Balance Environmental Studies with Green Business Practices

Put your passion for protecting the environment on a sound green business foundation as you prepare for a career in the new green economy. Explore and learn on our unique coastal campus, situated on 540 acres, including coastline, riverbanks, woodlands, wetlands, dunes, and vernal pools. Through highly collaborative and interdisciplinary study, you鈥檒l discover how to combine and balance environmental studies, ecological economics, social, and financial concepts as we work together to create a more sustainable world.

Three students work on a business project in the Makerspace
A group of students listen to a professor in a classroom

Why 杏吧视频 for Your Bachelor of Science Degree in Sustainability and Business

鈥淚nnovation for a Healthier Planet鈥 is more than just a tagline at the University of New England.

Our commitment to the environment and our dedication to out-of-the-box thinking makes 杏吧视频 the ideal place to earn your Bachelor of Science degree in Sustainability and Business. With our electric car charging stations, sustainable landscaping, green living wall, Edible Campus Initiative, and Green Revolving Fund, we celebrate a University-wide commitment to green business practices. In your Bachelor of Science degree at 杏吧视频, you鈥檒l experience courses like environmental studies and ecological economics first-hand with an innovative education that includes:

  • Green Learning Community for first-year students
  • Marine Science Center with aquaponics, aquaculture, and fisheries lab
  • Kelp farming research
  • Makerspace for innovative ideation and prototyping
8

number of times 杏吧视频 was ranked among the most environmentally responsible colleges

The Princeton Review (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)

What Will You Study? Sustainability and Business Degree Curriculum Overview

There are many ways you can navigate this major. The following are some examples of the exciting courses that the Bachelor of Science degree in Sustainability and Business offers:

  • Sustainability and Ecological Restoration
  • Climate Change Adaptation: Planning and Policy
  • Environmental Movements and Social Change
  • Ecological Economics
  • Management of Nonprofits
  • Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Curriculum

Nor鈥檈aster Core RequirementsCredits
Total Credits40
COB Foundation CoursesCredits
BUEC 203 鈥 Macroeconomics3 鈥 Fulfills Power Knowledge & Justice - Social Science Core
BUEC 204 鈥 Microeconomics3 鈥 Fulfills Power Knowledge & Justice - Open Core
BUMG 120 鈥 Innovation Through Technology3 鈥 Fulfills Creativity and the Arts Core
MAT 120 鈥 Statistics or MAT 150 鈥 Statistics for Life Sciences or MAT 151 鈥 Statistics for Environmental Sciences3 鈥 Fulfills Quantitative Reasoning Core
Total Credits12
Other COB Foundation CoursesCredits
BUAC 201 鈥 Financial Accounting3
BUFI 315 鈥 Business Finance3
BUMG 200 鈥 Management3
BUMG 325 鈥 Legal Environment of Business3
BUMG 495A 鈥 Internship3
BUMG 498 鈥 Strategic Management3
BUMK 200 鈥 Marketing3
Total Credits21
Sustainability and Business Major Required CoursesCredits
BIO 105 鈥 Introduction to Ecology and Evolution4 鈥 Fulfills Scientific Method Core
BUEC 390 鈥 Environmental Economics3
BUFI 205 鈥 Intro Data Analysis or DSC 225 鈥 Computer Programming I3
BUMG 101 鈥 Introduction to Business/Excel3
BUMG 295 鈥 Internship3
BUMG 313 鈥 Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship3 鈥 Fulfills Deeper Dive or Power Knowledge & Justice - Open Core
BUMG 315 鈥 Tripple Bottom Line Reporting3
BUMG 371 鈥 The Sustainable Business3
BUMG 410 鈥 Creating Social Enterprises Through Design Thinking and Innovation4
ENV 105 鈥 Introduction to Environmental Issues3
ENV 124 鈥 Literature, Nature, & the Environment3 鈥 Fulfills Human Experience - Open Core
ENV 200 鈥 Environment and Society: A Global Perspective3 鈥 Fulfills Health of Natural Ecosystems Core
ENV 208 鈥 Climate Change: Cause, Cons, Solutions3
ENV 240 鈥 Env Sustainability Lab3
ENV 250 鈥 Environmental Policy3
ENV 499 鈥 Senior Capstone3
Six (6) Credits of Environmental Studies Elective (see below)6
Total Credits56
Open Elective Courses (as needed to reach 120 credits)Variable
Minimum Total Required Credits120

