Environmental Studies in Catholic Higher Education

Santa Clara University: (Santa Clara, CA; Jesuit):

Major and Minor in Environmental Studies; Environmental Vocation Internship

Within their Environmental Studies program, Santa Clara offers a number of courses that explore the relationship between Catholic tradition and an environmental ethic. These include “Spirituality and Sustainability” and “Catholic Social Teaching: Balancing the Ethics of Environment, Agriculture and Food”. Santa Clara also engages students through the Faith, Ethics and Vocation Project, a creation of the school’s Environmental Studies Institute. The Project collaborates with community partners to offer an Environmental Vocation Internship to undergraduates, which combines coursework with environmental education in local faith communities. Students participating in the internship develop environmental leadership skills through community action and research, combined with faith formation and personal mentoring.

Courses required during the internship include “Faith, Ethics, and the Biodiversity Crisis” and “Environmental Justice Practicum”, which examines the theological roots and implications of environmental justice, then applies them through participation in an environmental justice education project in the Diocese of Stockton.

Others:

Many other Catholic universities offer Environmental Studies programs that incorporate Catholic values and ethical considerations through the inclusion of theology and philosophy courses. These courses often look explicitly at the connections between Catholic tradition and ecological considerations (e.g. “Religion and Ecology”). Schools with programs of this nature include Mount St. Mary’s University, University of San Francisco, Loyola University New Orleans, and Seattle University, among others.