Why Get a Bachelor’s Degree in Critical Social Justice and Solidarity?

You believe in the power of change, and the power of people to make it. You believe that building a more socially and environmentally just world for all takes equal parts strategy, persistence, and vision. You want to move beyond opinions and learn to analyze our social systems and while growing your own sense of purpose. You are ready to mobilize and support movements for justice more than you already do.

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What Can You Do With a Bachelor’s in Critical Social Justice and Solidarity?

In the march for social justice, there are a myriad of roles one can take. Our graduates go on to to pursue masters, doctorate, or law school degrees, or work in non-profit organizations, international work, education, and community activism. Some of their careers are listed here:.

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What will this program look like?

Interdisciplinary and immersive, students in this program gain first-hand knowledge and experience on the study of social change. By studying and engaging with both the theories and skills undergirding social justice and solidarity movements our students will  learn how to critically analyze, research, collaborate, and participate directly in environmental, socioeconomic, and political justice work. Additionally, our students will learn to integrate national and global perspectives with hands-on civic engagement through studies and practice in the field, community organizing work in partnership with organizations across Arizona and across the country, 

Keep your studies broad, or focus around one specific area of interest, such as indigenous studies, migration studies, global systems, communications and storytelling, community education, environmental justice and communities, or law and policy. All that and you can integrate with one of our accelerated Master’s programs such as the Organizing and Community Justice program.

Why a Bachelor’s Degree in Field Ecology and Conservation?

Field Ecology and Conservation at 91ÇÑ×Ó is about connecting with the natural world and conserving it towards the long-term sustainable future of the planet. Our students truly engage with nature and experience it up close, in person. Our students spend over half their time outdoors, identifying and inventorying native plants, monitoring seabird nesting behavior on offshore islands, and restoring riparian ecosystems to health and vitality. In the classroom, we learn evolutionary theory, the life histories of organisms, and field methods for ecological research. We take the knowledge and skills we learn in the greater Southwest and apply it worldwide on field studies. We travel to the rainforest of Costa Rica, the coast of the Gulf of California, and to the alpine tundra of the Sierra Nevada.

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What can you do with this degree?

Our students become the conservationists of the twenty first century. Amidst a modern world of ecological upheaval, they do this by focusing on place-based conservation projects, restoring the planet one community at a time. Graduates find livelihoods as research technicians, ecological consultants, ecotourism guides, naturalist educators, and park rangers. They work for organizations such as The National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, Rio Grande Returns, and The Center for Biodiversity. They monitor the return of rapids along the Colorado River, changes in gallery forest stands in the Hassayampa Preserve, and restore wetlands at the headwaters of the Rio Grande stands. Many of our students also go on to attain graduate degrees in related fields, such as Botany and Biology. By providing unparalleled opportunities to engage with and explore the natural world, 91ÇÑ×Ó’s Field Ecology and Conservation major is designed to give students the knowledge, skills, and experience to be the best field ecologists and conservationists of our times.

Here are just a few examples:

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What will this program look like?

The program advances and integrates understanding across many disciplines, including the biological, physical, and social sciences, and the humanities. Students use these insights to illuminate the interrelationships between human and non-human realms, meanwhile learning specific skills in community development, application to real-world situations, critical thinking, field and laboratory methods, and oral and written communication. 

Students pursuing a BA in Field Ecology & Conservation will be able to address the values, processes, inquiry- and solution-generating abilities, and applications required to develop a philosophical understanding of, and ethical stance regarding, human-nature interactions and relationships.

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Available Concentrations within Field Ecology and Conservation

Marine Studies
Natural History Interpretation
Sustainable Food Systems
Environmental Education

Other Available Concentrations

Adventure Education
Climate Justice
Education for Social Justice
Environmental Studies
Equity Studies in Outdoor Leadership
Outdoor Leadership

Certificates

Environmental Education
Sustainable Food Systems

Why a Bachelor’s in Environmental Humanities?

You see the world differently. You think critically and act artistically. You know the infinite possibilities that result when real-world issues are approached through creative experimentation. You are interested in more than just the arts and want to develop your skills so you can grow as both an artist and problem-solver.