Program-Specific Electives

Environmental Studies ElectivesCredits
ENV 204 鈥 Urban Forestry3
ENV 309 鈥 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration3
ENV 313 鈥 Wetland Restoration: Science and Policy3
ENV 316/316L 鈥 Land Conservation Practicum w/Lab4
ENV 321 鈥 Environmental Communication: Expert Practices for Ecosystem Management3
ENV 328 鈥 Environmental Pollution: Ecosystems, Wildlife and Human Health3
ENV 340 鈥 Environmental Movements and Social Change3
ENV 341 鈥 Indigenous Ecology, Conservation Biology, and the Politics of Knowledge3
ENV 348 鈥 Environment, Health & Community Development in East Africa4
ENV 357 鈥 Sustaining Water: Social and Global Perspectives3
MAF 200 鈥 Introduction to Marine Pollution3
MAF 210 鈥 Introduction to US Ocean Governance3
MAR 316 鈥 Science in Society3

Please note: While some courses can fulfill both core and program requirements, the credits earned do not count twice towards the minimum total required credits for the degree.

Additional Information

  • Students may choose to tailor the last two (2) years of course selections to their specific interests. For example, in close consultation with their Academic Advisor, they may select upper-level business and environmental studies electives that would result in an informal concentration in one (1) or more areas, including Non-Profit Sector, Corporate/Public Sector Sustainability, Small Business/Entrepreneurship.
  • Students are strongly encouraged to participate in study abroad. Academic advisors will help tailor a student鈥檚 program to create opportunities for study abroad.

Students in this major can participate in the pre-health graduate school preparation tracks.

For more information see the Academic Catalog.

Green Learning Community

First-year Business, Communications, Sport Leadership and Management, and Marine Entrepreneurship majors can participate on a competitive basis in the Green Learning Community (GLC). The GLC is an intentional community of professors and first-year students dedicated to studying human relations to the environment through many ways of knowing. You will study environmental issues through the integrated lenses of biology, literature, environmental studies, and economics.

Career Paths for Sustainability and Business Degree Grads

Perhaps you鈥檙e an aspiring green entrepreneur, or maybe you鈥檙e interested in the management of corporate sustainability practices. Wherever your aspirations take you, you鈥檒l graduate with the knowledge, internship experiences, analytical skills, and ethical grounding you need to have a successful career combining business and sustainability. Relevant professions include:

  • Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Green Business and Corporate Manager
  • LEED Certified Construction Manager
  • Green or Sustainable Entrepreneur
  • Sustainability Program Developer
  • Environmental Public Affairs Officer
  • Community Economic Development Manager

Career Advising for Sustainability and Business Majors

Whether you have a specific career goal in mind or a vague idea of the field that interests you, Career Advising is here to help you plan your next step.

Innovative Makerspace Facilities for Sustainability and Business Degree Seekers

The P.D. Merrill Makerspace is a fully equipped laboratory for creating and building, turning ideas into reality, and developing sustainable solutions to real-world problems. Whether you come to the Makerspace as part of an environmental studies or ecological economics class, as a student researcher or innovator, or just for fun, the Makerspace has something to offer every student 鈥 regardless of program or major.

Watch: 杏吧视频 Students in the Makerspace

Using Drones in Research through the University of New England Makerspace

Makerspace Helps Students Get Maine Lighthouse Off the Grid

Solving real-world problems in 杏吧视频鈥檚 Makerspace

Experiential Learning in Sustainability and Business

The Sustainability and Business degree at 杏吧视频 provides hands-on learning, both in and out of the classroom, to give you real-world experiences and the confidence to make a difference.

  • Use the latest technologies in the Makerspace, such as 3D printers and CNC routers
  • Apply learning to actual environmental problems as part of the first-year Green Learning Community
  • Conduct research on sustainable products, such as aquaponically grown vegetables and farmed shiitake mushrooms

An Internship Story

2022 Student Innovation Showcase

Beyond the Classroom

  • Participate in 杏吧视频鈥檚 Student Innovation Challenge, a University-wide idea-stage competition
  • Intern on campus at 杏吧视频鈥檚 Office of Sustainability or off campus at various aquaculture farms and fisheries or other institu