1. 248 Sustainability MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 5 No. 4 • August 2012 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2012.9939
Abstract
Academic institutions represent the best forums for objective discussions about the relationship between humans and envi-
ronment. Today, the need to explore the foundations of academic programs related to the environment is more important
than ever before. Advancing sustainability means, in part, connecting human interests and values to the themes of energy,
environment, enterprise, and health. The thinking necessary to advance sustainability is key to rebuilding economies and is
therefore in the wheelhouse of the interdisciplinary environmental academic programs found at many colleges and univer-
sities. This article explains how advancing sustainability forces the evolution of interdisciplinary environmental academic
programs so they equip students to cope with the profoundly new environmental agenda.
Research and Solutions
Environmental Academic Programs:
Advancing Sustainability
with a New Environmental Agenda
By William E. Winner, Ph.D. and Erin Champion
Environmental Sciences Academic Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Advancing Sustainability
with Academic Environmental
Programs
Economic cycles profoundly affect public
opinions and concerns about the impor-
tance of environmental initiatives. Even so,
public interest in environmental issues will
never go away because it is in our DNA. The
very first humans thought carefully about
their environment in order to provide the
necessary shelter, food, water, and other
resources just to survive. Today, as yester-
day, the discussion of our relationships with
nature is still important. Our well-being
and the prosperity of future generations
depend on understanding how our social
and economic needs affect the natural laws
that govern the biogeochemical cycles, the
forces of nature, and our interactions with
other species.1
Today we find the United States in the throes
of an economic downturn that includes high
unemployment, economic stagnation, and
the spread of financial crises in countries
around the world. These economic factors,
and others, have a profound effect on public
priorities and their concerns about the envi-
ronment. For example, in 2007, 55 percent
of the public held environment as a priority,
whereas in 2012 only 40 percent of the pub-
lic view environment as a priority.2
Higher education can reshape environmen-
tal academic programs to help create the
workforce needed to rebuild our economies.
Works such as Rising above the Gathering
Storm (National Academies, 2005), That
Used to Be Us (Friedman and Mandelbaum,
2011), and 14 Engineering Grand Challenges
(National Academy of Engineering, 2008) all
point to the importance of science, technol-
ogy, engineering, and math (STEM) educa-
tion to our economic future. In addition to
STEM courses, other higher-order learn-
ing elements for education are necessary to
teach students the processes of rational and
analytical decision making, communication,
and the ability to work in teams.3
Academic
programs with environmental themes are
particularly important as they contain large
numbers of STEM courses and other courses
students need for future careers, as well as
preparing students for economic and social
recovery.

2. A key part of an expanding, new environ-
mental agenda is to integrate the themes
of energy, sustainability, health, enterprise,
and other themes into the environmental
courses and curricula. In so doing, stu-
dents have opportunities to not only seek
conventional environmental careers, but to
also seek careers across a broad landscape
of professions. More specifically, students
from environmental programs reflecting the
old environmental agenda historically found
careers in the private sector that include en-
vironmental monitoring and consulting and
writing environmental impact statements.
Students also commonly found careers with
environmentally oriented nongovernmental
agencies and with regulatory agencies in the
public sector.
Now, students with environmental back-
grounds reflecting the new environmental
agenda are pursuing careers in new areas,
including environmental law, business
and economics, environmental education,
nutrition and health, design, and many
other fields. In addition, students from
interdisciplinary fields are enrolling in
graduate studies in a broad range of fields,
from anthropology to zoology. Expand-
ing the range of academic and professional
careers creates a diverse array of avenues for
extending concepts of sustainability and the
environment into the mainstream of eco-
nomic and social development.
New Agenda Issues
in Higher Education
Understanding the new environmental
agenda is important for those in the admin-
istration at community colleges, four-year
colleges, and at universities who can direct
planning and resources to develop and rede-
sign environmental programs. Faculty mem-
bers are also interested in the new agenda
as they change the nature of their teaching,
research, and outreach activities so that the
approaches and content of their activities
evolve as rapidly as the world they live in.
Perhaps most importantly, the topics of the
new environmental agenda already capture
the interest of students who are passionate
about their futures and their connections to
long-term social prospects.
