New major blends science, human decision making

A new interdisciplinary major designed to help Central Michigan University meet anticipated demand by today’s high school students looking for careers related to sustainability will launch this fall.

The Sustainability, Environment and Society major challenges students to look at science through the lens of human decision making, said Matthew Liesch, chairperson of the Department of Geography an Environmental Studies.

“We have to understand how humans make decisions,” Liesch said.

Courses will integrate natural and social sciences to help answer key questions society will face in the 21st century.

Students who enroll in the program will develop problem-solving skills applicable to business operations and decision-making in a time of environmental change, he said.

The exploration of intersections between science, management and policy can open a variety of career paths, including sustainability compliance for automakers, land conversation and environmental data analysis.

The major represents an evolution of the environmental studies major, which CMU has offered since the 1970s.

The existing environmental studies program already provides a first-hand look at this through internships with area governments like the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the cities of Mount Pleasant and Midland. Liesch said he expects those to continue.

“We’ve had internships at local and regional agencies for societally important tasks like energy efficiency and adapting the Mt. Pleasant residents’ perception of climate change risk,” he said.

These projects and internships are key because students can see decision making firsthand, he said. They get to watch decisionmakers weigh competing needs, including what science and stakeholders tell them.

Freshmen can enroll in the Sustainability, Environment and Society major in Fall 2025.