University of Connecticut
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

In addition, in 2019 the University implemented an Environmental Literacy General Education requirement that requires all UConn students complete a 3-credit course Environmental Literacy Course.

By taking classes in all the content areas, students will gain a well-rounded perspective of all the different aspects of sustainability, including environmental, economic, and social.

The University Senate enacted these requirements to ensure that all University of Connecticut undergraduate students become articulate and acquire intellectual breadth and versatility, critical judgement, moral sensitivity, awareness of their era and society, consciousness of the diversity of human culture and experience, and a working understanding of the processes by which they can continue to acquire and use knowledge. It is vital to the accomplishment of the University’s mission that a balance between professional and general education be established and maintained in which each is complementary to and compatible with the other.

Every student across all colleges must take classes from four content areas, three of which are sustainability-related. Content Area 2 covers the social sciences. The learning outcome for this requirement is as follows: The social sciences examine how individuals, groups, institutions, and societies behave and influence one another and the natural environment.

Content Area 3 features physical sciences and lab classes. Most of these labs are found in programs that have one or more sustainability learning outcomes as listed below. The overall learning outcome for this content area is as follows: Students will establish scientific thought, observation, experimentation, and formal hypothesis testing, and enable students to consider the impact that developments in science and technology have on the nature and quality of life. In addition, as shown by the course list for this content area, student will also become more acquainted with their physical environment and the impacts they have on it.

Content Area 4 deals with multiculturalism, diversity, and equality. The learning outcome is as follows: In this interconnected global community, students and professionals need to be able to understand, appreciate, and function in cultures other than their own. Students will learn diversity and multiculturalism as a means for bringing to the fore the historical truths about different cultural perspectives, especially those of groups that traditionally have been under-represented. These groups might be characterized by such features as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identities, political systems, or religious traditions, or by persons with disabilities. By studying the ideas, history, values, and creative expressions of diverse groups, students gain appreciation for differences as well as commonalities among people and everyone’s right to equality and justice.

The data was obtained using the University of Connecticut Degrees Conferred Institutional research data from the academic year 2021-2022. The data provided is the degree, specifically the majors or programs, that UConn undergraduate and graduate students graduated with and is not inclusive of minors, concentrations, or certificates.

Data: https://bpir.media.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3452/2023/08/Degr10yr_summary_sch_level_2013_2023.pdf

The following majors were identified as being sustainability focused or have a sustainability component to them.

Undergraduate:
College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources-
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Allied Health Sciences
Animal Science
Applied and Resource Economics
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Exercise Science
Horticulture
Landscape Architecture
Natural Resources
Pathobiology
Sustainable Plant and Soil Sys
Turfgrass & Soil Science

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences-
Africana Studies
American Studies
Anthropology
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Economics
Engineering Physics
English
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Geographic Information Science
Geography
Geoscience
History
Human Rights
Marine Sciences
Maritime Studies
Molecular & Cell Biology
Philosophy
Physiology & Neurobiology
Political Science
Sociology
Structural Biology & Biophysics
Urban & Community Studies
Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies

School of Education-
Agricultural Education
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Earth Science Education
General Science Teacher Education
Geology & Geophysics
History & Social Studies
Physics

School of Engineering-
Biomedical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Engineering Physics
Environmental Engineering
Management & Engineering for Manufacturing
Materials Science & Engineering

Masters:
College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources-
Allied Health
Animal Science
Applied and Resource Economics
Energy and Environmental Management
Natural Resources: Land, Water & Air
Nutritional Science
Pathobiology
Plant Science

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences-
Anthropology
Applied Biochem and Cell Biology
Applied Microbial Systems Analysis
Biochemistry
Biodiversity & Conservation Biology
Biostatistics
Cell Biology
Chemistry
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Economics
Genetics & Genomics
Geography
Geological Sciences
History
International Studies
Microbiology
Molecular and Cell Biology
Oceanography
Philosophy
Physics
Physiology & Neurobiology

Below are descriptions of some of the programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability.

Africana Studies
- Grounded in the interdisciplinary understanding and study of peoples of African descent on the continent and in the diaspora. Its broad educational objectives are to engender among all students an intellectual appreciation of black lives and their saliency for all human experience; to deepen students' critical analytic skills, to value social equality, and to understand the complex social, economic, and political circumstances that inform topics such as natural resource management, political inequality, and the ramifications of the transatlantic slave trade.

Agricultural Education
- Students will learn the proper techniques to teach agriculture with emphasis on sustainable agriculture.

Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Students receive broad training in agricultural, environmental, and/or health sciences, to provide flexibility in entering such fields

Agriculture and Resource Economics (ARE)
- Business Management and Marketing
- Environmental Economics and Policy
- International Development
- Students will learn to protect and improve the food and fiber sector by enhancing the environment in the state, the nation, and the world.

American Studies
- Students will achieve the goals of the American Studies curriculum, which include awareness of complex cultural, political, and economic structures at the root of the social organizations that have existed throughout the history of what has come to be known as the “New World.” Students will learn how to approach the changing understandings of the geography and ecology of the Western Hemisphere, or issues of cultural and ethnic diversity.

Animal Science
- Students will engage across six, diverse areas of interest leading to the B.S. degree: Pre-professional (veterinary medicine or graduate training), Biotechnology, Business/Service, Equine Science, Food Science and Production Management. Students take a range of interdisciplinary courses to build a comprehensive understanding of principles of animal agriculture and management, including the relationships between food, health, environmental sustainability, and economics.

Anthropology
- Student's study human beings of all times and places, primarily examining human biological, cultural and social similarities and differences, and try to explain them. Students engage across a broad front, strengthening their writing, critical thinking, and social analysis.