Important issues for understanding the new
environmental agenda include:
The Old Environmental Agenda
Origins of the Old
Environmental Agenda
The academic basis of the old environmental
agenda stems, in part, from environmen-
tal legislation developed in the late 1960s.
Examples of important federal legislation
include the Clean Water Act (1965), the
National Environmental Policy Act (1969),
the Clean Air Act (1970), the Federal In-
secticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(1972), and the Endangered Species Act
(1973). Other elements contributing to the
academic programs of the old environmen-
tal agenda include the formation of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
in 1970. In addition, environmental think-
ing was stimulated by a number of authors
including Rachel Carson (Silent Spring,
1962), Barry Commoner (Science and Sur-
vival, 1966; The Closing Circle, 1971), Paul
Ehrlich (The Population Bomb, 1968), and
Garret Hardin (Tragedy of the Commons,
1968; Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Help-
ing the Poor, 1974).
Federal environmental legislation and pub-
lications dealing with environmental issues
resulted in further laws regulating environ-
mental impacts and use of natural resources
through additional state and local laws and
policies. Writing environmental impact
statements and monitoring air and water
quality created thousands of jobs and a vast
array of technologies in a new environmen-
tal industry.
In response to the public concerns about
environmental quality, and recognizing the
emerging career prospects, colleges and uni-
versities throughout the United States cre-
ated new academic degrees.11
From 1980 to
1990, more than 200 academic institutions
in higher education created undergradu-
ate degrees in environmental science, envi-
ronmental studies, and other degrees with
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 5 No. 4 • August 2012 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2012.9939 Sustainability 249
The New Environmental Agenda
The relationship between humans and the
environment is becoming more complex,
giving rise to a new environmental agenda.
Complexity comes because human activity
is of such scope that we are changing the
physical and chemical climate on earth,
and therefore the global biosphere. More
specifically, we are creating environmen-
tal complexity by enlarging the scale and
accelerating the rates of environmental
change.4-6
In addition to creating complexity,
human capacity to understand the dynam-
ics of existing environmental systems is
increasingly sophisticated. Environmental
monitoring and modeling allow detection
of large- and small-scale change—ranging
in time frames from fractions of seconds,
back to the beginning of time on Earth,
and forward far into the future. New tools
in analytics are emerging to help trans-
form massive amounts of data to informa-
tion used for both making decisions about
environmental management and predic-
tions of outcomes.
Acknowledging the role of humans in
modifying climate, and the more sophis-
ticated understanding of complexities
underlying environmental change, creates
a new environmental agenda. The new
environmental agenda is the old environ-
mental agenda, plus the global issues such
as impacts of energy production and use,
sustainability, climate change, environ-
mental health, and global-scale changes in
biodiversity that include extinctions, spe-
cies introductions, and migrations.
Expanding Environment
Academic Programs
Interdisciplinary environmental pro-
grams now occupy a significant part of
the academic turf in higher education and
therefore warrant attention that includes
a history and predicted trajectory. From
the first interdisciplinary environmentally
oriented academic programs that emerged
decades ago, the United States now has
more than 1,000 four-year colleges and
universities with academic programs
dealing with the environment.7-9
Inter-
disciplinary environmental programs are
found in all types of institutions in higher
education, including community colleges,
liberal arts colleges, and both public and
private universities.10
the origins of the old environmental
agenda, its importance, and its short-
comings;
2.
3.
4.
5.
the emergence of a new environmental
agenda;
various approaches for updating existing
environmental academic programs;
trends in environmental academic pro-
grams that reflect the need to explore the
new environmental agenda; and
the interdisciplinary academic programs
with environmental themes offered at
academic institutions in the United
States and how they can provide exam-
ples of environmental programming.
1.

3. 250 Sustainability MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 5 No. 4 • August 2012 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2012.9939
Research and Solutions
similar names. Most of these new, environ-
mental academic programs focus on natural
sciences (mathematics, geology, physics,
and chemistry), life sciences (biology, ag-
riculture, forestry, fisheries, and wildlife),
and social sciences (political science,
economics, sociology). Environmental sci-
ence degrees emphasize natural and life
sciences, and environmental studies degrees
include basic science courses but emphasize
social sciences and humanities.
