Sustainability in Engineering Minor

The interdisciplinary minor in Sustainability in Engineering aligns with ABET’s (Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology) foundational Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs including the incorporation of sustainability into design thinking along with multidisciplinary systems thinking in addressing complex challenges of the 21st century. This aligns with long-term trends in the field of engineering where professionals must have familiarity with Triple Bottom Line (social equity, environmental impact, and economic feasibility) assessment including economic input-output lifecycle assessment analysis (EIO-LCA), design for disassembly, cost benefit analysis (CBA), risk assessment, biomimicry, and more. Likewise, this minor is in tune with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) STARS Technical Manual which emphasizes that learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  As such, students are exposed both through required coursework in Engineering and Sustainability along with selected coursework across multiple disciplines such as Economics, Public Health, Philosophy, and Sociology to evaluate design challenges from a nested systems perspective as cutting-edge problem solvers. 

Minimum Credits Required: 18