Curriculum

First-Year Entry Point: TreeHouse Sustainability Learning Community

The TreeHouse Sustainability Learning Community is a living-learning experience connecting first-year students who want to turn their sustainability interests into action. Located on the fifth floor of East Wadsworth Hall, TreeHouse brings together students from diverse majors and personal backgrounds to live and learn collaboratively around the theme of sustainability.

TreeHouse residents benefit from:

• Interactive seminars 
• Service learning in the local community
• Immersive field trips throughout the Keweenaw Peninsula
• Communal meals and shared living experiences
• A supportive, interdisciplinary peer community

This community helps students build a strong foundation in sustainability literacy and systems thinking early in their college careers.

Applied Learning: Explore Sustainability through Enterprise

The Enterprise Program offers applied learning opportunities to students looking to work in teams and solve real-world challenges. Several Enterprise Teams focus specifically on addressing climate and sustainability challenges.   

The Green Campus Enterprise (GCE) offers long-term, project-based learning opportunities focused on real-world sustainability issues affecting campus and the local region. GCE prepares students for careers in sustainability-focused industries, engineering, research, and public service.

Students in GCE:

• Work on multiyear interdisciplinary projects
• Apply science, engineering, and systems thinking to sustainability challenges
• Develop solutions in areas like energy, materials, water, and carbon management
• Practice effective communication and leadership with a range of audiences

Other Enterprise Teams working in sustainability and climare are: Alternative Energy Enteprise, Build World Enterprise, Circular Solutions, and Innovative Global Solutions. 

Essential Education Sustainability Studies Minor

Students have the option to pursue a Sustainability Studies Minor through Michigan Tech Essential Education Minors. This interdisciplinary minor allows students to:

• Build a foundational understanding of sustainability topics through multiple lenses
• Customize their learning with courses across departments and colleges
• Strengthen their ability to think critically about sustainability issues in a global context

The minor is open to all majors and complements a wide range of academic and career goals.

Climate Change & Sustainability Curriculum

In order to prepare students to be changemakers ready to address society's most pressing issues, Michigan Tech continues to support climate change and sustainability curriculum development, supported by a generous alumni donation. This innovative suite of courses allows students to explore climate change and sustainability from multiple perspectives and prepare them to take informed action in their careers and communities.

Key components include:

• Michigan Tech's first-ever foundational course on global climate change (FW/SS 2801), developed by an interdisciplinary faculty panel
• A retooled Mineral Systems and Climate Change course (GE 4220) and a new Climate Physics course (PH 4999)
• A tiered suite of courses exploring sustainability and climate-related issues across a range of disciplines. From engineering to social sciences, foresty to policy - there are courses for every interest
• Curriculum designed for students of all majors, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of climate and sustainability challenges

A Campus-Wide Commitment to Inclusive Sustainability Education

At Michigan Tech, we believe sustainability education should be:

• Accessible to students of all disciplines
• Rooted in real-world, experiential learning
• Inclusive of diverse perspectives and lived experiences

Whether through coursework, minors, living-learning communities, or hands-on projects, our sustainability programs are designed to meet students where they are—and help them grow into leaders ready to shape a sustainable future for all.