The Field

The Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Community Development (SCD) offers opportunities to study many aspects of the living environment from a design and planning point of view. This degree provides content across major areas of community-level sustainability, including ecology, economy, policy, equity, engagement, culture, and history, as well as field-specific knowledge in urban design and regional planning.

Formerly titled Environmental Design, this program was established in 1966 as a pre-professional undergraduate degree. The name change in the fall of 2014 and the curriculum update in the fall of 2017 reflect the evolving nature of our field, dealing with social and natural environments.

Graduates from the BS-SCD program will be prepared to pursue a profession or higher degree in the various fields related to urban design, regional planning, and community development and to make informed and effective development decisions that can have a lasting impact on the built and natural environments. The curriculum broadly exposes students to the theories and techniques of planning and design so they can understand how human and ecological activity shape a landscape and what is involved in the sustainable development of neighborhoods, cities, and regions. It provides the academic background needed for dealing with a wide range of cultural, social, political, economic and ecological aspects in envisioning and creating sustainable communities.

Core classes prepare students to understand the dynamics of neighborhoods, cities, and landscapes, and to engage communities in envisioning a more socially and environmentally balanced world. Through five concentration options, the BS-SCD program provides historical, theoretical, and professional perspectives in the liberal arts and science fields. Each concentration emphasizes environmental or social issues at a different a scale, from construction details and buildings to urban landscapes and regions. The SCD areas of concentration are: Built Environment, City & Society, Climate Change & Green Infrastructure, and Landscape Design & Build. With approval of the Program Director, cross-scale interests may be pursued with an Independently Designed Concentration.