A California public university has officially launched a new curriculum update that will force all students to take at least one course on climate change. [emphasis, links added]
Since the beginning of the fall semester, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has imposed a “climate change education requirement” for freshmen. The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) announced course updates in November.
“Knowledge of climate change is required of all bachelor's degree candidates admitted to UC San Diego as first-year students in fall 2024 or later,” the school's website states.
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) states The Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement “is designed to equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need to address the urgent global challenge of climate change.”
Students have a wide range of courses to choose from to meet the requirements, including: “Documenting Climate Change: Past and Present”, “Politics of Environmental Change”, “Climate Justice”, “Climate Change Astronomy”, “Gender and Gender” Climate Justice”, ” Indigenous approaches to climate change', 'Literature and the environment', 'Critical writing: climate change' and 'Environmentalism in art and media'.
“UC San Diego has a long history of leadership in climate research and education, and the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement marks a new path forward,” Chancellor Pradeep Khosla told us UC San Diego Today.
“Whether undergraduate students major in STEM, humanities, arts, social sciences, or any other field, This requirement will provide them with a deep understanding of climate change and how to contribute to meaningful solutions.“
Many of the courses that fall under the climate change education requirement also overlap with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) courses.
The new requirements are inspired by DEI requirements implemented by the University of California, San Diego in 2011.
The DEI requirement “is designed to engage students critically with topics about race, power, and antiracist efforts that meaningfully challenge structural racism.” UC San Diego Today.
“We've learned the best from DEI requirements-Which [Jane Teranes] Muir College Provost Wayne Yang told the publication that we are also involved in ensuring that the requirement does not add additional time for students to earn their degrees.
“The Climate Requirement inspires and encourages teachers to incorporate climate change education into their upper-division courses, Thereby deepening the curriculum by focusing on what students can do about climate change from within their disciplines. Importantly, it treats climate change as an interdisciplinary issue.“
This isn’t the first time UC San Diego has actively pushed the climate change agenda. in May, The school invited former Vice President Al Gore as commencement speaker, noting his commitment to “increasing global awareness and helping to mitigate the effects of climate change—a commitment shared by UC San Diego.” [pictured above]
Similarly, Columbia University held a week-long program in August to train middle school teachers in climate change teaching methods, with a focus on “culturally responsive learning.”
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