Oct 05, 2024  
University Catalog 2023-2024 
    
University Catalog 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Liberal Studies, Urban Ecology Concentration, BA


BA in Liberal Studies: Urban Ecology
Location:
AU Seattle
Credits for Degree: 180 quarter credits
Standard Mode of Instruction: Classroom
Standard time to completion: 36 months

Program Overview

This concentration prepares students for work and/or graduate studies in a wide range of fields, including: social entrepreneurship, community development, social change advocacy, environmental stewardship, climate change activism, urban environmental education, public policy & law, urban design and government agencies (departments such as parks, utilities, social services or neighborhoods). A highly interdisciplinary concentration, Urban Ecology engages students in the study of political economy, food systems, environmental justice, cultural studies, policy studies, urban planning, education and social change. This concentration educates students to take innovative leadership roles with communities facing the challenges and opportunities of dense urbanization, a growing urgency for social justice, and quickly evolving environmental conditions. Graduates with this concentration are committed to nurturing resilient communities in which residents thrive culturally, psychologically, spiritually, and economically.

Current Tuition and Fees

University Tuition and Fees  

Sample Community-Based Learning Experiences:


  • Apprentice with a local artist, writer or film-maker focused on community issues
  • Organize a speaker/lecture series on a global issue
  • Training with an international NGO
  • Practicum with a labor union or community-based organization
  • Work with a Community Garden

Sample Synthesis Projects:


  • Develop a project on local, sustainable agriculture in the greater Seattle area
  • Design an advocacy project promoting outdoor recreation and experiential education for troubled youth in public high schools
  • Research the effects of global warming on coastal urban areas
  • Facilitate a community issues forum
  • Compare and contrast different farming systems (agri-business, organic, bio-dynamic, and permaculture)
  • Design an advocacy project promoting experiential environmental education for at risk youth in public high schools
  • Oral history project dealing with an immigrant community