Academic Programs Create
the Environmental Industry
Environmental academic programs began
to change the personalities of academic
institutions. Those in higher education
reconsidered how current curricula relate to
the life sciences, physical sciences, and social
sciences and how these academic areas con-
nect to environmental problems, including
air pollution, toxicology, land-use planning,
endangered species, land use and zoning,
and other local issues.
The environmental undergraduate degrees
brought new challenges to the administra-
tion and management of colleges and uni-
versities. The interdisciplinary approach to
environmental education did not fit neatly
into organizational charts. In most cases,
environmental academic programs emerged
from, and stayed within, existing depart-
ments or colleges within universities. New
curricula developed so students could take
courses from multiple academic units. Ini-
tially, the curricula were multidisciplinary,
with students choosing from an array of
existing, traditional, disciplinary courses.
In the absence of mentoring and truly inter-
disciplinary approaches, students faced the
challenge to find the relationships between
disparate courses in physical, life, and social
sciences.
Many colleges and universities created a new
course, Introduction to Environmental Sci-
ence, which identified new linkages between
academic disciplines within the context of
environmental management and laws. With
time, faculty members created team-taught,
interdisciplinary courses, used case stud-
ies, formal debates, and touchstone themes,
and mentored student projects that allowed
synthesis between disciplines. The introduc-
tory courses spawned several new textbooks,
many of which are still in use, after multiple
editions, today.
Students graduating from the environ-
mental academic programs established
long and important careers in an emerging
environmental industry. The growth of the
environmental industry imposed a cost for
environmental regulation and management.
Some felt that the cost of environmental
compliance, which includes the salaries and
equipment needed to comply with laws, was
a drain on the economy. Others felt that
investing in environmental protection pro-
vided jobs and the production of new equip-
ment and technologies, and increased value
of natural resources.
Shortcomings. Four general issues pose
problems for interdisciplinary, environmen-
tal academic programs.
1. Programmatic Ownership. Interdisciplin-
ary academic programs dealing with envi-
ronmental issues do not fit neatly within a
disciplinary-based academic unit. In some
cases,environmentalprogramsthatemerged
from disciplinary academic departments
such as geology or biology no longer fit their
original home. Embracing the synthesis of
physical, life, and social science exceeds the
scope of traditional, disciplinary academic
units, and posed problems for administra-
tive reporting and financial support.
2. Programmatic Evolution. The courses
and curricula for the initial undergraduate
degrees in environmental sciences seemed
radically different from traditional academic
degrees. Unfortunately, the environmental
issues of the day unfolded faster than the
rate at which new courses and curricula were
developed. The environmental science
degrees that are laden with requirements
have little room to add new material. In
addition, the process for curricular revision
in colleges and universities is burdensome,
often taking years of committee work. There
is usually little incentive for faculty members
tospendlargeamountsoftimedevisingnovel
approaches for teaching the increasingly
complex issues of global change, environ-
mental health, and energy and environment.
3. Environmental Science vs. Environmen-
tal Studies vs. Other Names. Academic
institutions rolling out environmental curri-
cula struggled with the question of whether
students should major in environmental
science or in environmental studies. Still
other names for environmental programs
emerged, including natural resources,
environmental geology, and environmental
management.
At times, the debate over names of the
degrees and administrative units became
divisive. Faculty members struggled to cre-
ate programs that truly reflected the unique
strengths, history, culture, vision, and strate-
gic plans of their institutions. Those in some
departments and colleges attempted to cap-
ture the environmental theme for their aca-
demic unit and used the program name for
identity, marketing, and recruiting students
and faculty members.
Most colleges and universities developed
either environmental science degrees or
environmental studies degrees, creating two
types of programs differing in science con-
tent. In some cases, large academic universi-
ties created both environmental science and
environmental studies programs, with the
two programs often competing against each
other.
The environmental science programs
featured strong commitments to earth
science, physics, chemistry, mathematics,
biology, and some social science with the
idea that understanding environmental
issues requires mastery of all the sciences.
The thinking was that from science would
come all the answers needed to solve envi-
ronmental problems.
Others thought that for some students, a less
comprehensive exposure to basic sciences
is adequate if they also had courses that ex-
plored the social aspects of environmental
issues. Important themes for environmen-
tal studies programs include environmental
economics, environmental policies, human
psychology and behavior, environmental
ethics, and environmental law.
