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Sustainability Minor
What is sustainability?
The core definition of sustainability relates current human actions to the environment and to future generations: meeting the natural resources needs of today so that the needs of the future will be met. We often say that sustainable practice is that which addresses the complex systemic challenges at the intersection of justice, health, and the environment.
COF Minor in Sustainability
The Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Minor in Sustainability at Massachusetts College of Art and Design is embedded in the international recognition that human activities are threatening the natural systems necessary for human existence. Across the globe, the most vulnerable members of society are often the most affected by changes in the environment.
Registering for the COF Minor in Sustainability at Massachusetts College of Art and Design leads you to become an innovative artist/designer who understands, engages, and solves sustainability issues at the intersection of ecology, health, and social justice.
Coursework
Complete your requirements in studio, liberal arts, and art history electives while you focus on sustainability education and practice by completing 18 credits of classes in any department, generally six 3-credit courses. The courses you take for the Minor in Sustainability also fulfill the requirements for your LA/HART courses and studio electives.
Classes in the Minor include a required interdisciplinary course taught through the Colleges of the Fenway; internship credit is also possible. Though your coursework in the Minor you will be guided to develop fundamental interdisciplinary and collaborative skills necessary to address complex sustainability issues. The coursework in your major will be informed and enhanced by your study of Sustainability. This Minor was developed in collaboration with faculty from all the Colleges of the Fenway.
Objectives
- Learn about issues of sustainability across academic and studio disciplines.
- Understand the implications of sustainability for your practice as an artist or designer.
- Meet other students exploring sustainability practices.
- Focus connections between your liberal arts requirements and your studio practice.
- Interact with sustainability practitioners in a variety of fields inside and outside MassArt.
- Explore interdisciplinary collaboration and problem solving to develop innovative solutions to current sustainability issues.
- Draw upon the resources of the Colleges of the Fenway community through coursework with sustainability practitioners in different disciplines.
- Experience civic engagement through community service in an organization dedicated to sustainability practice
Total credits required for a MassArt student to complete the CoF Minor in Sustainability: 18 credits.
Sustainability Lecture Series
The Sustainability Lecture Series offering talks by leading artists and designers working in sustainability and was founded in the Fall of 2020.
Upcoming Events
contact
Minor Director: Jane D. Marsching