Sustainability Education

Environmental Studies Major

The College offers a minor and a major in Environmental Studies. Students in the major can choose from three tracks:

Society and the Environment includes humanities courses on environmental ethics, history, and literature as well as social science courses on environmental policy, and international issues.

Science and the Environment offers courses on issues such as ecology, climate change, and energy grounded in biology, chemistry, and physics.

Sustainable Business takes advantage of North Central College’s combination of liberal arts and pre-professional departments to offer courses in sustainability, green business, and environmental economics taught by business, accounting, and economics professors.

Courses with Sustainability

Faculty can choose to incorporate some aspect of sustainability into their courses. Students then have the opportunity to work with the Sustainability Coordinator on a hands-on project that will have life outside the classroom. 

Research and Student Projects

North Central College students have a unique opportunity to participate in undergraduate research projects with the help of their faculty. Some of these projects have focused on sustainability. In the summer of 2015, two students created a tree inventory with the help of their biology professor. The information from this tree inventory will be available to all students and staff for classroom use and future projects. In 2014, a student received a fellowship to create a native plant guide for campus and install native plants around Oesterle Library. This aided another student's project to qualify North Central for the Conservation@Work award. Below is a photo of the two students receiving the Conservation@Work award from the Conservation Foundation. 

 

First Year Experience

As part of the College's First Year Experience, the Sustainability Coordinator took a group of several first year students into the city on a health and sustainability focused trip. These students were able to participate in hands on learning experiences and see the city of Chicago from a sustainability perspective!