Curriculum development for the sustainability PhD program at RIT

The typical disciplinary approach that underlies most research areas is fragmented. Consequently, advances in science and technology are often disconnected from and uninformed of the potential sustainability implications of new technologies. The PhD program in Sustainability at RIT establishes a program of study that links discipline-specific science with an understanding of the integrative sciences of sustainability, such as industrial ecology, ecological economics, risk analysis, energy policy, and ethics. Ultimately, the proposed program will transform the graduate experience by making it highly collaborative, team-based, and embedded in the broader context of economic, environmental and social understanding.