Sustainability (Minor)
Open to all majors, the Sustainability minor adds 18 credit hours of career-boosting knowledge in environmental management, sustainable design, policy and human behavior. Core courses ground you in systems thinking and real-world solutions, while electives let you tailor the minor to your field—from biology and engineering to business and social sciences. This program equips you to stand out in any career where sustainability matters.
This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2025-Spring 2026 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.
Minor in Sustainability
Unit: College of Arts and Sciences (AS)
Department: Urban and Public Affairs
Academic Plan Code(s): SUSTMINOR
The College of Arts and Sciences offers a minor in Sustainability which is open to all students at the University of Louisville. The minor is designed for students who wish to supplement their major program with training in the identification, implementation, and monitoring of sustainable practices, processes, and systems.
The minor requires 18 credit hours of coursework. Fifteen credit hours will be completed in core sustainability courses, and three elective credit hours will be available across a broad number of related disciplines in Arts and Sciences and other UofL academic units.
NOTE: Three credit hours of the required courses will satisfy the SBD1 General Education Requirements.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| URBS 131 | Introduction to Sustainability - SB | 3 |
| URBS 231 | Environmental Management | 3 |
| URBS 232 | Behavioral Dimensions of Environmental Decision-Making | 3 |
| URBS 331 | Sustainable Built Environment - P1, SB | 3 |
| URBS 431 | Policy and Governance in Sustainability - WR | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Select any one of the 300+ level courses below: | 3 | |
| College of Arts and Sciences | ||
ANTH 332 | Ecology, Politics and Culture | |
ANTH 352 | Food and Body Politic | |
BIOL 363 | Principles of Ecology | |
BIOL 401 | Advanced Ecology | |
BIOL 440 | Global Change Ecology - CUE | |
CJ 430 | Environmental Crime | |
ENVS 360 | Global Environmental Change | |
ENVS 363 | Climate Science | |
GEOG 340 | Environmental Conflict in the United States: Historical Foundations & Contemporary Problems - P1, SBH | |
GEOG 361 | Sustainable Human Environments - WR | |
PHIL 328 | Environmental Ethics | |
POLS 335 | Global Environmental Politics | |
POLS 348 | Environmental Policy | |
SOC 315 | Environmental Sociology | |
SOC 380 | Animals and Society | |
URBS 301 | Planning for Innovative and Equitable Cities and Regions | |
URBS 303 | Urban Quantitative Methods - QR | |
URBS 432 | Sustainable Social-Ecological Systems | |
URBS 490 | Special Topics | |
| Speed School of Engineering | ||
CEE 309 | Introduction to Environmental Engineering | |
CHE 401 | Safety, Health and Environment | |
| College of Business | ||
ECON 360 | Environmental Economics | |
ECON 312 | Urban Economics | |
| School of Public Health and Information Sciences | ||
PHEH 301 | Public Health and Our Environment | |
PHEH 331 | Food Composition and Public Health | |
| Minimum Total Hours | 18 | |
At least three (3) semester hours of the requirements for a minor must be successfully completed while enrolled in the University of Louisville.