Healing the world requires deep imagination, creative action, and skillful practices. The Environmental Humanities program uses the lenses of the humanities – art, history, literature, anthropology, philosophy, religious studies – to complement scientific approaches to the human-environment relationship in order to investigate, envision, and celebrate human engagements with the non-human world. Using narrative, interpretive and creative approaches, we consider how the environment is socially constructed and represented, and bring intellectual and creative rigor to our aspirations for just, sustainable and inspiring relationships among humans and the natural world.

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What can you do with a degree in environmental humanities?

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this bachelor of arts degree, graduates continue on to careers from extremely varying fields:

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What will this program look like?

Our students engage in self-directed learning and interdisciplinary coursework. Identify and explore the contribution of environmental humanities to the human experience including historical, social, environmental, religious, and cultural contexts. Study artistic competencies alongside topics such as climate change, social and environmental justice, and psychology. Gain critical technical skills in your discipline as you originate creative work, and hone analytic skills through the study of existing work. 

Expand your studies by completing required courses through our partners with EcoLeague or CIEL. Use this degree to participate in one our accelerated Master’s degrees: Environmental Studies & Sustainability or Transformative Food Systems.

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Available Concentrations

Adventure Education
Climate Justice
Education for Social Justice
Environmental Studies
Equity Studies in Outdoor Leadership
Natural History Interpretation
Marine Studies
Outdoor Leadership

Certificates

Environmental Education
Sustainable Food Systems

Why this program?

You are fascinated by the human mind. You are equally curious about how the world around us influences human thought, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. You believe  that healthy individuals and groups help contribute to a more just and sustainable world, and vice versa. You therefore want a more holistic approach to psychology than most colleges and universities offer. You believe this integrated program is the best way to become an effective and positive agent for change.

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What can you do with this degree?

You can apply your holistic mindset, practical skills, and theoretical knowledge across a variety of career paths including counseling, psychotherapy, community well-being programs, health promotion programs, educational and research institutions, among many others.

Use this degree to participate in one of our accelerated Master’s degrees: MS in Counseling or MEd in School Counseling.

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What will this program look like?

Explore emotional, cognitive, social, cultural, and spiritual aspects of the human mind while also gaining deep insight into how socioeconomic, political, and environmental systems influence individuals and community life. This kind of integration goes beyond mainstream approaches to psychology, which narrowly focus on the individual person. In our program, you will learn to apply critically and ethically informed psychological knowledge to support individual, societal, environmental, and organizational wellbeing. You will also apply scientific thinking to understand and evaluate the quality and value of psychological research, theories, and applications. And you will have opportunities to take classes from different departments and programs, as well as obtain experiences in the field and learn how to prepare and practice for a therapeutic setting.

The BA in Psychology at 91ÇÑ×Ó emphasizes critical, holistic, and social/environmental justice perspectives to approach the study of individual, societal, and institutional/organizational psychological processes and well-being. These perspectives include centering diverse voices, experiences, and ways of knowing, and understanding the complex interactions between sociocultural and individual factors, as well as the influence of power, privilege, and oppression.

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Available Concentrations

Adventure Education
Climate Justice
Education for Social Justice
Environmental Studies
Equity Studies in Outdoor Leadership
Natural History Interpretation
Marine Studies
Outdoor Leadership

Certificates

Environmental Education
Sustainable Food Systems

Why this program?

The Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Interdisciplinary Studies is designed for students with 80 or more credits who are:

• Seeking to complete their undergraduate degree; and
• Highly interested in accelerating into a Master’s degree.

The Bachelor of Science blends courses from multiple disciplines, bridging knowledge from various fields to cultivate a holistic understanding of how the world is interconnected. Students become uniquely well-positioned in various industries to identify solutions to complex environmental and social issues. Recent graduates working at the intersection of fields include an arborist and horticulturist who uses art to inform and influence public environmental policy. As an executive director of a YMCA, another graduate uses her education in leadership, social justice, and culture to make meaningful change at a time when it is needed most.

Interdisciplinary Studies students use graduate courses to fulfill many of the remaining credits needed for the undergraduate degree while simultaneously completing up to 67% of a graduate degree. Undergraduate students must apply and be accepted into a Master’s program to be considered an Accelerated Master’s student.

