Minor in Sustainability
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We live in a time of rapid environmental change. Environmental sustainability involves securing the natural resources that we depend upon for our existence, but also ensuring a safe and healthy living environment for a growing human population. At all levels of society, there is an increasing awareness that the decisions we make today are investments in the kind of future we want to create. Whether you are a future government official, innovator, leader in business, engineering, science or education, the Minor in Sustainability has been developed to give you a scientific background understanding to the environmental challenges we face today, in Singapore and the world. What does sustainable management of land and water really mean? How does climate change work? What makes an ecosystem resilient to environmental stress? How does sea level rise work and how will it affect Singapore? Excellent, highly accomplished teachers from the Asian School of the Environment will challenge and inspire you to see sustainable future solutions, balancing the needs of humans with our impact on the natural environment.
The Minor in Sustainability is designed to offer students from all major programmes at NTU the most up to date scientific background to the environmental challenges that will shape our future. Get to know your planet with this solid base in environmental sustainability, including:
- The relationship between humans and the natural world
- Availability and management of natural resources
- Interactions and feedbacks between the main parts of the earth system.
- The elements that influence earth’s climate system
- How individuals, communities, and governments can engage with these issues to create more sustainable societies.
You may also choose from a range of courses to create your own sustainability profile. Please note that students in the Environmental Earth Systems Science Major are not eligible to take the Minor in Sustainability.
Program information
Students who were admitted from AY24-25 Semester 1 onwards will follow the requirements stated below.
For completion of a Minor in Sustainability, students will be required to complete one course per knowledge area, for a total of 5 courses and at least 15 AUs.
Courses 1-5 (below) can be read in any order.
| Knowledge AREA | COURSES |
|---|---|
| 1) People |
|
| 2) Planet |
|
| 3) Profit |
|
| 4) Practice |
|
| 5) Policy |
|
| Minimum 15AU for Minor in Sustainability | |
Students who were admitted prior to AY24-25 Semester 1 will be awarded the Minor in Sustainability by following the old structure as indicated below.
For completion of a Minor in Sustainability, students will be required to complete three required courses and two additional elective courses for a total of 5 courses and at least 15 AUs.
Courses 1-5 (below) can be read in any order.
| Compulsory courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course Code | Course Title | AU |
| ES5001 | Natural Hazards and Society | 3 |
| ES5006 | Environmental Sustainability | 3 |
| ES5007 | Climate and Climate Change | 3 |
| Elective Courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course code | Course name | AU |
| AB0301 | Legal and Ethical Issues in Sustainability | 3 |
| AB0603 | Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| AC3104 | Enterprise Risk Management and Sustainability | 4 |
| BF2228 | Sustainable Finance | 3 |
| BM2517 | Marketing Sustainability for the Next Generation | 3 |
| BR3229 | Climate Risk Analytics | 3 |
| CM5091 | Industrial and Environmental Chemistry | 3 |
| CS2008 OR HP1100 | Fundamentals of Research; OR Fundamentals of Social Science Research | 3 |
| CS4311 | Promoting Sustainability | 4 |
| CS5209 | Collective Problem Solving | 3 |
| CV5101 | Civil Engineering and Sustainable Built Environment | 3 |
| EE5094 | Impact of Electromagnetic Radiation on Humans | 3 |
| EM5109 | Environmental Issues and Sustainability | 3 |
| ES3802 | The Urban Environment: Issues, Assessment, and Management | 3 |
| ES4906 | Environmental Hydrology | 3 |
| ES5003 | Blue Planet: How the Ocean Works | 3 |
| ES5005 | Environmental Earth System Science | 3 |
| ES5008 | Biodiversity and natural history of Singapore | 3 |
| HA1001 | Introduction to International Relations and Foreign Policy | 3 |
| HA1003 | Introduction to Public Administration and Policy | 3 |
| HC3018 | Posthumanism in Chinese Literature, Film and Culture (offered in Mandarin) | 3 |
| HC3043 | Chinese Ecological Thoughts and Philosophy | 3 |
| HC5010 | Animals in Chinese Cultures | 3 |
| HE3024 | Environmental Economics | 3 |
| HE5091 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
| HG2027 | Ecolinguistics: Language and the Environment | 3 |
| HH3005 | Seismic Japan: History, Culture and Society | 3 |
| HH3017 | World Environmental History | 3 |
| HH3018 | The Environmental History of Oceans | 3 |
| HH3042 | Climate and Society in Historical Perspective | 3 |
| HH4006 | The Green Earth: Issues in Environmental History | 3 |
| HL3037 | The Environment and Cultural Production | 3 |
| HL3041 | Global Cities in World Literature | 3 |
| HL4013 | Advanced Studies in Literature & Culture: Ecocritical Approaches to Literature | 4 |
| HS0301 | Environmental Sustainability | 3 |
| HS2023 | Environmental Sociology | 3 |
| HU1002 | Introduction to Urban Planning | 3 |
| HU9001 | Introduction to Environment and Urban Studies | 3 |
| HV5001 | Introduction to Environmental Humanities | 3 |
| HY2008 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| HY2028 | Food Ethics | 3 |
| HY4025 | Ethics and Public Policy | 4 |
| MT0001 | Shipping and the Environment | 3 |
The minor is open and suited to students from all majors at NTU.
Please note that students in the Environmental Earth Systems Science Major are not eligible to take the Minor in Sustainability.
1) What is the minimum entry requirement?
There are no entry requirements to be fulfilled. The Minor in Sustainability Programme is open to all students.
2) Is there a minimum grade for qualification of the award of the Minor in Sustainability?
Students are required to read 5 courses indicated on the Minor in Sustainability Course Website and earn a minimum of 15 AUs.
3) Is there a limit to the number of Minor courses that I can take concurrently in the same semester?
No. There is no limit so long as students are confident of handling the workload in addition to the courses that they read in their main curriculum. However, note that the allocations will be courses to the availability of vacancies.
4) If I inform my School that I am interested to do a Minor in Sustainability, can my School help me if there are clashes in my time-table?
It is the responsibility of students to plan and ensure that all courses they intend to take in the semester do not clash. Students are to register for all courses according to the class schedule released every semester.
5) How do I register for Minor in Sustainability courses?
Registration is similar to the registration of Unrestricted Electives. That is, students will place the course(s) of their interest on the Waitlist in the course registration exercise. Allocations will be conducted and the course will be automatically registered for the students. Instructions on Course Registration will be disseminated by the Office of Academic Services (OAS, NTU) on a semesterly basis.
6) How will you differentiate between students who are interested in doing a Minor in Sustainability and those who take one or two of the Minor courses as Unrestricted Electives?
Allocations are subject to vacancies available. Students have to indicate during registration whether the courses are to be taken as Minor in Sustainability courses or GER (PEs) (i.e., General Education Requirement Prescribed Electives). There will be two separate queues and allocations will be done independently for each queue based on demand and supply. There is no priority of one queue over another as such.