Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.23
Liaison Merry Rankin
Submission Date Sept. 1, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Iowa State University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Merry Rankin
ISU Director of Sustainability
Facilities Planning & Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Majors and Degree Programs

Does the institution offer at least one sustainability-focused major, degree program, or the equivalent for undergraduate students (I.e. an interdisciplinary academic program that concentrates on sustainability as an integrated concept)?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program:
Environmental Studies

A brief description of the undergraduate degree program:
The Environmental Studies Program focuses on the relationship between humans and nature, or between humans and natural systems. The curriculum is designed to give students an understanding of regional and global environmental issues and an appreciation of different perspectives regarding these issues. Courses are provided for students pursuing careers related to the environment and for others who simply want to know more about environmental issues.

The website URL for the undergraduate degree program:

Additional Degree Programs (optional) 

Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
Environmental Science

None
A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
Environmental Science provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. The magnitude and complexity of environmental problems are creating a growing need for scientists with rigorous, interdisciplinary training in environmental science. The Environmental Science curriculum is designed to prepare students for positions of leadership in this rapidly changing discipline. Environmental Science graduates have a solid foundation in biological and physical natural sciences and the specialized training necessary for integrated analysis of environmental systems.

None
The website URL for the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
Horticulture

None
A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
Graduates understand principles of life science, plant growth and development, and are familiar with cultural and management principles for a wide assortment of horticultural crops. They also understand the ethical and environmental dimensions of problems and issues facing horticultural professionals. A degree in horticulture from Iowa State University opens the door to employment opportunities with production nurseries, seed companies, interior landscaping firms, greenhouses, garden centers, conservatories, landscape design/installation firms, public gardens and arboreta, orchards and vineyards, food processing companies, vegetable farms, golf courses, sports fields, sod production companies, and lawn care businesses.

None
The website URL for the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
None
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program(s):
Forestry - http://catalog.iastate.edu/collegeofagricultureandlifesciences/forestry/ Community and Regional Planning - www.design.iastate.edu/communityplanning Global Resource Systems - http://www.globe.iastate.edu

Minors, Concentrations and Certificates

Does the institution offer one or more sustainability-focused minors, concentrations or certificates for undergraduate students?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:
Sustainability Minor

A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:
The minor helps students understand the dynamics of biological population growth and decline in the natural world, predator-prey models, over-exploitation of natural resources, energy balances, and much more. Students also learn how human behavior affects the natural world and the ability of earth to sustain life.

The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate:

Additional Minors, Concentrations and Certificates (optional) 

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Environmental Studies

None
A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
The Environmental Studies Program deals with the relationship between humans and nature, or between humans and natural systems. The curriculum is designed to give students an understanding of regional and global environmental issues and an appreciation of different perspectives regarding these issues. Courses are provided for students pursuing careers related to the environment and for others who simply want to know more about environmental issues

None
The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
Energy Systems

None
A brief description of the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
The goal of the minor in energy systems is to provide ISU engineering students with focused educational opportunities in the broad area of energy systems. Successful energy systems minor students will understand broad energy perspectives, the language of energy systems, and the economic, environmental, and policy issues related to energy in the two required courses (six credits) for the minor (EE 351 and Econ 380).

None
The website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused undergraduate minors, concentrations and certificates:
The College of Engineering offers a wind energy minor for all Engineering Undergraduate students. http://www.engineering.iastate.edu/research/eri/initiatives/strategies/wei/education/wind-energy-minor/

Optional Fields  

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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