About the Program
Sustainable Design implies making decisions at various scales of the built environment (buildings, communities, land use patterns, urban support systems) in ways that support environmental quality, social equity, and economic vitality. The undergraduate minor in Sustainable Design is jointly offered by the Department of Architecture and the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning but also includes interdisciplinary courses across campus. The minor is open to all majors at UC Berkeley.
Students interested in pursuing this course of study at the major level should consider the Sustainable Environmental Design program.
Declaring the Minor
A letter grade of C- or higher in ENV DES 1, LD ARCH 1, or LD ARCH 12 (or a 3 or higher in AP Env Sci) is required to declare the minor. To declare, students must submit the CED Request to Add Minor Form, available on the CED website. When completing the final requirements for the minor, submit the CED Minor Completion Form.
General Information
Websites: Department of Architecture, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Sustainable Environmental Design Major, Sustainable Design Minor
Minor Requirements
Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. When completing their final requirements for the minor, students must submit the CED Minor Completion Form, available on the CED website.
General Guidelines
- All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT).
- A letter grade of C- or higher in ENV DES 1, LD ARCH 1, or LD ARCH 12 (or a 3 or higher in AP Env Sci) is required to declare the minor. To declare, submit the CED Request to Add Minor Form, available on the CED website.
- Each course used to fulfill minor requirements must be completed with a letter grade of C- or above.
- Students must earn a 2.0 GPA in the upper division requirements for the minor.
- Any course used in fulfillment of minor requirements may also be used to fulfill major and upper division CED non-major requirements.
- Courses used to fulfill a breadth requirement may also be used to satisfy minor requirements.
- Students may apply the non-CED version of a CED cross-listed course towards the minor.
- Students may use up to two courses taken abroad to fulfill upper division minor requirements, with faculty approval of the individual courses.
Requirements
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Division (a letter grade of C- or higher is required to declare the minor) | ||
| Select one course from the following: | ||
AP Environmental Science, Passing Score of 3, 4, or 5 | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Design [3] | ||
| Drawing a Green Future: Fundamentals of Visual Representation and Creativity [4] | ||
| Environmental Science for Sustainable Development [4] | ||
| Upper Division (Five Courses) | ||
| Select five courses from the following; a minimum of two courses must be selected from CED courses and a minimum of two courses selected from non-CED courses | ||
CED Courses | ||
| 3-D Computer Technology [2] | ||
| Energy and Environment [4] | ||
| Special Topics in Energy and Environment [1-4] 1 | ||
| Special Topics in Construction Materials [1-4] 1 | ||
| Advanced Study of Energy and Environment [3] | ||
| Research Methods in Building Sciences [3] | ||
| Sustainability Colloquium [2] 2 | ||
or ARCH 142 | Sustainability Colloquium | |
| Special Topics in the Physical Environment in Buildings [1-4] 1 | ||
| Introduction to Urban and Regional Transportation [3] | ||
| Urbanization in Developing Countries [4] | ||
| Planning for Sustainability [3] | ||
| Urban Design: City-Building and Place-Making [3] | ||
| Sustainable Communities [3] 4 | ||
| Healthy Cities [3] 4 | ||
| Climate Change and City Planning: Adaptation and Resilience [3] | ||
| Design Frameworks [3] | ||
| Energy, Fantasy, and Form [5] | ||
| Ecological Analysis [3] | ||
| Plants in Design [3] | ||
| Hydrology for Planners [4] | ||
| Sustainable Landscapes and Cities [4] | ||
| Social and Psychological Factors in Open Space Design [3] | ||
| Geographic Information Systems [4] | ||
Non-CED Courses | ||
| Energy, Culture and Social Organization [4] | ||
| Introduction to Hydrology [3] | ||
| Climate Change Mitigation [3] | ||
| Ecological Engineering for Water Quality Improvement [3] | ||
| Technologies for Sustainable Societies [1] 3 | ||
| Microeconomic Theory with Application to Natural Resources [4] | ||
| Environmental Economics [4] | ||
| Natural Resource Economics [4] | ||
| Economics of Water Resources [3] | ||
| Climate Change Economics [4] | ||
| Forest Ecosystem Management [4] | ||
| Resource Management [4] | ||
| Climate and Energy Policy [4] (Behavior and Sustainability ) | ||
| Urban Garden Ecosystems [4] | ||
| Fire, Insects, and Diseases in Forest Ecosystems [3] | ||
| Landscape Ecology [3] | ||
| Society, Environment, and Culture [4] | ||
| Sociology and Political Ecology of Agro-Food Systems [4] | ||
| Environmental Philosophy and Ethics [4] | ||
| Bioethics and Society [4] | ||
| Environmental Justice: Race, Class, Equity, and the Environment [4] | ||
| Environmental Health and Development [4] | ||
| Political Ecology [4] | ||
| International Environmental Politics [4] | ||
| Sustainable Water and Food Security [4] | ||
| Forest Ecosystem Management and Planning [4] | ||
| Management and Conservation of Rangeland Ecosystems [4] | ||
| Food and the Environment [4] | ||
| Global Environmental Politics [4] | ||
| American Landscapes: History, Culture, and the Built Environment [4] | ||
| Earth System Remote Sensing [3] | ||
| Web Cartography [5] | ||
| Challenge Lab [4] (Smart Cities in India) | ||
| Environmental Health and Development [4] | ||
| 1 | Special topics courses will be evaluated each semester by student request. Please ask the relevant staff adviser if a course has been reviewed and/or approved. ARCH 149, ARCH 169, and ARCH 249 must be minimum 2 units. |
| 2 | The ARCH 142/ ARCH 242 colloquium and ENV DES 198 may only count as a third CED course, and may be taken Pass/No Pass for either 1 or 2 units. |
| 3 | CIV ENG 292A may only count as a third non-CED course. |
| 4 | Only with instructor approval for students in their senior year. |