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

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.

Graduate

CSUS offers three graduate degree programs to prepare scholar-activists interested in sustainability, recreation and tourism, food systems, agriculture education and international development for research, community engagement and knowledge production.

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Events

  • Mar 21

    2024 Michigan Natural Features Inventory Open House

    March 21, 2024 10:00AM – 1:00PM MSU Food Safety and Toxicology Building, Room 62 in East Lansing

    This is an opportunity for faculty, researchers, and natural resource professionals to learn more about MNFI’s unique mission and the work they do across the state as Michigan’s Natural Heritage Program.

  • Apr 2

    CANR DEI Committe event featuring Cindy Horgan

    April 2, 2024 11:30AM – 12:30PM Ag Hall rm 75 / Zoom

    April seminar featuring Cindy Horgan

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