Environmental and Sustainability Studies Minor

Get Your Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies! 

The ESS Minor is open to students in ALL majors and encompasses courses from colleges across the campus. It is part of CAPPA--the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs.

  • Whatever your career plans are, having an understanding of the environmental problems that face our planet will give you a competitive edge, because these problems affect decisions made in every profession.  Whether you establish a business, engineer a structure, teach students, treat patients, or design something, getting the ESS Minor equip you with important tools.  Foremost among these will be the ability to evaluate how the five domains of sustainability – environmental, economic, technological, socio-cultural, and public policy – will have an impact upon your career. 

  • The minor offers undergraduates across the campus -- from Liberal Arts and Architecture to Science and Interdisciplinary Studies -- a set of tools for understanding the social, political, humanistic, and scientific dimensions of climate change and other environmental problems. Taking advantage of the many courses on sustainability and the environment offered throughout the university, this broadly interdisciplinary program provides students a powerful way to enrich their education and more effectively apply their major field of study to some of the most complex and crucial problems of the 21st century.

  • In an era when concerns about the atmosphere, oceans, biodiversity, energy, urban sprawl, human health, and environmental justice are dramatically intensifying, the ESS program opens important new career paths and responds to the need for environmentally well-informed citizens in all areas of contemporary society.

  • The 18 credit hour ESS minor can be combined with most majors and, in some cases, already completed coursework will qualify for credit.

  • The broadly interdisciplinary ESS minor differs from most minors in two important respects.
    • First, it comprises courses in diverse fields.
    • Second, courses offered for ESS credit often simultaneously satisfy requirements in the student's major field of study.
    • Together, these differences give students considerable flexibility to construct their degree plans in ways that do not significantly increase the overall number of credit hours they must take to complete their undergraduate degrees. Many students who begin the minor early in their years at The University of Texas at Arlington are expected to be able to complete it by adding only one or two courses beyond the requirements of their majors
    • See ESS minor-approved course list below

** Due to prerequisite restrictions all ARCH/INTD classes and some LARC/PLAN classes are limited to architecture and interior design declared (3rd/4th year) majors only. 

Students interested in adding the Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies to their degree plan should send questions to arch.advising@uta.edu.

ESS MINOR REQUEST FORM

To schedule an appointment for minor advising with one of our advisors: click here

All courses are not offered every semester. Check the Schedule of Classes to find course offerings. 

Requirements:

  1. Take one of the following courses, which will count as the required core course for the minor: 1) ESST 2300 Introduction to Environmental and Sustainability Studies OR 2) CE 2300 Introduction to Sustainable Engineering. It is recommended that students take either of these courses in the first or second year of study.
  2. Take 15 more hours of courses approved for the ESS Minor, consisting of at least one course from the Field of Interest Group (Group One or Group Two) and least one course from the alternate group:
    • Ex: 4 courses from Group One (CAPPA, COB, COLA, SSW) and at least one course from Group Two (COS, COE); 
    • Or: 4 courses from Group Two (COS, COE) and at least one course from Group One (CAPPA, COB, COLA, SSW).
  3. At least 6 hours must be taken in 3000 or 4000 level courses.

You may already be close to having this minor:

  • The same classes may count toward your major and the ESS Minor! If your major does not offer many ESS minor-approved course, you can use them to fill other university requirements or take ESS-approved courses as your electives.
  • You may have already taken courses that count for this minor.
  • You can transfer credits from previous courses taken elsewhere if the course content aligns with that of an ESS-approved course. 

Students are required to take one core course, ESST 2300: Introduction to Environmental and Sustainability Studies or CE 2300: Introduction to Sustainable Engineering, which surveys topics and methods in interdisciplinary studies of sustainability and the environment. This course should be taken in the freshman or sophomore year.

REQUIRED CORE COURSES -- 3 hours

  • ESST 2300: Intro to Environmental and Sustainability Studies (may not be offered every semester). Required core course for the Minor (usually cross listed) (3-0) Introduces major topics, questions, issues and methods within interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary environmental studies. Includes a study of some of the most significant texts, studies, practices, and creative works from at least four different fields as they pertain to questions of environment, ecology, and sustainability.

>OR<

  • CE 2300: Introduction to Sustainable Engineering (may not be offered every semester). Introduction to key sustainability concepts and challenges. The engineering design process and consideration of sustainability. Techniques for generating creative and innovative alternative solutions to sustainability problems. Use of life cycle assessment to quantify environmental, economic, and social impacts of various alternatives. Methods to incorporate life cycle assessment into alternatives evaluation. Case study project.

