Cornell Sustainability Courses
Cornell's commitment to sustainability in its education curriculum is evidenced by the broad course list below. These courses have been identified by instructors, college administrators, or by an independent review of course content. We encourage faculty, departments, schools, and colleges to bring other sustainability courses to our attention, by emailing atkinson@cornell.edu.
The following 715 courses are categorized as sustainability-focused and sustainability-related according to nationally recognized STARS v2.1 guidelines. Some of these courses are cross-listed in multiple departments and will appear more than once in the list.
Interested students should review course websites, contact the instructor, and discuss options with their advisor.
We update this list as a courtesy to the Cornell community, but we may not capture the most recent course changes. Please refer to the authoritative Courses of Study and check with the relevant department.
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All | Ecology | Economics + Business | Energy Environmental Justice | Policy | Sustainable Design |
| Dept | Course # | Title | F | Sp | Su | Credit | Level* | Pre Reqs | Faculty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIIS | 1110 | Indigenous Issues in Global Perspectives | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Richardson | |
| AIIS | 3560 | Thinking from a Different Place: Indigenous Philosophies | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Cheyfitz | |
| AIIS | 3100 | Haudenosaunee Ecology in the Story of Earth’s Creation | ~ | ~ | X | 1 | Related | AIS 1100 or AIS 1110 | Adams |
| AIIS | 2100 | Indigenous Ingenuities as Living Networks | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Rickard | |
| AIIS | 3422/6422 | Culture, Politics, and Environment in the Circumpolar North | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Warrior | |
| AIIS | 2600 | Introduction to Native American Literature | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Spec | Warrior | |
| AIIS | 1121 | FWS: Environmentalism: Imperative, indifferent, or imperialist? | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Bosco, Mt.Pleasant | |
| ALS | 2000 | Leadership in Campus Sustainability | X | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Anderson, Brylinsky, Hilversum | |
| ALS | 3600 | Community Engagement, Climate Change in the Mekong Delta: Insights into Vietnam | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | must take both ALS 3600 and ALS 3601 to receive course credit | Tranviet |
| AMST | 1601 | Indigenous Issues in Global Perspectives | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Richardson | |
| AMST | 2108 | Indigenous Ingenuities as Living Networks | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Rickard | |
| AMST | 3330 | Ways of Knowing: Indigenous and Place-Based Ecological Knowledge | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Enrollment limited to: juniors, seniors, or graduate students | Kassam |
| AMST | 2581 | Environmental History | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Sachs | |
| AMST | 4033 | Race and Social Entrepreneurship: Food Justice and Urban Reform | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Rooks | |
| AMST | 2225 | Controversies About Inequality | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Haskins | |
| AMST | 2600 | Introduction to Native American Literature | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Spec | Warrior | |
| AMST | 3562 | Thinking from a Different Place: Indigenous Philosophies | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Warrior | |
| AMST | 2108 | Indigenous Ingenuities as Living Network | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Rickard | |
| ANTHR | 4437 / 7437 | Development, Humanitarianism, and the Will to Improve | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Next offered 2019-2020 | Welker |
| ANTHR | 4410/7410 | Indigenous Peoples, Ecological Sciences, and Environmentalism | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Nadasdy | |
| ANTHR | 3422 / 6422 | Culture, Politics, and Environment in the Circumpolar North | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Nadasdy | |
| ANTHR | 2400 | Cultural Diversity and Contemporary Issues | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Villenas | |
| ANTHR | 2420 | Nature/Culture: Ethnographic Approaches to Human-Environment Relations | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Nadasdy | |
| ANTHR | 2440 | Anthropology of Money | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Miyazaki | |
| ANTHR | 2729/6729 | Climate, Archaeology and History | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Manning | |
| ANTHR | 3256/7256 | Ancient Civilizations of the Andes | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Henderson | |
| ANTHR | 4435/7435 | Postcolonial Science | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Langwick | |
| ANTHR | 4682 | Healing and Medicine in Africa | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | ANTHR 1400 or ANTHR 2468 or ANTHR 3465 | Langwick |
