Curriculum
Sustainability has a prominent presence in our curriculum
. We offer a broad range of sustainability-related courses to undergraduates, graduates, professionals and community members. In fact, these classes have prepared many of our students for careers in sustainability.
Major in Sustainability Science
Added in 2011, Sustainability Science is the only degree program of its kind in the nation that is offered at a private liberal arts university. Students in this program are trained to recognize and analyze the complex relationships among human, social and environmental systems and how changes in one system affect the others. Students can also declare an interdisciplinary minor in
Environmental Studies or
Poverty Studies.
Study sustainability.
Undergraduate courses
In order to graduate, all Furman students take “Humans and the NaturalEnvironment,” a general education requirement that ensures studentsgraduate with a basic understanding of sustainability. Students canfurther that understanding in one of the school’s 50sustainability-related courses or 36 sustainability-focused courses. The Shi Center and Furman’s faculty are always working together to find new ways to integrate sustainability into coursework. As a result,sustainability issues are now woven into Furman’s unique academic programs, the May Experience and the First Year Seminar. Freshmen can begin their college careers with a sustainability-focused First Year Seminar, like Conservation Culture, which analyzes the ways diverse American communities conserve and protect their environments. Students can also take a three-week May Experience course after spring graduation, like the Conservation and Renewable Energy course. This course introduces students to energy conservation strategies, renewable energy technologies and behavioral change theories related to energy consumption.
Post-graduate diploma
Furman offers a post-graduate diploma in sustainability through the Center for Corporate and Professional Development. This program is directed at professionals who define and implement sustainability initiatives for their organizations. Participants in the program attend lectures led by Furman professors and industry experts and complete an organizational project in order to learn which business practices make the most sense in terms of return on investment and how to ensure that sustainability becomes a strategic business practice in their organization.
Get your post-graduate diploma.
Continuing Education courses
Community members are welcome to take some of the school’s sustainability-oriented courses through the
Herring Center for Continuing Education or the
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. These courses focus on issues such as alternative fuels, and sustainable agriculture.