Course Requirements for the Sustainability Minor

Components of a minor:

• A minimum of 18 credits.
• Twelve credits of the 18 required must be from the 200-level or above.
• A grade point average of 2.0 or above must be earned in the minor courses.
• Courses may not be taken on a pass-fail basis.
• "Double-dipping": courses from the minor may be used to satisfy the general education requirements; the minor may include courses from the student's major department, but these may not count as major requirements.
• Half of the credits must be earned at URI

Additional components of the Sustainability Minor:

• Select from a series of synthesis courses which focus on principles of sustainability (3 credits)
• Complete an internship which includes hands-on sustainability experience on campus or in the community. Course can include research, service learning, and/or leadership. (Minimum of 3 credits; internship course can be repeated for up to 6 credits)
• Select elective courses from the approved list of courses with at least one each in the three general areas of economics, social equity and the environment.
• Complete a capstone course (3 credits - may be satisfied in tandem with an internship)

1. Core courses listing
2. Internship – Students may elect to take an internship offered from within a given major. Some majors have generic internship courses in which students may seek approval for from 3-6 credits (e.g. Communication Studies; others would need to use the Office of Internships & Experiential Education to arrange for an appropriate internship of from 3-12 credits, only 3 of which would be required for the minor. Approval of the internship activity to fulfill requirements of the minor would require approval by the Sustainability Minor Coordinator(s).
3. 9 credits of courses, one from each of the three areas (environment; social equity; economics)
4. Capstone Course – This course will require submission of a brief proposal in which students describe the intended work and how it relates to sustainability, the associated course and the faculty sponsor. The faculty member may well be simply signing off on a course that s/he teaches as part of a regular workload or may be agreeing to sponsor the student’s work in a special studies arrangement, which could be an add-on to the internship or stand alone. The Sustainability Minor Coordinator would then need to approve the proposed capstone course. The Sustainability Minor Committee will be consulted on the appropriateness of capstone courses when outside the pre-approved list, internships and the addition of any new courses to the minor.
   
   Download Capstone Application Form:  |  .doc  |  .pdf  |  .rtf  |