The Bachelor's In Sustainability Studies
Do you want to develop new sustainable science and engineering innovations, build sustainability consulting businesses, research climate change, create technology solutions, or embark upon related interdisciplinary careers? A BS in Sustainability Studies from Florida Tech could be right for you. Along the way, you’ll develop strong systems-thinking skills, build hands-on experience through campus and community research projects at a university started by NASA scientists, and prepare for a career in the early stages of the remarkable emergence of many sustainability initiatives.
Gain Practical Experience
In your junior and senior years, you’ll refine fundamental skills with specialized sustainability concentration courses that include many project opportunities. You’ll also undertake an exciting applied capstone sustainability project on a topic of your choice that can lead to greater exposure (e.g., community internships, the Northrop Grumman Design Showcase). Students gain practical experience, an enhanced résumé, and a stronger sense of scholarship—the perfect preparation for employment or graduate school.
Our sustainability degree is dynamic yet focused. You’ll get started right away, taking core courses like Introduction to Sustainability and the Whole Earth Course. Guided by highly experienced faculty who care about your success, you’ll obtain core science and business skills while specializing in your strengths and greatest interests.
Why Pursue A Sustainability Studies Degree At Florida Tech?
By definition, sustainability studies is an interdisciplinary field, encompassing elements of all colleges and many departments on campus. The Sustainability Studies program is housed in the Department of Education and Interdisciplinary Studies, which works to integrate students among all disciplines and interests across campus. As a BS program at a major technology university, our diverse student and faculty interests focus on building sustainability innovations for the future.
Become An Expert In Many Aspects Of Sustainability Studies
The program is structured so that students closely interact with faculty from many departments in the colleges of Science, Engineering, Business, Psychology, and Liberal Arts. The diversity of these interactions and the major requirements to take concentration courses in Environmental Sciences, Technology and Engineering, Business, and Social Sciences gives our sustainability studies students expertise in all the field has to offer, as well as specialization in your preferred topics.
Small Classes—Personalized Attention
Internationally recognized faculty members in the five colleges on campus reflect expertise in multiple disciplines including:
Sustainability
Renewable energy
Corporate social responsibility
Climate change adaptation
Green construction
Public policy
Oceanography
Conservation biology
Nonprofit management
State-Of-The-Art Facilities
Florida Tech has an extensive collection of laboratory and other research facilities available around campus for applied research in sustainability science and engineering. For example, students have access to the F.W. Olin Physical Sciences Center, a 70,000-square-foot facility that houses faculty laboratories and cutting-edge instrumentation. Two campus buildings are certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for best practices in sustainable construction, with a third pending. These buildings became LEED-certified in part via the research efforts of sustainability studies students. In addition, our Evans Library has a large array of digital and print resources on sustainability routinely runs sustainability events, and can always obtain new materials upon request.
Located In The Heart Of Florida’s High-Tech Corridor
Florida Tech is the perfect place for a BS in Sustainability Studies. The 130-acre campus is located on the Space Coast (so named because of the presence of NASA and the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral just north of us), minutes away from the Indian River Lagoon, the most diverse estuary in North America.
The area has the fifth-largest high-tech workforce in the country, with more than 5,000 high-tech corporations and government and military organizations located nearby. This workforce also provides an abundance of internship and employment opportunities.
Florida Tech is just over the causeway from the Atlantic Ocean with its 72 miles of beautiful beaches, and a short trip to the Florida Keys or the Orlando theme parks. We also have a rich campus life that includes a wide range of intramural and collegiate sports, clubs, and social activities.
Build Lasting Professional Relationships Through Campus Organizations
Beyond the classroom, sustainability majors can build leadership and professional experience through participation in organizations like the Student Organization for Sustainability Action, the Student Government Association, Alpha Phi Omega (the national community service and leadership development co-ed fraternity), and over 100 other student organizations.
Florida Tech’s Student Government Association is increasingly important in coordinating and enhancing student sustainability activities. There are many clubs active in sustainable practices, directly or indirectly. For example, the Student Organization for Sustainability Action (SOSA) is an on-campus group dedicated to the practice and implementation of sustainable best practices across the Florida Tech community. The organization strives to identify and catalyze sustainability advances throughout all colleges, campus facilities, and student support services.