| ANTHR | 2245 | Health and Disease in the Ancient World | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Velasco | |
| ANTHR | 3620 | A Global Controversy: How to Study a Human Rights Violation | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Hodžić | |
| ANTHR | 4462/7462 | Politics Beyond the State: Activism, Advocacy, and NGOs | ~ | X | ~ | Focused | ANTHR 3000 | Hodžić | |
| ANTHR | 4478/7478 | Taboo and Pollution | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Fiskesjö | |
| ANTHR | 7025 | Deranged Authority: Culture, Power, and Climate Change | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Carlson | |
| ARKEO | 2201 | Early Agriculture | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Russell | |
| ARKEO | 2729/6729 | Climate, Archaeology and History | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Manning | |
| ARKEO | 3256/7256 | Ancient Civilizations of the Andes | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Henderson | |
| ARKEO | 6739 | Archaeology of the Aegean Bronze Age, ca. 3000-1000: from villages to palaces | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Manning | |
| ARKEO | 7741 | Methods and Approaches in Current Archaeology | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Manning | |
| ARKEO | 2165 | They Were What They Ate: Food in the Ancient World | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Bardolph | |
| ARKEO | 3090/6755 | Introduction to Dendrochronology | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Manning | |
| ARKEO | 2235 | Archaeology of North American Indians | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Jordan | |
| ARTH | 2101 | Indigenous Ingenuities as Living Networks | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Rickard | |
| ARTH | 6739 | Archaeology of the Aegean Bronze Age, ca. 3000-1000: from villages to palaces | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Manning | |
| ARTH | 3250 | Introduction to Dendrochronology | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Manning | |
| ASIAN | 2273 | Introduction to Religious Studies: Religion and Environmental Studies | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Law | |
| ASIAN | 3316/6615 | Zen Buddhism: Ecology, Sustainability and Daily Life | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Law | |
| ASRC | 4330 | Race and Social Entrepreneurship: Food Justice and Urban Reform | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Rooks | |
| ASRC | 1790 | Pirates, Slaves, and Revolutionaries: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to Louverture | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Bassi | |
| ASRC | 3620 | A Global Controversy: How to Study a Human Rights Violation | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Hodžić | |
| BEE | 4150/6150 | Engineering Ethics and Professional Practice | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Senior or graduate level standing | Evans, Timmons |
| BIOEE | 4690 | Food, Agriculture, and Society | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | introductory ecology course | Power |
| BSOC | 2061 | Ethics and the Environment | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | freshmen must have permission of instructor | Johnson |
| BSOC | 2581 | Environmental History | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Sachs | |
| BSOC | 2071 | Introduction to the History of Medicine | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Seth | |
| BSOC | 2201 | Society and Natural Resources | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Stedman | |
| BSOC | 3181 | Living in an Uncertain World: Science, Technology, and Risk | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Slayton | |
| BSOC | 4131 | Comparative Environmental History | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Pritchard | |
| BSOC | 2420 | Nature/Culture: Ethnographic Approaches to Human-Environment Relations | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Nadasdy | |
| CHEME | 4880 | Global Food, Energy, and Water Nexus – Engage the US, China, and India for Sustainability | X | ~ | ~ | 3-4 | Focused | Lei, Li, Miller, Pingali, Test | |
| CLASS | 2729/7727 | Climate, Archaeology and History | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Manning | |
| CLASS | 6739 | Archaeology of the Aegean Bronze Age, ca. 3000-1000: from villages to palaces | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Manning | |
| COML | 2021 | Humans and Climate Change | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Pinkus | |
| COML | 3024 | Literature, Trauma, and Culture | X | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Caruth | |
| COML | 1107 | FWS: Writing the Environment | X | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Staff | |
| COMM | 2850 | Communication, Environment, Science, and Health | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | second-semester sophomore, junior, or senior standing | Staff |
| COMM | 3210 | Communication and the Environment | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | McComas, staff | |
