UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Department of Geography in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is launching a new major in sustainability, society and environmental geography (SSEG), a bachelor of arts degree program for students who want to understand and shape sustainability efforts through the connected lenses of environment, economy and equity.
The program will prepare students to evaluate sustainability policy and practice with attention to real-world outcomes, including how decisions affect communities, landscapes and efforts to advance equity and social justice.
“The new Sustainability, Society and Environmental Geography program will offer students a hands-on, interdisciplinary approach to sustainability,” said Jared Whear, SSEG director and assistant research professor in geography. “It will provide students with a critical and technical skillset, preparing them for careers and environmental jobs that will make a positive, lasting impact. These skills and careers are essential in global, national and local efforts to build a more sustainable and just future.”
Students can begin the program at any Penn State campus and complete the degree at University Park. The major is designed to fit Penn State’s 2+2 model, with several introductory courses available across the Penn State system and remaining requirements completed within two years at University Park.
The new major draws on existing sustainability-related courses and faculty expertise in the Department of Geography and organizes that work through a structured core sequence aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The program adds three courses: a course that introduces frameworks for understanding sustainability, a methods course focused on sustainability research and evaluation and a project-based capstone where students apply what they have learned to a real-world sustainability challenge.
"In the current moment of Earth’s history, with multiple, compounding environmental challenges facing us, it’s easy to feel a sense of hopelessness,” Whear said. “However, the new sustainability major will offer students the critical, experiential training necessary to understand and help solve these challenges. In doing so, students are shown that efforts to improve the environment are not futile, and that there are many reasons to remain hopeful, despite the environmental crises that face us today."
The Sustainability, Society and Environmental Geography program emphasizes the human dimensions of sustainability. Through coursework, students will examine how environmental and social systems are connected and how sustainability strategies play out across different places and populations. Topics include climate change, resource use, policy decisions and inequality as well as the approaches used to design and measure sustainability solutions.
Prescribed courses include:
- EMSC 100S: Earth and Mineral Sciences First-Year Seminar
- GEOG 210: Geographic Perspectives on Environmental Systems Science
- GEOG 230: Geographic Perspectives on Environment, Society and Sustainability
- GEOG 340: Thinking Sustainably
- GEOG 344: Sustainability Methods
- GEOG 390: Professional Development Seminar in Geography
- GEOG 440: Environment, Society and Sustainability Capstone
The program will culminate in a capstone project where students design and complete a research project aimed at producing a tangible, positive impact on the interactions of environment and society. Professional preparation is supported through a required seminar focused on career development.
The major is intended for students who want to apply sustainability knowledge in a range of settings, including government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. Graduates may pursue roles connected to sustainability planning and evaluation, environmental consulting and resource management and related geography pathways that use tools such as GIS and geospatial analysis to analyze and communicate complex sustainability challenges.
The new Sustainability, Society and Environmental Geography major is now available in the Penn State University Undergraduate Bulletin. Students interested in the program can contact the Department of Geography to learn more about requirements and course planning.