Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Science
Nature of the Program
Sustainable Design and Development educates a new generation of problem-solvers to approach the most difficult issues of today including sustainability related to the environment, food and agriculture, water, planning and development, forestry, energy and community capacity. The major is focused on creating healthy and prosperous communities while balancing decision-making with the triple bottom line: ecological, social and economic impacts (planet, people, profit). Through critical, analytic, and design thinking problem-solving skill development, graduates will have the ability to work on multidisciplinary projects through community engaged processes with the goal of creating a more sustainable world.
Admissions for 2025-2026
- First-Time Freshman are admitted directly into the Sustainable Design and Development major.
- Students transferring from another major within WVU are directly admitted into the Sustainable Design and Development major if they are in good academic standing (2.0 or higher GPA)
- Students transferring from another institution are directly admitted to the Sustainable Design and Development major if they are in good academic standing (2.0 or higher GPA)
Major Code: 1707
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Requirements | 30 | |
| Sustainability Studies Program Requirements | 37 | |
| Sustainability Studies Major Requirements | 53 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
University Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
| Outstanding GEF Requirements 1 and 3 | 9 | |
| ANRD 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| General Electives | 20 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Sustainability Studies Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one of the following (GEF 2): | 4 | |
| Environmental Biology and Environmental Biology Laboratory | ||
| Digital Earth and Digital Earth Laboratory | ||
| AGEE 101 | Global Food and Agricultural Industry (GEF 7) | 3 |
| ANTH 105 | Introduction to Anthropology (GEF 8) | 3 |
| ARE 220 | Introductory Environmental and Resource Economics | 3 |
| DSGN 140 | Sustainable Living | 3 |
| DSGN 220 | Design Thinking | 3 |
| DSGN 280 | Sustainable Design and Development (GEF 4) | 3 |
| FNRS 100 | Forest Resources in United States History (GEF 5) | 3 |
| FNRS 140 | West Virginia's Natural Resources (GEF 8) | 3 |
| LARC 105 | Introduction to Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design and Planning | 3 |
| LARC 212 | History of Landscape Architecture (GEF 6) | 3 |
| SOC 101 | Introduction to Sociology (GEF 8) | 3 |
| Total Hours | 37 | |
Sustainable Design and Development Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum grade of C- and minimum GPA of 2.25 is required in all Sustainable Design and Development Major Requirements. | ||
| DSGN 320 | Design Ethics and Social Responsibility | 3 |
| DSGN 340 | Design for Energy Efficiency | 3 |
| DSGN 470 | Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Systems | 3 |
| DSGN 480 | Designing Innovative Futures | 3 |
| DSGN 491 | Professional Field Experience: Capstone | 6 |
| ENCP 460 | Sustainable Cities: Best Practices | 3 |
| LARC 570 | Meanings of Place | 3 |
| LARC 448 | Design Analysis | 2 |
| LARC 452 | Contemporary Issues in Landscape Architecture | 3 |
| LARC 465 | Regional Design | 3 |
| LARC 466 | Introduction to Urban Design Issues | 3 |
| PLSC 105 | Plants and People: Past and Present | 3 |
| RESM 440 & 440L | Foundations of Applied Geographic Information Systems and Foundations of Applied Geographic Information Systems Laboratory | 3 |
| RESM 444 | Advanced GIS for Natural Resource Management | 3 |
| RESM 450 | Land Use Planning Law | 3 |
| RESM 455 | Practice of Land Use Planning | 3 |
| WMAN 150 | Principles of Conservation Ecology | 3 |
| Total Hours | 53 | |
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| ANRD 191 | 1 | ANTH 105 (GEF 8) | 3 | ||
| ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 | ARE 220 | 3 | ||
| DSGN 140 | 3 | DSGN 220 | 3 | ||
| LARC 105 | 3 | PLSC 105 | 3 | ||
| LARC 212 (GEF 6) | 3 | GEF 3 | 3 | ||
| SOC 101 (GEF 8) | 3 | ||||
| 16 | 15 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | AGEE 101 (GEF 7) | 3 | ||
| DSGN 280 (GEF 4) | 3 | FNRS 140 (GEF 8) | 3 | ||
| DSGN 320 | 3 | WMAN 150 | 3 | ||
| DSGN 340 | 3 | General Electives | 6 | ||
| FNRS 100 (GEF 5) | 3 | ||||
| 15 | 15 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer | Hours |
| Select one of the following pairs: (GEF 2) | 4 | LARC 465 | 3 | DSGN 491 | 6 |
| LARC 570 | 3 | ||||
| RESM 440 & 440L | 3 | ||||
| ENCP 460 | 3 | General Elective | 3 | ||
| LARC 452 | 3 | ||||
| General Elective | 2 | ||||
| 12 | 12 | 6 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| DSGN 480 | 3 | DSGN 470 | 3 | ||
| LARC 466 | 3 | LARC 448 | 2 | ||
| RESM 444 | 3 | RESM 450 | 3 | ||
| RESM 455 | 3 | General Electives | 6 | ||
| General Elective | 3 | ||||
| 15 | 14 | ||||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||||
Major Learning Outcomes
Sustainable Design and Development
- Define sustainability as it relates to global, regional and local resource planning and development;
- Analyze the impacts of decision-making in resource management and development in terms of ecology, society and economy;
- Apply critical, analytic, and design thinking to problem-solving at a variety of scales and within a variety of contexts;
- Develop and apply an understanding of social, environmental, economic and political systems;
- Model multidisciplinary approaches to address issues of sustainability;
- Develop and execute trans-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary projects
- Develop and apply skills in community engagement in project-based learning