4. Perceived Lack of Rigor and Focus. The
perception that environmental programs are
weak often arises from faculty members in
basic sciences, including chemistry, phys-
ics, and mathematics. The concern is that
an environmental science degree requiring
only one or two courses in each of these
basic sciences does not constitute rigorous,
scientific study. The expected outcome is
students who do not have the background to
understand environmental problems such as
toxicology, air pollution chemistry, and for-
est decline.

4. MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 5 No. 4 • August 2012 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2012.9939 Sustainability 251
Still others claim that students in environ-
mental programs who take courses across
such a wide range of topics never develop
specific skills or a sense of academic iden-
tity.12
Examples of focal areas within envi-
ronmental science include biodiversity, en-
vironmental chemistry, and climate change.
Without such an identity, it is argued that
students are at a disadvantage, lacking skills
for developing academic and professional
careers.
The concern of breadth and depth led to a
survey of the curricula of more than 100
academic programs with environmental
themes; the results show most curricula of-
fered remedies to ensure that even with aca-
demic diversity, environmental science and
environmental studies programs would en-
gage in rigorous scholarship.13
Origins
A reasonable starting point for the new
environmental agenda is 1988 with the
formation of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC). Over the next
two-plus decades, the IPCC provided con-
vincing evidence that the emission of green-
house gases by human activity is changing
the global carbon cycle and forcing climate
change. The IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report6
concludes that 1.) global warming is under-
way, 2.) climate change is due to greenhouse
gas emissions from human activity with a
minor contribution from naturally occur-
ring Earth processes, 3.) the trend of warm-
ing and sea level rise will continue even if
greenhouse gas emissions are stabilized,
and 4.) the extent of warming, sea level rise,
and other aspects of global climate change
depends on trends of global greenhouse gas
emissions. In addition to the IPCC, other
factors accelerated the formation of the
new environmental agenda in the United
States including the former Vice President
Al Gore’s book and movie, An Inconvenient
Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global
Warming and What We Can Do About It
(Rodale Books, 2006; Paramount, 2006).
Concerns also mounted from documented
increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas
concentrations, melting of the Polar ice cap,
evidence of rapidly changing biodiversity
(including extinctions and invasions), and
acidification of oceans.
The idea that human activity is of such size
and scope that we are changing the physi-
cal and chemical climate of the Earth pro-
foundly alters the nature of the environmen-
tal discussion. The unavoidable outcome is
that human-caused environmental change
also now affects all life on Earth. Global
climate change is an important part of the
new environmental agenda, which includes
other large, complex issues. The old environ-
mental agenda provides the foundation for
a new set of large-scale, complex issues that
profoundly alter the scope and the impact of
the environmental agenda.
Examples of issues in the new environmen-
tal agenda include:
Remodel Existing Environmental
Programs or Build New Ones?
To address the new environmental agenda,
those in higher education can either build
new programs or remodel existing ones. The
creation of new academic programs is often
easier than modification of existing ones.
Creating new, interdisciplinary academic
programs requires resources for planning,
and typically requires from one to two years
of discussions to write and edit proposals
for new courses and curricula. After writ-
ing proposals for the new program, comes
a year (or more) in an approval process that
may include many academic units, student
leaders, the faculty senate, approval by deans
and executive officers, the board of trust-
ees, and ultimately the state board of higher
education. Even though planning a new
degree program in environmental sciences
is a stimulating process, success requires
investing time and resources and the efforts
by a champion who will guide the discus-
sions and proposal writing while building
consensus for the new program.
Following the path of building new degrees
can also result in the proliferation of degree
programs. If student enrollment at a univer-
sity remains constant, and the number of
available majors increases, student enroll-
ments in some individual majors will drop.
For example, a single degree in environ-
mental science can be supplemented with
new degrees in sustainability, energy and
environment, climate change, environmen-
tal health, etc. Adding these new degrees for
each emerging environmental topic provides
a simple fix, but results in lack of synthesis.
Remodeling existing environmental pro-
grams to embrace an evolving set of complex
environmental issues poses challenges of a
different sort. Many colleges and universi-
ties have existing environmental academic
programs that are 20 years old, or more.
