UF offers new major in sustainability studies

May 10, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Starting this fall, the University of Florida will offer a major in sustainability studies, joining a small handful of top-tier research institutions to do so.

The interdisciplinary program investigates the means to maintain environmental health, create economic welfare and pursue social justice in a changing world. Students will gain understanding how these goals are interdependent and explore how they best can be pursued over the long term on local, national and global scales.

Sustainability studies will incorporate humanities, social science and natural science classes in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The major will also involve sustainability classes from colleges across campus, including engineering, agricultural and life sciences, and design, construction and planning.

Political science professor Les Thiele, who coordinated the development of the major and now serves as its director, believes that the university provides a unique opportunity due to its diverse options.

“The University of Florida presents a one-of-a-kind opportunity for sustainability studies in that it can build from the large breadth of environmental curricula available, from food and agriculture to wildlife ecology to marine sciences,” Thiele said.

Students will also be required to take part in internships or service learning projects. Many of these projects will be ongoing, so students can be part of a legacy, creating and maintaining institutions or organizations that will sustain themselves year after year.

Interest in academic programming in sustainability is growing quickly and consistently among students and scholars as well as businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations many of which are seeking to hire sustainability officers.