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Accelerated Master’s Degrees

Earn two degrees in less time; in addition to saving money, you will benefit from a seamless transition from undergraduate to graduate study while increasing your marketability in the workforce.

Save time and money
Complete your degrees sooner, save on tuition costs and enter the workforce at least one year earlier with a graduate degree.

Financial Aid
Apply your financial aid towards your graduate credits.

Increased Earning Potential

Graduating with both degrees often means higher starting salaries and more earning potential throughout your career.

• You’ll have an additional area of expertise and the credentials to tackle a broad range of industry-related projects.
• You’ll receive personalized academic and career support advising

Eligible students with outstanding academic records may apply to the relevant program of interest once they have completed 60 credits, and upon acceptance, may begin taking graduate credits with the support and guidance of their undergraduate faculty adviser and graduate program director. Please make sure to check on specific program admission requirements. 

Talk with your Success Coach, Advisor, or an Admissions Counselor today!

Why this program?

You are passionate about the outdoors. You are oriented toward equity and social justice, and want the skills needed to break barriers and foster holistic and experiential learning for all. Interdisciplinary skills gained: technical outdoor skills, social justice literacy, ecological knowledge, interpersonal fluency, and teaching competency.

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What can you do with a degree in Adventure Education?

Not only can you become a successful professional outdoor educator, but you can apply all your skills and knowledge to any field that requires effective communication, people skills, risk assessment, and problem solving (kind of everything). The question isn’t what can you do, the question is what can’t you do:

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What will this program look like?

We are experiential. Students apply everything they learn in the classroom to field settings through practicums, field expeditions, and special projects.

We are field-based. We spend at least 50% of our time learning in a field setting. Some expeditionary classes are 100% field-based like Environmental Perspectives & White-Water Rafting. Others like Intro to Rock Climbing take place in-town as well as in the classroom.

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Adventure Education-Specific Concentrations

Concentration: Adventure Education 

Learning Outcomes 

•  Leadership and Facilitation: Learners will apply leadership skills, experiential teaching strategies, and facilitation techniques to create intellectually, emotionally, and physically safe communities within adventure education.
• Outdoor Skills: Learners will demonstrate technical competency in outdoor disciplines necessary for the implementation of safe, high-quality experiences.
  

Concentration: Outdoor Leadership

Learning Outcomes

• Leadership and Facilitation: Leadership and Facilitation: Learners will apply leadership skills, experiential teaching strategies, and facilitation techniques to create intellectually, emotionally, and physically safe communities within adventure education.

Outdoor Skills: Learners will demonstrate a high-level of technical competency in the outdoor skills needed for the implementation of safe, excellent, and educative outdoor experiences consistent with professional outdoor leaders.

Concentration: Equity Studies in Outdoor Leadership

Learning Outcomes

• Leadership and Facilitation: Learners will apply leadership skills, experiential teaching strategies, and facilitation techniques to create intellectually, emotionally, and physically safe communities within adventure education.
• Critical Analysis: Learners will employ critical theories to analyze and evaluate the relevant foundational theories, essential practices, and current trends in adventure education.

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Adventure Education-Specific Certificates

Certificate: Environmental Education

Critical Analysis: Learners will employ critical theories to analyze and evaluate the relevant foundational theories, essential practices, and current trends in adventure education.

Students who complete the following requirements will receive a 91ÇÑ×Ó issued certificate as well as the option to pursue/receive certificate as well. The AAEE is an affiliate of the . 

The learning outcomes for the 91ÇÑ×Ó issued Environmental Education Certificate are aligned with the

Certificate: River Studies and Leadership

Students who take the qualifying coursework may be eligible for a certificate in River Studies & Leadership certificate through the River Management Society. For more, visit the .

Certificate: Place-based Experiential Education

Non-Credit Bearing External Certificate: Available for undergraduates, graduates, and external community members. Can be completed as stand alone intensives or stacked as a suite to earn a certificate. 

Certificate Learning Outcome:

Learners will integrate key elements and perspectives of place-based experiential education into educational experiences.