Advisor Information

Sustainability Program: Information for Advisors

The Sustainability program is a year-long living-learning community targeted toward sophomores and juniors.  The students live in an intentional community immersed in the study and practice of sustainability on a working farm five miles from the SLU campus. Students take 1.5 credits in core courses each semester, a 1 credit Sustainability Leadership course and a .5 credit farm practicum. The rest of the courses are taken on campus like normal.  The core and elective courses examine sustainability through a variety of disciplinary lenses (see the Academic page for information on the course offerings). Experiential learning is a key component of the semester. Students take local field trips to sustainability oriented farms and businesses. Students plan and cook meals together using produce grown and raised on the farm, participate in decision making regarding energy and resource use on site, help with farm activities such as animal care, food preservation, garden planning, seed starting, planting, green building design and carpentry. The deadline for applications is March 31st.  Click to apply

Although students will live off-campus for the year, this is not an off-campus program and will not count toward students' options to study abroad twice during their time at SLU. The Sustainability Program is unique in that it offers students the option of living off campus in an intentional community, while maintaining close ties with departments, friends, and activities on campus. We actively encourage cross-fertilization, and participating students may return to campus to take advantage of courses, people, facilities and events on campus. We also encourage visitors to the Sustainability Program site.

The Sustainability Program is open to all class years, but we are targeting the core courses to sophomores and juniors. We aim to help our students become leaders in the area of sustainability. Career exploration is actively supported with resume and cover letter writing workshops and the opportunity to meet with many environmental and sustainability professionals.

Points to Highlight:

  • The program fulfills the student's Integrated Learning Component (ILC) requirement for graduation. 
  • Students have the opportunity to develop their own 1 credit or .5 credit independent studies as a part of their program experience. 
  • This is a flexible program that students can make their own.  The only required courses for program students are the core courses (1.5 credits) offered each semester. 
  • The program will offer transportation for students to get to and from campus for courses taken on campus.
  • Students live in a newly-renovated farmhouse with electricity, running water, showers, and all modern technology (computers, cell phones, wifi, etc.).
  • Students pay the same room and board as they would on campus, but their meal plan is fulfilled by the organic food raised at the farm and staples purchased from local providers. 
  • Students may continue to participate in on-campus activities such as club membership, etc. as it fits into their schedules. 

Questions? Contact one of the Faculty Co-Directors, Adam Harr or Camilla Ammirati.