Green Leaf Programs and Courses

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Web: sustainabilitystudies.gmu.edu

The image designates a “green leaf” course or academic program, one which focuses on learning about sustainability, i.e., meeting our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

For more information, please go to http://sustainabilitystudies.gmu.edu/greenleaf/index.html.

Programs

Green leaf academic programs focus on sustainability, usually including a required set of green leaf courses in order to cover the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Each is a vital contributor to Mason’s sustainability across the curriculum.

Undergraduate Degrees

• Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, BS 
• Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources, BS: Concentration in Parks and Outdoor Recreation 
• Environmental and Sustainability Studies, BA 
• Environmental Science, BS 
• Global Affairs, BA 
• Tourism and Events Management, BS 

Undergraduate Minors and Certificates

• Applied Conservation Studies Minor 
• Environmental Management Undergraduate Certificate *
• Environmental Policy Minor *
• Global Affairs Minor *
• Sustainability Minor 

Graduate Degrees

• Environmental Science and Policy, MS 
• Environmental Science and Public Policy, PhD 
• Global Affairs, MA *
• Interdisciplinary Studies, MAIS: Concentration in Energy and Sustainability 

Graduate Certificates

• Environmental Conflict Resolution and Collaboration Graduate Certificate 
• Environmental Management Graduate Certificate 

* Meets green leaf criteria when options are selected to ensure coverage of “people, planet and prosperity” across the program’s curriculum.

Courses

The green leaf designation recognizes offerings that contribute significantly to students’ understanding and practice of sustainability. These offerings extend beyond environmental management, natural resources protection and conservation studies alone to Mason’s green leaf curricula comprise both sustainability-focused and sustainability-related courses.

Sustainability-focused courses provide valuable grounding in the concepts and principles of sustainability. These courses educate students about how different dimensions of sustainability relate to and support each other in theory and practice. In addition, these courses help equip students with the skills to weave together disparate components of sustainability in addressing complex issues.

Sustainability-related courses help build knowledge about a component of sustainability or introduce students to sustainability concepts during part of the course. They may complement sustainability-focused courses by providing students with in-depth knowledge of a particular aspect or dimension of sustainability (such as the natural environment) or by providing a focus area (such as renewable energy) for a student’s sustainability studies, or they may broaden students’ understanding of sustainability from within different disciplines.