Curriculum
Freshman Year
Fall (14 credit hours)
COM 1101 Composition and Rhetoric
ENS 1001 The Whole Earth Course
FYE 1000 University Experience
MTH 1001 Calculus 1 or MTH 1010 Honors Calculus 1
SUS 1500 Introduction to Sustainability
Spring (17 credit hours)
BIO 1020 Biological Discovery 2
and
BIO 1040 Introduction to Biodiversity and Physiology
or
MAR 1020 Biological Discovery 2
and
MAR 1040 Introduction to Biodiversity and Physiology
--
BUS 1801 Global Business Perspectives
COM 1102 Writing About Literature
MTH 1002 Calculus 2 or MTH 1020 Honors Calculus 2
Technical Elective Credit Hours: 3
Sophomore Year
Fall (17 credit hours)
BUS 2303 Macroeconomics
CHM 1101 General Chemistry 1
COM 2223 Scientific and Technical Communication
PHY 1001 Physics 1
Select first HUM Core Course:
HUM 2051 Civilization 1: Ancient Through Medieval
HUM 2141 World Art History 1: Pre-History to Early Global Awareness
HUM 2211 British Literature and Culture
HUM 2212 British and American Literature 1
HUM 2331 American History: Pre-Columbian to Civil War Era
HUM 2551 Survey of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
Spring (15 credit hours)
CHM 1102 General Chemistry 2
MAR 2801 Biometry
PHY 2002 Physics 2
Select second HUM Core Course:
HUM 2052 Civilization 2: Renaissance Through Modern
HUM 2142 World Art History 2: Early Modern to Post-Colonial
HUM 2212 British and American Literature 1 (may not be repeated for credit)
HUM 2213 British and American Literature 2
HUM 2332 American History: From Reconstruction to the Present
HUM 2552 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
Junior Year
Fall (15 credit hours)
ENS 4300 Renewable Energy and the Environment
Concentration Course Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Course (Environmental Sciences) Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Course (Social Sciences) Credit Hours: 3
Technical Elective Credit Hours: 3
Spring (15 credit hours)
HUM 3385 Special Topics in History
SUS 3250 Systems, Governance, and Sustainability
Concentration Courses Credit Hours: 6
Concentration Course (Business and Economics) Credit Hours: 3
Senior Year
Fall (16 credit hours)
BUS 4426 Environmental and Resource Economics
SUS 3999 Sustainability Project Design
Concentration Course Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Course (Business and Economics) Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Course (Social Sciences) Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Course (Technology and Engineering) Credit Hours: 3
Spring (15 credit hours)
SUS 4000 Applied Sustainability (Q)
SUS 4350 Sustainability Economics
Concentration Course Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Course (Environmental Sciences) Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Course (Technology and Engineering) Credit Hours: 3
Concentration Courses
Business and Economics
BUS 2304 Microeconomics
BUS 2601 Legal and Social Environments of Business
BUS 2602 Environmental Law and Forensic Studies
BUS 3501 Management Principles
BUS 3605 Consumer Behavior
BUS 3801 Cross-Cultural Management
BUS 3802 Global Macroeconomic Issues
BUS 4219 Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility
BUS 4425 Environmental and Urban Planning
BUS 4503 Business Ethics
BUS 4504 Special Topics in Management
BUS 4520 Leadership Theory and Practice
BUS 4701 International Business
BUS 4801 International Trade
Environmental Sciences
ENS 4001 The Earth System: Science, Engineering, Management and Education
ENS 3101 Atmospheric Environments
ENS 4004 Aquatic Environmental Toxicology
ENS 4010 Geographic Information Systems
ENS 4700 Environmental Hydrology
ENS 4701 Environmental Regulation and Impact Assessment
MAR 2935 Field Biology and Ecology/Smoky Mountains
MAR 2955 Field Biology and Ecology/Coral Reefs
MAR 3410 General Ecology
MAR 3510 Invertebrate Zoology
MAR 3601 Field Methods in Fisheries Science
MAR 3625 Molluscan Aquaculture
MAR 3940 Tropical Marine Ecology
MAR 4030 Conservation Biology
MAR 4410 Community Ecology
MAR 4421 Neotropical Archeoecology
MAR 4515 Ecology of Coral Reefs