At the time of their design and implemen-
tation, environmental science academic
programs were state-of-the-art. However,
environmental science academic programs
that date back to the 1990s typically need
revision. If the curriculum is dynamic over
the life of the program, and the program is
well-maintained, the pathways for revisions
may be established and manageable.
Unfortunately, academic programs in envi-
ronmental sciences are often understaffed,
and there are no incentives or resources
for revising course content or creating new
courses. In addition, staff members involved
in instruction can view their efforts as still
relevant and up-to-date, when in fact course
content is antiquated and the same instruc-
tors teach the same material year after year.
The new environmental agenda includes the
old agenda plus more complex issues.
The New Environmental Agenda
The old environmental agenda:
air pollution, toxicology, land-use
planning, National Environmental
Protection Act, etc.
Mitigation and adaptation to
anthropogenic climate change
Changes in global biodiversity: ex-
tinctions, invasions, and migrations
Global environmental health
Environmental equity, justice, and
ethics
The connection between energy
and environment
Advancing sustainability with innova-
tion and enterprise
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Change in biodiversity attributed to
migration with climate change, inva-
sions launched by intentional and un-
intentional human activity, and extinc-
tions.
Change in environmental health of hu-
mans caused by climate change and the
development of communities and cities
around the world.
Recognition of linkages between en-
ergy and the environment that include,
but go beyond, issues of climate change.
1
2.
3.

5. 252 Sustainability MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 5 No. 4 • August 2012 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2012.9939
Research and Solutions
The issues of remodeling an environmental
science academic program are similar to re-
modeling an old house, and factors to con-
sider include the following steps.
Trends in Revising Environmental
Academic Programs
The Trends
A hint of the new environmental agenda
emerges from a discussion of the evolving
concept of sustainability. The original con-
cept of sustainability of the environment has
roots in defining sustainable development in
terms of meeting the needs of today without
limiting future generations.1
However, as
the discussion has advanced, more recently
the concept of sustainability suggests that
affecting resources for future generations is
unavoidable, and that although we strive to
be more efficient with energy and resourc-
es, the global population will always have a
footprint. Nonetheless, we should continu-
ally take measures to progress toward a more
sustainable condition.
Discussions of approaches to advancing to
a more sustainable global population often
focus on academic programs that ensure a
framework for understanding sustainability
Make the foundation solid. The bricks
and mortar that support the academic
program include features such as the
core course sequence. The central con-
cepts of the core courses should in-
troduce new students to the founding
principles of environmental sciences,
including its interdisciplinary quality,
the project/research-based themes, the
need to explore case studies, and the
broad scope of topics that fall into the
realm of environmental sciences. Typi-
cally, a core course sequence built 20
years ago is outdated.
Be sure the floor plan flows well. Stu-
dents coming into an environmental
academic program should be able to
move freely about the academic insti-
tution, building their general educa-
tion, skills, and focal areas. As aca-
demic institutions restructure, change
leadership, and replace faculty mem-
bers, student access to critical parts of
institutions and courses can change, of-
ten becoming more limited. Checking
to see that students can move through-
out the institution and can graduate in
a typical four-year program of study is
a critical metric to monitor.
Move the walls. The curriculum of
environmental sciences academic
programs typically includes elements
such as core courses, general education
courses, communication and analytical
skills courses, out of classroom course
credits, and defined concentrations
to give students a sense of academic
identity. With the development of
new technologies, such as geographic
information systems, information
technology, analytics, and the world-
wide web, many of the spaces initially
created when environmental sciences
programs were formed now fail to in-
clude contemporary techniques and
issues. Worse still, the proliferation of
new degrees related to environmental
sciences, such as environmental stud-
ies, natural resources, biogeochemistry,
and sustainability can limit boundaries
for existing environmental science pro-
grams.
demic programs that are affected by
remodeling an environmental program
can be simple; remodeling is largely
an in-house activity and does not
require advising and approval from
outside the academic institutions. For
the remodeling to go smoothly, the
central administration and other
administrators must be supportive
beyond ensuring adequate resources;
for the remodel to be successful, the
change proposed must be under-
stood to benefit both those within and
those surrounding the environmen-
tal sciences academic program. If the
perception develops that bolstering an
environmental academic program will
diminish other, existing academic pro-
grams, problems will arise. Commu-
nication with those affected, directly
and indirectly, about program revi-
sion is essential. Remodeling an exist-
ing environmental program may have
widespread impacts on other existing
programs, so be prepared for meetings,
workshops, phone calls, and e-mails
that engage students, faculty members,
department heads and chairs, deans,
those in charge of facilities and opera-
tions, and executive officers.
