Sustainability Across the Curriculum & Living Laboratories
Many courses and majors at Carleton include sustainability topics, such as those that address issues at the intersection of environmental, economic, equity, and justice concerns, or that specifically incorporate learning in support of sustainable development. Carleton has made an institutional commitment to both expanding participation in Sustainability Across the Curriculum and deepening experiential opportunities that use campus (the arboretum, the farm, and our operations) and places in our community as a living laboratory.
Situating student learning and research in place-based concerns supports literacy, agency, and community, and helps us align education and action. Examples include analyzing campus and local data, connecting to history and culture associated with special places, and engaging with campus or local partners to develop solutions.

Interdisciplinary Learning: Environmental Studies Major
Environmental Studies (ENTS) looks at environmental issues through multiple lenses: scientific, economic, ethical, social, political, historical, and aesthetic. The major emphasizes critical thinking and laboratory and field research, and encourages participation in internships and off-campus studies.
Find more course information and major requirements on the ENTS website.
ACE Classes
Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) at Carleton College is an approach to education focusing on community-based learning, community-based research, and service learning. ACE Courses may be Applied, which generally indicates that a civic engagement project is an integral part of the course, and often involves collaboration with community partners. ACE can also be Theoretical, meaning that it focuses on the theoretical exploration of civic engagement.
These courses may spend a lot of time thinking about issues of public concern, such as policy, social justice, positionality, and different forms of oppression.
Sustainability Comps Projects
Students can do Sustainability-related comps projects in a number of different majors (thanks, liberal arts!). These include supporting campus, local, and broader community sustainability efforts.