Sustainable Communities (BA)–Pathways
Sustainable Communities is a unique and vibrant degree program that addresses current needs by integrating environmental education with cultural analysis, public policy, social action, and hands-on skill building. The course of study encourages a student’s capacity to think globally and systemically; to clarify value conflicts, motivations, and learning styles; and to plan and carry out imaginative projects. Students undergo an expansion of their perspectives and a deepening awareness of themselves in relation to their world.
Sustainable Communities is a two-year, four-semester, Upper Division weekend program within the Pathways Evening/Weekend Degree Program for Adult Learners. This program employs a cohort model, with structure, content, and activities that encourage development of a sense of community among students moving through the program together. This allows the academic subject matter of group dynamics, leadership, and building community to be put into practice.
Sustainable Communities has two concurrent components: the Core Courses and the Concentration Courses. The core course series consists of two threads: 1) cultural ecology/sustainable communities, which applies ecological concepts to the understanding of human history and social systems, and 2) foundation of ecological design, which trains students in ecological design methods and techniques for creating sustainable human systems, with a focus on ecological land management using a permaculture design approach. Each student will select to take either the Ecological Food Systems or the EcoDwelling Concentration course sequence for the full two years, allowing deeper study of a particular area of interest.
In addition to class work, there are co-curricular activities, service learning projects, community outreach, public events, and career/internship opportunities. A student must pass all of the Core Courses, and all of the courses offered in the chosen Concentration, in the sequence described in the Course Series that follows.