Biological Sciences
- Students will receive a sound and broad background in biology, with a special focus on three subcategories: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB), and Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB).

Biology Education
- Students will learn the proper techniques to teach the biological science with emphasis on its diverse applications

Civil and Environmental Engineering (CE/ENVE)
- Students will be actively engaged in all efforts to predict, minimize the effect of, and retrofit or repair the infrastructure affected by events that include global climate change, environmental pollution crises, water shortage crises, non-sustainable energy practices, transportation planning and land use. Student will continue to address these global challenges through didactic and research missions.

Chemistry (CHEM)
- Environmental Chemistry Concentration
- Our students participate in active research programs encompassing modern aspects of analytical, biological, environmental, inorganic, organic, physical, and polymer chemistry. Our student research drives innovation both domestically and internationally, focusing on topics such as biological and biomedical problems, nanomaterials, and clean energy.

Earth Science Education
- Students will learn the proper techniques to teach earth science, with a particular focus on geology, physical geography, meteorology, astronomy, and oceanography

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB)
- Students will learn and conduct research in the department, which covers a wide range of fields, including behavioral ecology of vertebrates and invertebrates, systematics and evolution of plants and animals, population and community ecology, functional morphology and development, and conservation biology.

Environmental Science (ENVS)
- Students will face the natural, social, and economic implications of environmental issues and learn how to analyze and problem solve.

Environmental Studies (EVST)
- Students in the Environmental Studies program will acquire the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to understand the interactions between human society and the environment. Understanding the ethical and cultural dimensions of our relationship with the environment, as well as the challenges of protecting it, requires insights from multiple perspectives, including the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences.

Geography (GEOG)
- Students will learn to analyze the interactions between people and their environments.

Geoscience (GSCI)
- Students will develop a complete understanding of Earth and how it works to better inform us of what our future will look like.

Horticulture (HORT)
- Students will study plant growth and development as it relates to landscaping, food and ornamental purposes. Horticulture majors will concentrate their studies on the environmental sciences and sustainable agriculture to eventually put their skills to use in the green industry.

Human Rights (HRTS)
- Students will pursue questions such as, What are human rights? How has the concept of human rights evolved? How and why have human rights been violated, both in the United States and abroad? How have people struggled against human rights violations and with what success? What protections against violations of human rights exist, and how can these protections be enhanced and made more effective? By answering these questions, students will develop learn their ethical and moral responsibility to their fellow man.
- Human rights is a vital subsection of sustainability, as stated by the Earth Charter definition of sustainability, which says an essential element of sustainability is to "Ensure that communities at all levels guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms and provide everyone an opportunity to realize his or her full potential."

Landscape Architecture
- Students learn is instruction in site planning and design, landscape history, landscape architectural graphics and presentation. It includes the use of plants and other features to enrich exterior spaces.

Marine Sciences (MARN)
- Student will use their knowledge of the ecosystem of the ocean presented to them in this program to protect and improve the oceans around them.

Marine Sciences (MARN)
- Student will use their knowledge of the ecosystem of the ocean presented to them in this program to protect and improve the oceans around them.

Natural Resources (NRE)
- Students develop skills in applying modern technology, concepts and principles dealing with sustainable development, environmental protection and resource conservation

Ornamental Horticulture and Turfgrass Management
- Students receive an introduction to the production, maintenance and use of plants to enhance human environments

Political Science
- Students will improve their ability to deal intelligently and critically with issues and ideas about government and politics. The minor permits choices among five sub-fields, each involving important theoretical and applied questions about the role of citizens, associations, and states in the application of political power. In this, the program observes different social, economic, and environmental factors that inform governmental response and policy.

Plant Science (PLSC)
• Sustainable Agriculture Concentration
- Students pursuing the Sustainable Agriculture Concentration of Plant Science major will progress via hands-on learning and developing their knowledge to solve contemporary problems in sustainable agriculture in individual and team approaches.

Sociology
- Students will gain insight on how the world works around them and their place in it while sharpening their critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills. The major provides valuable insights into social factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, education, and social class and how these social conditions inform economic, social, and environmental inequality.

Soil Systems (SOIL)
- Students will learn practices and concepts related to reducing environmental impact during production and in managed land use systems.

Turfgrass Science (TURF)
- Students will study turfgrass science in conjunction with courses in soil science and fertility, pest control, business management, landscape design, and ornamental horticulture. These courses will provide students with skills necessary to sustainably solve problems in the area of turfgrass science. They will be provided opportunities to gain practical experiences.

Urban and Community Studies
- Students will receive an interdisciplinary academic experience with a focus on educating citizens on the multiple dimensions of urban and community life and preparing students for careers in public and community service. In such, the major is focused on human interaction with place, space, and the built environment in urban regions. It is designed to give students a deeper theoretical understanding of cities and practical strength in addressing all perspectives surrounding the build and natural world. With this in mind, the major intends to aid students in the observation of the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of urbanism.

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS)
- Students will employ critical learning and enhance their ability to advocate for gender and sexual justice, and equality overall. According to the Earth Charter, “Gender equality and equity [are] prerequisites to sustainable development.” It is critical that we “secure the human rights of women and girls,” which includes “guarantee[ing] the right to potable water, clean air, food security, uncontaminated soil, shelter, and safe sanitation,” as well as protection by “progressive labor standards.” In such, the major features an examination of women’s movements as related to intersections of gender, race, class, nationality, and sexuality, and to topics such as democracy, economic justice, the environment, health, and sexual freedom.