| COMM | 3070 | Communicating Today: Creating Strategic Messages across Media | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | COMM 2310 or COMM 2010 | Chambliss |
| CRP | 3011/6011 | Ethics, Development, and Globalization | X | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Staff | |
| CRP | 3090/5090 | Community Development Seminar | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Staff | |
| CRP | 3106/5106 | Structural Barriers to Equity in Planning I | X | X | ~ | 1 | Related | Staff | |
| CRP | 5074 | Economic and Community Development Workshop | X | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Staff | |
| CRP | 5620 | Perspectives on Preservation | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Staff | |
| CRP | 3107/5107 | Structural Barriers to Equity in Planning II | X | X | ~ | 1 | Related | CRP 3106 or permission of instructor | Staff |
| DSOC | 3400 | Agriculture, Food, Sustainability, and Social Justice | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Bezner Kerr | |
| DSOC | 2050 | International Development | ~ | X | ~ | 3-4 | Related | McMichael | |
| DSOC | 6200 | Community, Place, and Environment | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | graduate standing | Stedman |
| DSOC | 6210 | Foundations of Environmental Sociology | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Zinda | |
| DSOC | 4380/6380 | Population and Development | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Williams | |
| DSOC | 2201 | Society and Natural Resources | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Stedman, Bugden | |
| DSOC | 2090 | Social Inequality | ~ | X | X | 4 | Related | Weeden | |
| DSOC | 3240 | Environmental Sociology | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Zinda | |
| DSOC | 4700 | Senior Capstone Course | X | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Enrollment limited to: DSOC majors with preference given to juniors and seniors. | Fall: Leonard. Spring: Peters |
| DSOC | 6001 | The Empirics of Development and Social Change | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Eloundou-Enyegue | |
| DSOC | 6060 | Sociological Theories of Development | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | DSOC 6030 or permission of instructor | McMichael |
| EAS | 2021 | Humans and Climate Change | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Pinkus | |
| ECE | 2500 | Technology in Society | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Staff | |
| ECE | 3600 | Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Limited to sophomores, juniors, seniors | Doing |
| ECON | 3910 | Health, Poverty, and Inequality: A Global Perspective | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | introductory microeconomics and statistics or permission of instructor | Sahn |
| EDUC | 5370 | Advanced Program Planning and Youth Organizations in Agricultural Science Education | ~ | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Perry | |
| ENGL | 3560 | Thinking from a Different Place: Indigenous Philosophies | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Warrior | |
| ENGL | 2600 | Introduction to Native American Literature | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Spec | Warrior | |
| ENGL | 3755 | Literature, Trauma, and Culture | X | X | ~ | 4 | Spec | Caruth | |
| ENGL | 6615 | Critical Indigenous Criticism and Theory | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Warrior | |
| ENGL | 6755 | Critical Ecologies | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Cohn | |
| ENGL | 6741 | Sustainable Forms | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Levine | |
| ENGL | 6660 | Twentieth Century American Ecocriticism and the Environmental Imagination | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Hutchinson | |
| ENGRG | 3600 | Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Enrollment open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. | Doing |
| ESS | 4940 | Special Topics in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences | X | X | ~ | 1-4 | Spec | Staff | |
| FDSC | 1500 | Food Choices and Issues | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Miller | |
| GERST | 4440/6440 | Screening the Environment | ~ | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Dobryden | |
| GOVT | 2225 | Controversies About Inequality | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Haskins | |
| HD | 3570 | Social Inequalities in Physical and Mental Health | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | HD 1150, or HD 1170, PSYCH 1101, HD 2510/SOC 2510, DSOC 1101, or SOC 1101 . | Wethington |
| HIST | 2581 | Environmental History | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Sachs | |
| HIST | 6221 | Environmental History | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Pritchard | |
| HIST | 1970 | Pirates, Slaves, and Revolutionaries: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to Louverture | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Bassi | |
| HIST | 2710 | Introduction to the History of Medicine | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Seth | |
