Poverty. Inequality. Environmental Dislocation. In the coming year, engineers will increasingly be called upon to help formulate solutions to these global challenges and more. Working in a global context involves the ability to negotiate highly complex social, economic and political realities, as well as dealing with a wide range of institutions and stakeholders, from national and local governments to multilateral lenders to local communities to non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Skill in working on interdisciplinary teams with social scientists, public health and medical workers, humanitarian aid workers, politicians, bankers and the like also is required. By its very definition, “sustainable” development must be socially equitable, culturally sensitive and environmentally appropriate – and not just in the short-term, but over a multi-generational timeframe as well.

Offered by our Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, the minor in engineering for sustainable development exposes engineering students to these key issues and skills, enabling them to gather information in diverse and difficult settings and to work effectively with non-engineers on multifaceted problems. This minor is open to undergraduates in any of the engineering disciplines at the Whiting School. Undergraduates in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences may enroll with the permission of the program director.