Undergraduate courses

The University minor, Sustainability by Design, is an interdisciplinary sustainability minor for SUTD undergraduates to be equipped with knowledge and tools on sustainability and design, broaden their views on the various environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability, and to apply principles of sustainability and design thinking in both academia and industry.

The Sustainability by Design minor is hosted by Science, Mathematics and Technology (SMT) Cluster.

• This minor is open only to eligible SUTD undergraduate students matriculated from AY2021 onwards.
• Students interested in pursuing minor programme(s) should meet an academic advisor to formulate a study plan. Enrolment into all courses is subject to availability.
• Subsequently, students are required to track their own progress towards completing the minor programme(s) as per the study plan formulated.
• For all minors, students must formally declare their intention to the Office of Student Administration (OSA) and the pillars/clusters involved (i.e. student’s pillar and SMT) during the declaration period (between the end of Term 3 and one week before the start of Term 4) via student portal. Students should note that the add/drop period and related policies apply to minor-related and additional fifth subjects (if any).
• The minor will be accorded upon successful completion of the required subjects by Term 8. No extension beyond Term 8 is allowed.
• Students who declared earlier but decided not to pursue the minor programme(s) are required to inform OSA in writing. Should the student who declared earlier decide to pursue a different minor, the student is required to inform OSA in writing. Only requests before the end of Term 5’s add/drop period will be entertained and such requests will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
• All other students must declare that they have successfully completed the minor programme(s) and provide any necessary documentation to OSA before graduation in order for the minor(s) to be reflected in their transcript.

Students must have passed all twelve (12) Freshmore subjects at the point of declaring their intention to pursue a minor.

Two required core courses

• 40.230 Design for Sustainability (offered by ESD and SMT) (Term 6)
• 20.322 Net Zero Design (offered by ASD and EPD) (Term 7) – taken as 12-credit course for non-ASD students

Two sustainability-related HASS courses from the following list (more courses may be added)

• 02.104TS The History of International Development in Asia: The Role of Engineers and Designers
• 02.146 Financing Cities of the Future: Theory & Practice
• 02.147TS Interventions in Design, Technology and Society
• 02.153TS A History of Nuclear Strategy, Design, Technology and Society
• 02.154HT Environmental Humanities
• 02.155HT Design Anthropology
• 02.166TS Urban Southeast Asia: Diversity, Sustainability and Change
• 02.167HT Special Topic: Fashion: East and West
• 02.219TS Rice Cultures: Technology, Society and Environment in Asia
• 02.222TS Unnatural Disasters
• 02.228TS Design in the Anthropocene
• 02.231TS Transportation Policy and Technology in Urban Progress

One elective course from the following list (more courses may be added)

• 01.101 Technologies for Sustainable Global Health (EPD) (Term 7)
• 01.102 Energy Systems for Management (ESD) (Term 6/ 8)
• 01.116 AI for Healthcare (ISTD, EPD) (Term 6/ 8)
• 30.316 Digital Biomimetics: Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing (EPD) (Term 6/ 8)
• 30.120 Design and Manufacturing (EPD)
• 30.123 Healthcare Product Design (EPD)
• 40.260 Supply Chain Management (ESD)
• 40.318 Supply Chain Digitalisation and Design (ESD)

Note: All courses are subject to timetable availability and fulfilment of pre-requisites.

• Students must complete all required courses.
• Subjects taken to complete the minor shall be graded and computed into the GPA.
• Unless a minimum passing grade is stated by the pillar, the minimum passing grade shall be a D. Non-letter grading options cannot be used for the minor.
• Credits from successfully completed academic units from external institutions can be recognised towards fulfilling the minor requirements upon approval from SMT offering the minor.