Southern Oregon University
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

The Bachelor of Science in Sustainability prepares students for a range of careers in environmental sustainability. Our unique curriculum is designed to integrate physical and natural sciences, social science, project management, and business.

Our field-oriented curriculum takes advantage of the unique environmental setting of our region and provides opportunities to work with local agencies and businesses. Southern Oregon, with its renewable energy industry, environmental non-profits, federal resource management agencies, and environmental planning leadership is the perfect location to train as a sustainability professional, climate change analyst, consultant, corporate sustainability specialist, environmental planner, and more.

The Sustainability Program encourages and gives academic credit for work experiences with governmental entities, local agencies, and businesses that provide a wide variety of real-world applications of the concepts learned in the classroom. These experiences are carried out in defined practicum and internship opportunities which include work in on- or off-campus settings. Opportunities include working with the USDA, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service (Crater Lake and others), local watershed councils, Jackson County, local city and county planning departments, state and federal agencies, and local environmental organizations.

In addition to being a truly interdisciplinary program that leverages our awesome location, Sustainability majors acquire vital employable skills including:

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Ecological Economics
Environmental Impact Assessment
Statistics and Environmental Data Analysis

Our Bachelor of Science in Sustainability not only prepares students for a wide variety of employment in governmental agencies, industry, non-profits, and environmental consulting firms, but also prepares students for graduate and professional schools in environmental policy and management, geography, law, public policy, wildlife management, and sustainability management.

Built as a truly interdisciplinary program, the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science & Policy (ES&P) provides an equal balance of social, political, biological, and earth systems science courses. This interdisciplinary foundation is unique in that it provides students training and experience across the sciences, and fosters a systems-thinking approach to environmental issues.

Our field-oriented curriculum takes advantage of the unique environmental setting of our region and provides opportunities to work with local agencies. Southern Oregon, with its Klamath and Cascade Mountains and interior valleys, is an ideal location for studying and experiencing a variety of environmental issues, including water resources, endangered species, timber, natural hazards, and urban growth issues.

The Environmental Science and Policy Program encourages and gives academic credit for work experiences with governmental entities, local agencies, and businesses that provide a wide variety of real-world applications of the concepts learned in the classroom. These experiences are carried out in defined practicum and internship opportunities which include work in on- or off-campus settings. Opportunities include working with the USDA, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service (Crater Lake and others), local watershed councils, Jackson County, local city and county planning departments, state and federal agencies, and local environmental organizations.

The sociology and anthropology degree offers students a major based on the shared intellectual foundations and methods of inquiry of two distinct social science disciplines. Sociology is the study of the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of human groups and how people act within social contexts. Since all human behavior is social, the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mob; from organized crime to religious movements; from the divisions of race, class, and gender to the shared beliefs of a common culture; from work lives to digital selves. Anthropology’s diverse subject matter of human beings in all times and places reflects the discipline’s interest in human culture dating from the Paleolithic past to contemporary times; from distant societies to the myriad subcultures of the Western world; from the biological bases of human behavior to our most elaborate cultural creations; and in the interaction of diverse peoples from colonial to modern contexts. Students develop conceptual and analytic skills for understanding identity, behavior, culture, power, and social change. Coursework and curriculum in the sociology and anthropology program emphasize the practical application of skills to a variety of social questions. Our students develop a critical, historical, and comparative perspective on social worlds and an appreciation for cultural diversity. The program’s close and supportive relationship with local groups and organizations provide a basis for meaningful student involvement in problem-solving. Practical experiences culminate in a senior capstone designed and carried out under faculty supervision.

https://sou.edu/academics/
https://sou.edu/academics/environmental-science/programs/

The minor in Sustainability prepares students for a range of careers in environmental sustainability. Our unique curriculum is designed to integrate physical and natural sciences, social science, project management, and business.

Our field-oriented curriculum takes advantage of the unique environmental setting of our region and provides opportunities to work with local agencies and businesses. Southern Oregon, with its renewable energy industry, environmental non-profits, federal resource management agencies, and environmental planning leadership is the perfect location to train as a sustainability professional, climate change analyst, consultant, corporate sustainability specialist, environmental planner, and more.

The Certificate in Sustainability Leadership (CSL) is an undergraduate interdisciplinary program designed to prepare individuals for leadership roles in organizations committed to sustainable practices. The program is designed to give students a strong foundational understanding of the three E’s of sustainability: economy, environment, and equity (also known as the Triple Bottom Line). The certificate provides students with a broad understanding of all of the major applied areas of sustainable organizational leadership, including alternative transportation, waste reduction, renewable energy, green building, corporate social responsibility, fair trade, shared value, localization, community finance, and other emerging sustainable business practices.

Students who complete the certificate will have a strong grasp of what sustainability means, how it is achieved, and the forces that discourage sustainable practices. This understanding will enhance their ability to serve as effective leaders in both small and large corporations, nonprofit organizations, and the public sector throughout the region, state, and country. Students will have opportunities to work on real-world projects in the many fields of sustainability and explore how their personal values and future goals relate to their practice of sustainable organizational leadership.

Built as an introduction to the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues, the Minor in Environmental Science & Policy (ES&P) provides an equal balance of social, political, biological, and earth systems science courses. This interdisciplinary foundation is unique in that it provides students training and experience across the sciences, and fosters a systems-thinking approach to environmental issues.

Our field-oriented curriculum takes advantage of the unique environmental setting of our region and provides opportunities to work with local agencies. Southern Oregon, with the Klamath and Cascade Mountains and interior valleys, is an ideal location for studying and experiencing a variety of environmental issues, including water resources, endangered species, timber, natural hazards, and urban growth issues.

The ES&P Minor, similar to the Bachelor of Science degree, is flexible so students can build on their interdisciplinary training by focusing more on either earth systems science, biological sciences, social sciences, or environmental policy coursework.

https://sou.edu/academics/environmental-science/programs/