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Catalog 2024-2025
Sustainable and Regenerative Living, BA
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Program Description
A student who enrolls in the BA in Sustainable and Regenerative Living program will learn how to interact with evolving regenerative technologies and adapt the principles of deep sustainability to any system to implement sustainable practices in support of various careers, further study, or research.
BA SRL Areas of Emphasis
Students may choose to concentrate their Sustainable and Regenerative Living studies in a single area of interest by completing 16 credits in one Emphasis:
- Sustainable Building and Design (RL-B courses)
- Sustainable Energy Systems (RL-E courses)
- Consciousness and Social Transformation (RL-P courses)
Learning Module Format
Our goal is to give students the skills to rethink every aspect of human endeavor in terms of sustainability. To complement this breadth, we provide integrated learning in key areas through learning modules. Whether made up of sequential or non-sequential courses, online or on-campus courses, modules are designed to yield a holistic level of depth in the subject area that may not be obtained by taking individual courses.
This format also provides potential for a cohort system, in which a group of students move through a sequence of courses together, offering the advantage of both intellectual and social connections.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successfully completing the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable and Regenerative Living, a student will be able to:
- Identify the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, including their common sources, interconnections, and alternative trajectories that could create thriving social-ecological systems.
- Build a healthy mind and body that makes one capable of personal change and able to catalyze transformational change in others.
- Develop and demonstrate living/complex adaptive systems thinking. Explain sustainable and regenerative processes in integrated ecological, social, and economic living/complex adaptive systems (LS) and how we can reshape our thinking and actions to support them.
- Demonstrate proficiency in the essential thinking and self-management skills required for regenerative change initiatives.
- Communicate effectively in writing, speech, and other media across cultural, ideological, and national boundaries.
- Work collaboratively to envision, facilitate, co-create, implement, and evaluate transformative change.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate with a BA in Sustainable and Regenerative Living with a Sustainable Building and Design emphasis, students must successfully complete 128 total credits of study, including the Exploring Consciousness course required for all undergraduate students, 8 credits of Writing for Career and Community, one Forest Academy course in each semester in which the student is enrolled for 12 weeks or more, and 52 credits of required BA SRL coursework.
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BA in Sustainable and Regenerative Living Requirements
Required Undergraduate Courses (12 credits)
Core SRL Courses (20 credits)
Regenerative Living (RL) and Organic Agriculture (AG) Electives (Choose 20 credits)
Elective credits may be concentrated in a specific subject area for more in-depth study or fulfilled with stand-alone Regenerative Living (RL) courses of interest. AG-designated elective courses include both undergraduate and graduate level courses. Students should consider prerequisites before planning to enroll in a course. Internship (4 credits required/16 credits max)
SRL Senior Capstone Course (8 credits)
Student Portfolio
Students compile a Portfolio to showcase their development in support of the Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) and provides students a platform to share their accomplishments. Students build their portfolios from various types of graded and ungraded work products over their course of study, working with faculty in each course for portfolio guidance. Students are expected to demonstrate within their portfolios which artifacts meet which PLO. Student portfolios will be assessed by a faculty team prior to graduation. Student Portfolios may contain: - On-going coursework, such as writing assignments, film and other media, evidence of physical projects, presentations, etc.
- Collected narrative evaluations from individual faculty and courses.
- A bibliography of books and articles the student has read, annotated by the student.
- Periodic written self and peer assessments.
- Health-related journals or summaries thereof (voluntary, redacted).
- Letters of recommendation from internship supervisors, based on prior understanding of learning objectives.
- Evidence of leadership in projects, student government, community service, field trips, conferences, etc.
Forest Academy Requirement
- Any Forest Academy courses Credits: variable 4
Open Elective
- Any elective courses Credits: variable
Credits Required 128
1The WTG 191 requirement may be fulfilled with approved transfer credit from a prior institution or waived by examination. 2The WTG 192 requirement may be fulfilled with approved transfer credit from a prior institution. 3Students must successfully complete RL G315 with a grade of 80% or higher to earn a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC). 4STC 108 fulfills the Forest Academy requirement for the semester in which the course is completed. Emphases in Sustainable and Regenerative Living
Students may choose to concentrate their Sustainable and Regenerative Living studies in a single area of interest by completing 16 credits in one Emphasis: - Sustainable Building and Design (RL-B courses)
- Sustainable Energy Systems (RL-E courses)
- Consciousness and Social Transformation (RL-P courses)
Sustainable Building and Design Emphasis Requirements
Sustainable Building and Design Courses (Choose 16 credits)
Total Credits Required 16
Sustainable Energy Systems Emphasis Requirements
Sustainable Building and Design Courses (Choose 16 credits)
Total Credits Required 16
Consciousness and Social Transformation Emphasis
Consciousness and Social Change Courses (Choose 16 credits)
Total Credits Required 16
BA SRL Learning Modules
Below are examples of learning modules and the courses that may comprise them. Modules and courses adapt and evolve from year to year. Some courses are listed in more than one module, or alternate year-after-year between on-campus and online delivery. Fundamentals of Sustainability Module (20 credits)
Taken together, the courses in this module present the core precepts of Regenerative Living as a new way of thinking about humanity’s presence on the earth and its place in the universe, from systems thinking and global considerations to critical thinking and interrelationships. These module courses are non-sequential. *Students must successfully complete RL G315 with a grade of 80% or higher to earn a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC). Sustainable Energy Systems Module (16 credits)
There is a great challenge ahead of us. In a world where almost a billion people do not have access to basic energy services, how can we supply abundant energy while keeping the planet safe and sustainable? This module explores basic engineering, environmental science, policy, and economics of energy systems; how energy moves from initial resources (from capture) to end users; the impacts of energy systems around us, focusing on pollution, climate change, and land use; and the potential solutions to our energy and climate challenges that we face today. These module courses are sequential. Change Begins Within Module (8 credits)
How healthy do you want to be? How happy? Start the journey of building a lasting foundation of health, happiness, and wholeness. In this module, you will identify an area of your own life you wish to change, and with the powerful tools you learn, you will be able to turn your desire into a reality and become the change you wish to see. These module courses are non-sequential. Food Studies Module (8 credits)
The role of food in personal and planetary health. In this module we examine all facets of food, from ground to gut: agricultural production, soil and food quality, food distribution, cooking, and the policies and practices that shape our diet and health. These module courses are nonsequential. *Students must successfully complete RL G315 with a grade of 80% or higher to earn a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC). Planning for Change Module (16 credits)
From the change within to acting locally to the big global perspective, leadership is key. Develop an ecology of transformative practices that support transforming mindsets, cultures, and social systems in service of sustainable change. These module courses are non-sequential. Ecological Design Module (16 credits)
Using whole-system design to work with nature in meeting the needs of the present and utilizing regeneration principles in support of healthier ecosystems for the future. These module courses are non-sequential. |
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