Since SLS opened its doors in Spring 2015, students have been asking us – “How can we get involved in SLS?” We have guided them to our extensive list of Affiliated Courses and to our Events & Workshops series, which together reach over 6,000 students/year. These initiatives are continuing – but now, we are excited to announce a new slate of Signature Programs that will allow students to delve deeper into sustainable communities education and experiences, and stay involved over multiple years. The Events & Workshops series is our first program – intended to complement what students are learning in their SLS Affiliated Courses. Here’s more information about the other five programs. We encourage you to check them out!

• The Sustainable Cities Minor, offered in collaboration with City and Regional Planning, combines classroom learning with community-based projects, all with a focus on the built urban environment.
• The Innovating for Social Impact Program, offered in partnership with The Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, introduces students to social innovation as a tool for social impact. It is open to students who have an idea they want to develop as well as students who just want to learn innovative approaches to social change. It combines courses and co-curricular experiences - and can even be completed through co-curricular experiences alone.
• Linked Courses are courses from different GT colleges and schools that collaborate for one semester, under the umbrella of a broad sustainable communities’ theme and with community partners. This provides a unique multidisciplinary learning experience tied to real-world work. This year, SLS will offer Linked Courses related to Community Health (Fall), Civic Data and Green Infrastructure (Spring), and Equitable and Sustainable Development (Summer).
• The SLS Internship Program is a one-semester program combining an internship with an SLS partner organization with a bi-weekly SLS seminar (for audit credit). It launched this past summer with 17 student-interns working with 15 community partners, such as Georgia Farmer’s Market Association, Georgia Department of Economic Development, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and Southface. The program can be taken on its own, or as part of the Innovating for Social Impact Program. 
• RCE Greater Atlanta is a United Nations-affiliated, multi-stakeholder, regional sustainability network, led by Georgia Tech, Emory, and Spelman, committed to advancing education and training related to the U.N. SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The network engages faculty, staff, and students from nine universities and colleges, plus partners from the nonprofit, community, government, and business sectors. The RCE Youth Network brings together students and mentors from 10 universities in the region who are passionate about sustainability and making a difference in our community.

We have endeavored to create a diversity of programs to serve students with a variety of interests and schedules, from all majors across campus. Which programs excite you most? Read more at the links above – and give me a call if you want to discuss anything in more detail. We’d love to help you figure out which programs are best for you – and get you signed up for this fall!

Best regards,

Dr. Jennifer Hirsch

Director, Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain

Credit: Thanks to Joe Aldinger for his help with this post.