FIELD OF INTEREST (SELECT GROUP) -- 12 hours

FIELDS OF INTEREST: 

  • GROUP 1 - CAPPA, COB, COLA, SSW
  • GROUP 2 - COS, COE

ALTERNATE GROUP - 3 hours*

An additional 15 hours of coursework is to be completed from the list of courses below (or others approved by the ESS advisor). At least one course must be taken in each of the two groups. Students are encouraged to inquire about other courses that might qualify for credit. At least 6 hours must be taken as 3000- or 4000-level courses. Additional courses are expected to be approved each semester, so students are encouraged to consult regularly with the advisor. 

* Students may be allowed to take additional classes from alternate group with advisor approval.

Approved Course List - Environmental and Sustainability Studies Minor

** Due to prerequisite restrictions all ARCH/INTD classes and some LARC/PLAN classes are limited to architecture and interior design declared (3rd/4th year) majors only. 

    GROUP 1 - CAPPA, COB, COLA, SSW

    • ANTH 3325: Ethnology of South America (NO LONGER APPROVED, effective Sp 2021)
    • ANTH 3329: Contemporary African Cultures
    • ANTH 3333: North American Indians
    • ANTH 3354: Anthropology of Hunting
    • ANTH 3357: Collapse and Sustainability of Societies
    • ANTH 3358: Underwater Archaeology
    • ARCH 3361: Architecture and Environment ** 
    • ARCH 4307: The Life of Cities **
    • ARCH 4311: Topics in Architecture Theory **
      •  Approved Topics:
        • Planning and Designing the Sustainable City
    • ARCH 4314: Historic Preservation & Restoration ** (also offered as INTD 4314, credit will only be granted for one)
    • ARCH 4325: Environmental Control Systems I **
    • ARCH 4326: Environmental Control Systems II **
    • ARCH 4353: History of Landscape Architecture **
    • ARCH 4368: Green Design + Construction **
    • ARCH 4395: Topics in Architecture ** 
      • Approved Topics:
        • Adv. Manufacturing and Sustainability
        • Sustainable Intelligent Cities
        • Watershed Urbanism & Rewilding 
    • ART 3357: Sustainable Design
    • ECON 4302: Environmental Economics
    • GEOG 2301: Physical Geography
    • GEOG 2302: Human Geography
    • GEOG 2303: World Regional Geography
    • GEOG 3336: Environmental History of the United States (also offered as HIST 3336, credit will only be granted for one)
    • GEOG 4350
      • Approved Topics:
        • History of Natural Disasters (also offered as HIST 4388, credit will only be granted for one)
    • HIST 3336: Environmental History of the United States (also offered as GEOG 3336, credit will only be granted for one)
    • HIST 4388: Topics in History
      • Approved Topics:
        • Issues in Environmental History
        • History of Natural Disasters (also offered as GEOG 4350, credit will only be granted for one)
    • INTD 3322: Interior Materials II **
    • INTD 3361: Environmental Design and Sustainability **
    • INTD 4314: Historic Preservation and Restoration ** (also offered as ARCH 4314, credit will only be granted for one)
    • LARC 4300: Introduction to Landscape Architecture
    • LARC 4324: Environmental Art & Data Visualization (formerly offered as LARC 4395)**
    • LARC 4327: Creative Regional Design (formerly offered as LARC 4395)**
    • LARC 4330: Plant Identification and Ecology **
    • LARC 4395: Topics in Landscape Architecture
      • Creative Regional Design  (now offered as LARC 4327) **
      • Environmental Art & Data Visualization  (now offered as LARC 4324)**
    • PAPP 4307: Urban Geography
    • PLAN 1301: Introduction to Urban Life
    • PLAN 3301: The Metroplex
    • PLAN 4305: Foundations of Environmental Protection & Sustainability
    • PLAN 4320: Sustainable Communities
    • PLAN 4327: Green Cities & Transportation (formerly offered as PLAN 4395)
    • PLAN 4395: Studies in Planning
      • Approved Topics:
        • Environmental Assessment Policy & Practice **
        • Green Cities & Transportation (now offered as PLAN 4327) **
    • SOCI 3347: Environment and Society
    • SOCW 3310: Environmental Justice & Green Social Work
    • SOCW 4350: Special Issues in Social Work
      • Approved Topics:
        • Green Social Work
    • UDES 1301: Introduction to Principles of Sustainable Urban Design

     

