The Pathfinder Program in Environmental Sustainability
"The American experience stirred mankind from discovery to exploration, from the cautious quest for what they knew (or what they thought they knew) was out there, to an enthusiastic reaching for the unknown."
-Daniel J. Boorstin
The Pathfinder Program in Environmental Sustainability provides a four-year-long association between small groups of highly motivated, talented undergraduate students and a senior faculty mentor. We use a clustered approach to course work, augmented with case studies that allow exploration of problems and solutions associated with selected challenges in environmental sustainability.
The Program begins during the freshman year with introductory courses about the Earth and environmental sustainability, a writing course coordinated with the environmental sustainability course, a course in environmental ethics, and a case study of the Mojave Desert. The sophomore year includes a case study of Hawaii and issues associated with volcanism, earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis, together with a course on environment and energy issues or one on culture and the environment. The junior year prepares students for a coordinated study of some critical issue in environmental sustainability. The senior year culminates with a seminar and associated capstone projects focusing on the study topic and addressing issues and solutions from the perspectives gained from the disciplinary areas the students have chosen as their areas of interest.
The Program is consistent with a major within any department within the College of Arts and Sciences. Further, the courses meet the Arts and Sciences English composition requirement, two clusters, and the senior year capstone requirement.