The Department of Community Sustainability engages with colleagues, students, stakeholders and communities to address social choices within specific environmental, economic and cultural contexts that advance or conflict with sustainability goals.

Sustainability is about choices made within specific environmental, economic, social, and cultural contexts.  Sustainability scholarship involves creating, integrating and harnessing new knowledge to protect and improve social and natural systems and their interactions.  The Department of Community Sustainability (CSUS) is an interdisciplinary department that addresses contemporary issues of sustainability in agriculture, recreation, natural resources, and the environment. The Department of Community Sustainability (CSUS) was formerly called the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies (CARRS).

Consistent with its mission to assist in the development of sustainable communities, the department offers three undergraduate majors linked by a common core in community sustainability. These three majors - Environmental Studies and Sustainability (ESS); Sustainable Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SPRT); and Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Education (AFNRE) – share a set of courses centered on community sustainability. The CSUS graduate program offers two graduate majors: Community Sustainability (MS and PhD) and Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas Management (MS and PhD). In both undergraduate and graduate programs, CSUS embraces international as well as domestic applications, engagement, and opportunities.

Undergraduate

Undergraduate

CSUS undergraduate programs are designed to educate scholars and practitioners who are able to create, integrate and harness new knowledge to protect and improve both social and natural systems. We offer a core curriculum in community sustainability that supports three majors: Environmental Studies and Sustainability (ESS), Sustainable Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SPRT), and Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Education (AFNRE).

More information about Undergraduate Programs

News

  • Congratulations to Noleen Chikowore

    Published on August 23, 2018

    Congratulations to Noleen Chikowore for earning travel funds to attend the Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop

  • Paul B. Thompson

    GMOs: A surrogate for the debate about agriculture?

    Published on August 15, 2018

    Perceptions of the agricultural and food industries, trends in higher education, questions around research funding, political leanings and socioeconomic factors can also play a part in public concern over GMOs.

  • John Kerr and Kimberly Chung.

    Faculty gift honors family commitment to higher education

    Published on May 14, 2018

    John Kerr and Kimberly Chung, faculty members in the Department of Community Sustainability, have given a $375,000 gift to create a teaching assistantship named in honor of John's parents, Malcolm and Ann Kerr.

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Graduate

Graduate

CSUS offers two graduate degree programs: one in Community Sustainability (CSUS) and the other in Sustainable Tourism and Protected Areas Management (STPAM). Both programs offer Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. CSUS is for students who want an advanced degree related to community sustainability and are interested in interdisciplinary research. STPAM is for students who want an advanced degree related to parks, recreation and tourism with an emphasis on sustainability.

More information about Graduate Programs

Events

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