MAR 4517 Introduction to Modeling for Ecology and Biology
MAR 4530 Biology of Fishes
MAR 4620 Fish Aquaculture and Management
MAR 4641 Biology of Marine Mammals
MAR 4720 Marine Ecology
MET 4310 Climatology
MTH 2332 Primer for Biomath
OCN 1010 Oceanography
OCN 2407 Meteorology
OCN 2602 Environmental Geology
OCN 3101 Biological Oceanography
OCN 3111 Biological Oceanography Laboratory
OCN 3201 Marine and Environmental Chemistry
OCN 3211 Marine and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory
OCN 3301 Geological Oceanography
OCN 3311 Geological Oceanography Laboratory
OCN 4102 Marine and Estuarine Phytoplankton
OCN 4103 Marine and Estuarine Zooplankton
OCN 4104 Marine and Estuarine Benthos
OCN 4106 Mitigation and Restoration of Coastal Systems
OCN 4204 Marine and Environmental Pollution
Social Sciences
BEH 3465 Applied Behavior Analysis
COM 3425 Mass Communication
COM 4130 Global Communication
HUM 2480 Introduction to Political Science
HUM 2570 Bioethics
HUM 3085 Special Topics in Humanities
HUM 3351 History of Science and Technology: Ancient and Medieval
HUM 3352 History of Science and Technology: Renaissance to Present
HUM 3485 Special Topics in Social Science
HUM 3521 World Religions
PSY 1411 Introduction to Psychology
PSY 2444 Cross-Cultural and Ethnic Psychology
PSY 2541 Group Behavior
PSY 3421 Psychology of Learning and Motivation
PSY 3441 Social Psychology
PSY 3541 Psychology of Leadership
PSY 3543 Psychology of the Workplace
Technology and Engineering
AVM 3201 Aviation Planning
AVM 3202 Airport Design
AVS 2402 Introduction to Aviation Environmental Science
AVS 4402 Aviation Sustainability
CHE 3170 Introduction to Environmental Engineering
CHM 2001 Organic Chemistry 1
CHM 2002 Organic Chemistry 2
CHM 4222 Environmental Chemistry
CON 1005 Construction Plan Reading and BIM Applications
CON 2001 Construction Methods and Operations
CON 3002 Building Mechanical and HVAC Systems
CON 4003 Construction Estimating, Bidding and Value Engineering
CSE 1301 Introduction to Computer Applications
CVE 1000 Introduction to Civil Engineering
CVE 3042 Water and Wastewater Systems for Land Development
CVE 3052 Municipal Water and Wastewater Systems
CVE 4035 Urban Hydrology
CVE 4050 Solid and Hazardous Waste
CVE 4070 Construction Engineering
MEE 4250 Physical Principles of Nuclear Reactors
OCE 1001 Introduction to Ocean Engineering
OCE 4518 Protection of Marine Materials
OCE 4522 Coastal Engineering Processes and Shoreline Design
OCE 4525 Coastal Engineering Structures
Additional classes may be substituted in consultation with the student’s advisor and course instructor.
Total Credits Required: 124
Career Outlook
Sustainability jobs are often compared to computer and technology jobs in the early 1990s—exciting and innovative with many new career fields that couldn’t be seen even a few years earlier.
According to the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, sustainability jobs are expected to increase. Sustainability categories and employers include (according to Arizona State University, 2013):
Corporate sustainability/corporate social responsibility (Dell, Nike, Coca-Cola, Intel)
Research and development (Argonne National Laboratory, NASA, Globescan)
NGOs (World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy)
Other nonprofit and public service organizations (Global Reporting Initiative, Americorps, Peace Corps)
Certification and standards organizations (UL Environment, LEED, Blue Angel)
Marketing/media (Greenbiz, Grist, 3BL, earth911, MSM)
Event planning (Opportunity Green)
Socially responsible investing (Vanguard, Fidelity)
Consulting, many specialized categories (Accenture, Green Order, Sustainability)
Policy-making and the federal government (United Nations, US EPA, many other agencies)
State and local governments (many examples from the city- through state agencies)
Education at all levels (teaching, research, operations)
Waste and recycling (Waste Management)
Defense and military (all services)
Food and agriculture (Roosevelt Row, local farmers’ markets, Whole Foods)
Sustainability entrepreneurship (Carbon Roots, Ollie the Trolley, Beat Street)
