80
E. Pallant et al.
8 Area of Specialization
Although the curriculum ensures that every graduate experiences a scaffolded and
integrated core curriculum to move students from thinking, analyzing, and researching to applying sustainability within a UN SDG framework, students must also engage
with a more concentrated area of study that allows the student to explore personal
interests and passions and obtain sufficient depth of knowledge within that area of
focus. As such, ESS majors are required, in consultation with their major advisor,
to developed and complete a cohort of courses (seven total) that revolve around a
core area of specialization. Students are asked to relate that focus area back to one
of the five central themes of the UN SDGs—people, planet, prosperity, peace, or
partnerships.
A student interested in a theme around prosperity, for example, might design a plan
of study that includes courses like Ecological Economics; Nonprofit Management
and Social Entrepreneurship; and the Economics of Entrepreneurship, while someone
interested in a theme around peace could elect to enroll in courses like Ethics and
Community; Power, Society and Social Change; Oppression and Liberation; and
Global Justice. Each of these courses is offered in a department outside of ESS. A
host of opportunities exist for students to focus on a defined topic within the five
central UN SDG themes, allowing students the flexibility and freedom to broaden
understanding and apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to the challenges
of the twenty-first century. The specific courses and theme concentrations offered at
Allegheny are not as important as the fact that the curriculum grants attention both to
breadth and depth, with equal emphasis on obtaining the skills necessary to engage
with the UN SDGs in everyday life and the requisite knowledge within a specialized
area of interest to adequately and carefully craft intelligent solutions.
9 Co-curricular Experiences
Recognizing the value of co-curricular educational experiences (Stirling and Kerr
2015), ESS expects all students will engage in an experience beyond the classroom
for the purpose of understanding the challenges involved in translating the theoretical
underpinnings and lofty goals of the UN SDGs to actual problems. Toward this
end, the ESS curriculum strongly encourages students to engage in at least one cocurricular experience of applied learning. Students are advised early on to consider,
in consultation with their advisor, the best mode to achieve this goal. Students may
elect to engage in a paid or unpaid internship, conduct research with a faculty member
through independent study, participate in a study abroad or experiential learning trip
(2–3 weeks in duration) or serve as a regular volunteer in the community. Students
work with their advisor to select an experience that is both challenging and motivating
and to situate that opportunity within the overall UN SDG goals.
E. Pallant et al.
8 Area of Specialization
Although the curriculum ensures that every graduate experiences a scaffolded and
integrated core curriculum to move students from thinking, analyzing, and researching to applying sustainability within a UN SDG framework, students must also engage
with a more concentrated area of study that allows the student to explore personal
interests and passions and obtain sufficient depth of knowledge within that area of
focus. As such, ESS majors are required, in consultation with their major advisor,
to developed and complete a cohort of courses (seven total) that revolve around a
core area of specialization. Students are asked to relate that focus area back to one
of the five central themes of the UN SDGs—people, planet, prosperity, peace, or
partnerships.
A student interested in a theme around prosperity, for example, might design a plan
of study that includes courses like Ecological Economics; Nonprofit Management
and Social Entrepreneurship; and the Economics of Entrepreneurship, while someone
interested in a theme around peace could elect to enroll in courses like Ethics and
Community; Power, Society and Social Change; Oppression and Liberation; and
Global Justice. Each of these courses is offered in a department outside of ESS. A
host of opportunities exist for students to focus on a defined topic within the five
central UN SDG themes, allowing students the flexibility and freedom to broaden
understanding and apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to the challenges
of the twenty-first century. The specific courses and theme concentrations offered at
Allegheny are not as important as the fact that the curriculum grants attention both to
breadth and depth, with equal emphasis on obtaining the skills necessary to engage
with the UN SDGs in everyday life and the requisite knowledge within a specialized
area of interest to adequately and carefully craft intelligent solutions.
9 Co-curricular Experiences
Recognizing the value of co-curricular educational experiences (Stirling and Kerr
2015), ESS expects all students will engage in an experience beyond the classroom
for the purpose of understanding the challenges involved in translating the theoretical
underpinnings and lofty goals of the UN SDGs to actual problems. Toward this
end, the ESS curriculum strongly encourages students to engage in at least one cocurricular experience of applied learning. Students are advised early on to consider,
in consultation with their advisor, the best mode to achieve this goal. Students may
elect to engage in a paid or unpaid internship, conduct research with a faculty member
through independent study, participate in a study abroad or experiential learning trip
(2–3 weeks in duration) or serve as a regular volunteer in the community. Students
work with their advisor to select an experience that is both challenging and motivating
and to situate that opportunity within the overall UN SDG goals.