    GROUP 2 - COS, COE

    • BIOL 1334: Life on Earth Evolution, Ecology, and Global Change
    • BIOL 1342: Evolution & Ecology
    • BIOL 1442: Evolution & Ecology
    • BIOL 3318: Limnology
    • BIOL 3328: Environmental Microbiology
    • BIOL 3355: Toxicology
    • BIOL 3356: Environmental Systems, Biological Aspects
    • BIOL 3357: Marine Biology
    • BIOL 3457: General Ecology

    • CE 3131: Environmental Analysis 
    • CE 3301: Stochastic Models for Civil Engineering
    • CE 3334: Principles of Environmental Engineering
    • CE 3342: Water Resources Engineering
    • CE 4323: Landfill Design
    • CE 4350: Intro to Air Pollution
    • CE 4351: Physical Unit Processes
    • CE 4354: Introduction to Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
    • CE 4355: Design of Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities

    • CHEM 1345: Chemistry in the World Around Us
    • CHEM 1445: Chemistry I for Non-Science Majors
    • CHEM 1446: Chemistry II for Non-Science Majors
    • CHEM 4461: Instrumental Analysis

    • ENVR 1301: Introduction to Environmental Science
    • ENVR 1330: Global Warming (+lab) [also offered as GEOL 1330, credit will only be granted for one]
    • ENVR 2414: The Global Environment and Human Health
    • ENVR 3387: Environmental Science Field Methods
    • ENVR 3454: Statistics for Earth and Environmental Scientists
    • ENVR 3457: Environmental Analytical Chemistry
    • ENVR 4303: Topics in Sustainability
    • ENVR 4305: Selected topics in Environmental Sciences
    • ENVR 4312: Environmental Risk Based Action
    • ENVR 4313: Environmental Regulation of Chemical Hazards
    • ENVR 4314: Toxicology for Environmental Scientists
    • ENVR 4315: Introduction to Environmental Studies
    • ENVR 4323: Issues in Environmental Health
    • GEOL 1301: Earth Systems
    • GEOL 1330: Global Warming (+lab) [also offered as ENVR 1330, credit will only be granted for one]
    • GEOL 1340: Weather and Climate
    • GEOL 2406: Natural Resources and Sustainability
    • GEOL 2414: The Global Environment and Human Health
    • GEOL 3340: Geology for Engineers
    • GEOL 4308: Environmental Geochemistry
    • GEOL 4325: Paleoclimate and Climate Change
    • GEOL 4353: Volcanology
    • GEOL 4356: Environmental Risk Assessment
    • GEOL 4465: Physical Oceanography and Limnology

    • MAE 4351: Aerospace Vehicle Design II

    • PHYS 1351:Energy and Environment

    • PSYC 3316: Environmental Psychology  (NO LONGER OFFERED)

    OTHER 

      • ESST 3300: Independent Study. 3 units. Graded A-F. Consent of instructor and director of Environmental and Sustainability Studies Minor required. Independent, study on a specific topic related to sustainability and environmental studies. The student and the instructor will design the readings, research, and requirements. The supervising instructor may be from any department. The Director of Environmental and Sustainability Studies must approve of the topic and requirements. This course is open only to ESS Minors.
      • ESST 3350: Independent Project. 3 units. Graded A-F. Consent of instructor and director of Environmental and Sustainability Studies Minor required. Independent research project or design project related to sustainability and environmental studies. The project may be scientific or artistic, involving experiments, engineering, planning or design. Format will be designed by instructor and student. The supervising instructor may be from any department. The Director of Environmental and Sustainability Studies must approve of the project and requirements. This course is open only to ESS Minors.
      • ESST 4300: Internship in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. 3 units. Graded Pass/Fail. Consent of the Director of Environmental and Sustainability Studies required. Provides the student with the opportunity to apply academic skills learned in environmental and sustainability studies to campus operations, or business, community, or nonprofit organizations. Students will work a certain number of hours and submit a written account of their experience and accomplishments to the Director of Environmental and Sustainability Studies. This course is open only to ESS minors.

      [For ESST 3300 or ESST 3350, students will need to have a independent study topic (ESST 3300) or independent study project (ESST 3350) in mind to present for possible approval. For ESST 4300, students will need to have a pre-arranged internship opportunity to present for possible approval.]

      Please contact cappa.advising@uta.edu for questions regarding ESST 3300, 3350, or 4300. You may only take one of these courses for the ESS Minor. See the full list of Academic Programs in Sustainability. 

      For advising assistance and/or questions about the ESST minor, please email arch.advising@uta.edu.