Provide adequate service lines. The
service lines to environmental sci-
ences academic programs include the
resources for essential administrative
support. Often, the resources initially
provided to start the program are
adequate, but become insufficient as
the number of participating faculty
members, advisors, support staff, and
students increase. Commitments from
deans or the central administration can
wane in the face of budget cuts as in-
terdisciplinary programs are easier to
trim than programs viewed as more
central to the college’s mission. Ade-
quate communication and networking
is necessary with those in administra-
tion, allowing students opportunities
to study, talk, and form connections.
Funds are essential for providing pro-
gram leadership, administrative sup-
port, recruiting and advising students,
and an operating budget for the office.
Funds, or other approaches for arrang-
ing instruction, are essential for ensur-
ing that core and supporting courses
are offered to support the curriculum.
In short, the funding model used to
establish the environmental science
academic program may no longer be
sufficient to sustain operations.
Keep the curb appeal. The ability for
environmental academic programs
developed 20 or more years ago to
continue to attract new students and
faculty members is likely to wane. The
websites can get old and the courses
can become stale. Keeping the thinking
and the activities fresh, and appearing
fresh, requires constant grooming and
maintenance along with the input of
new approaches to recruiting and cre-
ating a front door that attracts interest.
Students in grades K-12 are increas-
ingly exposed to interdisciplinary edu-
cational activities, including working
on team activities; combining physical
science, life science, social science, and
humanities in lengthy projects; and us-
ing sophisticated computer technolo-
gies. Moving the socially networked
generation into a four-year curriculum
requires refreshing the front door of
academic programs dealing with the
new environmental agenda.
Talk with the neighbors. Getting
approval from those managing aca-
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•
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6. MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 5 No. 4 • August 2012 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2012.9939 Sustainability 253
science,14
and developing core competen-
cies for sustainability practitioners.15
The
idea is that sustainability goes far beyond life
science and physical science and includes
discussions of the “Ecosystem of Expertise,”
which are needed for humans to become
more sustainable,16
as well as social sciences
and humanities.17
The Revisions
With the evolution of the new environmen-
tal agenda, and the maturation and revision
of academic programs in environmental sci-
ences and studies, comes a set of features
that distinguish the environmental curri-
cula from the traditional degrees offered in
the sciences and humanities. Many of the
features listed below are critical pieces nec-
essary to prepare students for postgraduate
education and to compete for and excel in
careers.
1. Administrative models. Environmental
academic programs exist with a wide range
of administrative models. In some cases,
the undergraduate degree in environmental
science is administered in a specific depart-
ment or college within a large university. An
environmental program might be a tradi-
tional academic unit within the institution,
and have faculty or full-time equivalent, a
line-item budget, and responsibilities for
managing the courses and curriculum. Uni-
versities can also create virtual academic
units for environmental programs in which
faculty members have their appointments
and conduct research in traditional depart-
ments, but also have a teaching assignment
in the environmental program.
2. Interdisciplinary features. Environmen-
tal science is maturing and creating an in-
tellectual synthesis across disciplines. The
common approach for responsible curricula
in environmental science is for students to
focus on general education courses in the
first two years of study. During the first years,
students do more than take general courses
in sciences and humanities. The most criti-
cal learning for students involves finding
their academic interests, abilities, and limits.
In the latter two years, students move from
general education to defining a focal area for
academic study. Defining a cluster of cohe-
sive, advanced courses ensures that students
will have a sense of academic identity, an
understanding and skill set that sets them
apart from other students, and the ability to
generate career and educational options. A
cluster of cohesive, advanced courses may go
by a number of names including focal area,
concentration, certificate, or minor.
3. Capstone courses, inquiry-based learn-
ing, and research. Experience in inqui-
ry-based learning should accumulate
throughout the four-year experience in an
environmental science academic program.
Laboratory courses, fieldwork, and off-
campus projects should provide a rich set of
experiences designed to develop skills in
analytical thinking, writing, and oral presen-
tations. Students should have opportunities
to do inquiry-based projects in teams, with
each student having specific responsibilities.
