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Courses & Engagement


We invite graduate students from all disciplines to engage with us. There is no formal process to do so, and all may attend our seminar series and annual research symposium.

The courses below affiliated with the GCSC provide students an interdisciplinary foundation for future study in the realm of global changes, natural and human built ecosystems, and society.

SUST 6800: Seminar Series

seminar audienceThis one credit course (SUST 6800) gives students exposure to a variety of scientists from both within and outside the university who are leaders in their fields. Students will attend the seminar series and meet as a class on alternate weeks. The course is offered in Fall and Spring semesters.

SUST 6000: Global Changes & Society

2013 Global Changes & Society class
2013 Global Changes & Society class

"This course was excellent practice in translating knowledge into action in the community and thinking about policy around sustainability."

GCSC graduate fellows and others have the opportunity to engage in a unique interdisciplinary course, “Global Changes and Society” (SUST 6000). Offered in the spring, this project-based course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to research related to global changes and sustainability. In this course, students from different disciplines Identify a theme or focus area, begin to learn the language and approaches of other disciplines around the theme, explore perspectives and approaches of different stakeholders, and develop a team project.

This  course typically includes expert speakers from city, county, and state agencies as well as GCSC-affiliated faculty who study land-use change, engineering, ecology, geography, planning, hydrology, and sustainability. Students identify a specific project to be addressed during the course of the semester, many of which have the potential to grow after the semester is completed.

GO HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROJECTS from each class.
Students from the 2012 course authored a paper outlining the benefits of such an interdisciplinary, problem-based course: Sphere of Sustainability: Lessons from the University of Utah’s Global Changes and Society Course Walsh, T., Miller, O., Bowen, B., Levine, Z., and Ehleringer, J. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 2015 141:12.