Combine studies of ecological and environmental health with a calling for economic welfare and social justice.
Sustainability is most commonly defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The field of Sustainability Studies explores and critiques ways to do this in the context of maintaining ecological and environmental health while generating economic welfare and ensuring social justice.
The Sustainability Studies curriculum integrates across disciplines with its goal of instilling understanding, appreciation and thoughtful problem solving skills in students regarding the relationships and interactions of human society and the environment. Students examine issues related to sustainability and explore how those issues impact and are addressed at local, national and global levels, providing an interdisciplinary background that is needed to understand many of the complex challenges facing our world and equipping students with the skills needed to develop solutions to these problems. We seek to build a community of faculty and students with a diversity of perspectives and areas of expertise committed to seeking creative solutions for sustainability.
SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES AT MUHLENBERG
“[Extracurricular activities available at Muhlenberg] will teach you how to work with people with different perspectives and backgrounds than you. That's a skill I know I'll carry with me.”— Anna Shigo '24 , Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies Double Major
“My classes have also given me a space to put my work into a larger context and reflect on how I want to do this work now and in the future.”— Maddie Davidson '25 , Sustainability Studies Major, Creative Writing & Journalism Minor
“The Bhutanese are so supportive about protecting the environment to an extent that I don't think really exists in other places.”— Sam White '23 , Political Science and Sustainability Studies Double Major, Fulbright Scholar
“I stay motivated and inspired to continue sustainability work, even when faced with challenges because I know I am helping to encourage others to make the world that they and I envision a reality.”— Ryan Steremberg '25 , Sustainability Studies Major, Political Science Minor
After a summer searching the job market, environmental science and sustainability studies double major Anna Shigo ’24 began her role as the open space coordinator for Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Now she’s working to preserve the environment she grew up in, just north of Muhlenberg.
“The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2025 Edition” includes a Green Rating for each of the 511 schools profiled. Muhlenberg earned a score of 98 out of 99.
Maddie Davidson ’25 received a Youth Climate Action Fund Grant from the City of Allentown to create a tree science and stewardship project at Allentown School District’s Muhlenberg Elementary School. She will also present at a worldwide conference called CityLab being held October 14-16 in Mexico City.
White, a political science and sustainability studies double major, will spend 10 months teaching English in Mongolia. Two other recent alumni were also named Fulbright semi-finalists.