Many students will pursue research projects
on environmental topics with faculty mem-
bers or other experts, providing a valuable
preparation for future graduate studies.
4. Campus projects. Environmental issues
of the college or university campus provide
fertile ground for environmental science
students who are passionate about reducing
energy use, conserving water, and moving
the academic community closer to environ-
mental sustainability. An essential element
for using student projects to contribute to
campus environmental challenges is to link
faculty members with the staff in charge of
campus facilities and operations. Faculty
members and students make a mistake when
launching into projects that can potentially
affect the way facilities and operations staff
function without initially forming a com-
prehensive plan for the project, one that
involves all those who will be affected.
5. Internships. Students in environmental
sciences learn essential lessons from off-
campus internships. Internships can be paid
or unpaid and can take place in a wide range
of settings in either the public or private sec-
tor. Internships occurring in the final year
of a student’s program of study can lead to
employment, the development of a profes-
sional network, and confirmation that the
student is in an area of environmental sci-
ence that is personally rewarding. Ideally,
students find internships in settings that are
linked to career interests. For example, if a
student is interested in exploring a career in
informal environmental education, working
as an intern at a state park is appropriate.
Internships let students experience the in-
terpersonal dynamics and infrastructures in
specific career settings, allowing them to see
the pace of activity in the workplace and to
appreciate career earnings and advancement
opportunities.
6. International learning for a global per-
spective. Academic programs embracing
the new environmental agenda are rap-
idly expanding the global perspective. The
challenges such as those posed by climate
change, the connections between energy
use and the environment, and processes
of biological extinctions and invasions are
beyond the scope of any state or nation.
Moving people between countries is an
essential part of appreciating the global
scope of environmental issues and recog-
nizing the importance of experiencing and
respecting other cultures. More directly,
students visiting foreign countries learn to
respect other cultures and ways of thinking
about the relationship between humans, na-
ture, and the environment.
7. Rigor and skills. Students enrolled in
academic programs addressing the new
environmental agenda need courses in
which they learn basic skills in natural and
social sciences. Basic skills include math-
ematics, chemistry, biology, physics, statis-
tics, and social sciences typically including
economics and political science. Academ-
ic environmental programs that require
extensive basic science qualify as STEM pro-
grams and are as scientifically rigorous as
traditional science disciplines. The challenge
is to teach students to find the connections
within the science disciplines and to link
basic science concepts to nonscience areas of
study such as ethics, writing, public speak-
ing, arts, history, psychology, and design.
8. Build student focus. Students must have
focused studies that define who they are in
the broad landscape of the new environmen-
tal agenda. To provide focus, environmental
programs often require each student to fit
into one of several defined academic con-
centrations. For example, students might
major in environmental science with a con-
centration in air quality. Other, more flexible
approaches to developing student focus in-
clude requiring students who major in envi-
ronmental programs to complete a relevant
minor. The importance of the focus is that
it defines an area of depth and competency
for students, gives each student a sense of
academic identity, and provides a pathway
to postgraduate education and careers.

7. 254 Sustainability MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 5 No. 4 • August 2012 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2012.9939
Research and Solutions
Summary
There is a new environmental agenda, and it
includes the issues of pollution, land use, and
features of local and regional environmen-
tal protection. In addition, the new agenda
reflects the increasing complexity of the
environment, an increasingly sophisticated
understanding of environmental change, the
links between energy and environment, and
a global perspective.
New environmental programs are develop-
ing. Some academic institutions that have
no existing interdisciplinary environmental
academic programs are building new ones.
In some cases, whole new centers and pro-
grams are forming. In other cases, academic
institutions are opening environmental pro-
grams with certificates or minors.
Existing academic environmental programs
are evolving. Many academic institutions in
the United States and abroad have existing
environmental academic programs. Rates of
revising the courses and curricula connected
with existing programs are often slower than
the rates of environmental change and the
emergence of new environmental issues.
Whether environmental academic programs
that address the new environmental agenda
are new or are revisions of existing ones, the
key features commonly sought include the
following features:
Author Disclosure Statement
No competing financial interests exist.
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Address correspondence to:
Dr. William E. Winner
Campus Box 8008
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
Email: wewinner@nsa.edu