used to underpin the curriculum as students seek solutions to the impacts of climate change on the built environment.

Accreditation

The Sustainable Practices program is WASC accredited through the University.

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

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 professionals in the various sustainability fields supervise work experience hours, 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 Sustainability Hub, campus garden, food pantry, campus fruit harvest, and meditation space.

Technology and Computer Requirements

Studying 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 Canvas; Canvas modules; 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 and 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

CORE 101Computer Science I

3

SUPR 100Intro to Environmental Prob & Des

3

SUPR 110Intro to Environ Policy and Management

3

WRIT 113First-Year Academic Writing

3

____ ___
Unrestricted Elective

3

____ ___
Unrestricted Elective

1

Total Credit Hours:16

Type:

CORE 101, SUPR 100, and SUPR 110: MA.

WRIT 113: GE.

Unrestricted Elective (3), Unrestricted Elective (1): UE.

Spring Semester

SUPR 101Introduction to GIS

3

SUPR 230Ecology/Earth Science/Infrastructure

3

ENVT 220Environmental Studies

3

LSCI ___
Information Sources

1

MATH 200Math Ideas

3

WSDA 100WSOA Lecture Series

1

Total Credit Hours:14

Type:

SUPR 1xx, SUPR 230 and WSDA 100: MA

ENVT 220, MATH 200, and LSCI (Information Sources): GE

Second Year

Fall Semester

SUPR 201Sustainable Practices: Design

3

SUPR 210Intermediate GIS: Design

1

MDST 120Public Speaking

3

____ ___
Natural Science with Lab Elective

3

INDS ___
Interdisciplinary Core Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Type:

SUPR 201 and SUPR 210: MA

MDST 120, Natural Science with Lab Elective, and INDS (Interdisciplinary Core Elective): GE

Spring Semester

SUPR 202Environmental Core Design

3

SUPR 203Core 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

Two General Education Electives and Social Science Elective: GE

Third Year

Fall Semester

SUPR 301Third Year Studio

3

SUPR 302Environmental Research Seminar

3

____ 3__
Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective

3

PHIL 210Ethical Systems

3

WRIT 313Advanced Academic Writing

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Type:

SUPR 301 and SUPR 302: MA

Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective, PHIL 210, and WRIT 313: GE

Spring Semester

SUPR 320Environmental Economics

3

SUPR 321Energy 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

SUPR 401Fourth Year Studio

6

PHIL 325Environmental Philosophy

3

____ ___
Art History Elective

3

____ 3__
Upper Division GE Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Type:

SUPR 401 and PHIL 325: MA

Art History Elective and Upper Division GE Elective: GE

Spring Semester

SUPR 352Environmental Law and Policy

SUPR 450Capstone Thesis

6

____ ___
Unrestricted Elective

3

____ ___
Unrestricted Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Type:

SUPR 450 and SUPR 352: MA

Two Unrestricted Electives: UE

Sustainable Practices Minor Curriculum

Students must complete 15 units for the Sustainable Practices Minor from the courses listed below. 

This course is required:

SUPR 110

Choose four from these courses:

SUPR 100, SUPR 101 (Intro to GIS), SUPR 201, SUPR 302, SUPR 321, SUPR 352, DCMG 208, or DCMG 305

 

SUPR 110Intro to Environ Policy and Management

3

SUPR 100Intro to Environmental Prob & Des

3

SUPR 101Introduction to GIS

3

SUPR 201Sustainable Practices: Design

3

SUPR 302Environmental Research Seminar

3

SUPR 321Energy and Society

3

SUPR 352Environmental Law and Policy

DCMG 208Sustainable Construction

3

DCMG 305History and Theory of Built Environment

3

Total Credit Hours:15