| HIST | 4131 | Comparative Environmental History | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Pritchard | |
| HIST | 6181 | Confluence: Environmental History and Science &,amp, Technology Studies | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Prichard | |
| IARD | 6010 | Experience Latin America II (Chiapa Edition) | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | IARD 4010 / LATA 4010 | Hobbs |
| IARD | 4010 | Experience Latin America: Rural and Urban Realities I | ~ | X | ~ | 2 | Related | Hobbs | |
| IARD | 4011 | Student-Community Partnerships in Ecuador I | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Lassoie | |
| IARD | 4140 | Tropical Cropping Systems: Biodiversity, Social, and Environmental Impacts | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Lauren | |
| ILRIC | 4313/6013 | Labor, the Environment and Climate Change | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Skinner | |
| ILROB | 2220 | Controversies About Inequality | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Haskins | |
| LAW | 4071 | Law Culture and Society in China | X | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Enrollment limited to undergraduate students | Yu |
| NS | 2600 | Introduction to Global Health | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Moseley | |
| NS | 3060 | Nutrition and Global Health | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | NS 1150 | Mehta |
| NS | 4620 | Global Service Learning Pre-Departure Seminar | ~ | X | ~ | 1 | Related | permission of instructor required | Moseley |
| NS | 4630 | Global Health, Development and Policy Issues in Tanzania | ~ | ~ | X | 4 | Related | NS 4620 | Moseley |
| NS | 4500 | Public Health Nutrition | ~ | X | ~ | 2 | Related | NS 1150 | Rasmussen |
| NS | 4570 | Health, Poverty, and Inequality: A Global Perspective | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | introductory microeconomics and statistics or permission of instructor | Sahn |
| NTRES | 1101 | Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Kraft | |
| NTRES | 2320 | Nature and Culture | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Tantillo | |
| NTRES | 3320 | Introduction to Ethics and Environment | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Tantillo | |
| NTRES | 4330 | Applied Environmental Philosophy | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | NTRES 3320 recommended | Tantillo |
| NTRES | 6201 | Community, Place, and Environment | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | Graduate Standing | Stedman |
| PAM | 2208 | Social Inequality | ~ | X | X | 4 | Related | Weeden | |
| PAM | 2220 | Controversies About Inequality | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Haskins | |
| PHIL | 1440 | Ethics of Eating | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Starr | |
| PHIL | 2460 | Ethics and the Environment | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Pritchard | |
| PHIL | 1950 | Controversies About Inequality | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Haskins | |
| PLBIO | 2400 | Green World/Blue Planet | ~ | X | X | 3 | Focused | Silva | |
| PLHRT | 3600 | Climate Change and the Future of Food | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | at least 3 credits in plant, agricultural, or environmental sciences | Wolfe |
| PLSCS | 4910 | Food, Farming, and Personal Belief | ~ | X | ~ | 1 | Focused | CSS 1900 or equivalent | Fick |
| RELST | 2273 | Introduction to Religious Studies: Religion and Environmental Sustainability | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Law | |
| SOC | 2208 | Social Inequality | ~ | X | X | 4 | Related | Alvarado | |
| SOC | 3120 | Urban Sociology | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Related | Cornwell | |
| SOC | 2202 | Population Dynamics | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Basu | |
| SOC | 3240 | Environmental Sociology | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Zinda | |
| STS | 4131 | Comparative Environmental History | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Focused | Pritchard | |
| STS | 2851 | Communication, Environment, Science, and Health | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | second-semester sophomore, junior, or senior standing | Staff |
| STS | 4351 | Postcolonial Science | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Langwick | |
| STS | 4691 | Food, Agriculture, and Society | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Focused | introductory ecology course or permission of instructor | Power |
| STS | 2061 | Ethics and the Environment | ~ | X | ~ | 4 | Focused | Staff | |
| STS | 2071 | Introduction to the History of Medicine | X | ~ | ~ | 4 | Related | Seth | |
| STS | 3241 | Environmental Sociology | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Focused | Zinda | |
| STS | 2501 | Technology in Society | X | ~ | ~ | 3 | Related | Staff | |
| STS | 3601 | Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice | ~ | X | ~ | 3 | Related | Enrollment open to: sophomores, juniors, and seniors. | Doing |