Characteristics of Universities

This project surveyed courses in 34 universities across the United States. Universities were distributed across the US and included approximately equal numbers of public and private institutions. They ranged from small undergraduate-only colleges to major research universities. Six were Jesuit, one was Catholic, but not Jesuit, and two were historically Black colleges.

Departmental Home: Eight schools offered the EJ course through their Environmental Studies program, four through the Geography Department. Those were the two most commonly listed homes. Otherwise, the courses were housed in a wide range of departments. (The course was listed in interdisciplinary departments, "Studies” programs, and collaborates in 27 cases. In 17 cases the EJ course was listed in a disciplinary department; the totals come to more than 34 in this case due to cross listings.)

Institutional context of EJ courses: About 25% of the selected universities cross-list the EJ course with other departments. These departments are widely diverse, including, for example, Applied Ethics; Urban Planning; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and others.

In almost every case, the EJ course is one of a set of options that fulfill a major or minor requirement; only one department (Colgate) required this course for all its student majors. The course generally fulfills options for more than one major or minor, typically in several departments at its university. Occasionally the EJ course can be used to fulfill a general-education requirement, such as a Liberal Arts core (College of New Rochelle), Multiculturalism (Macalester), Sophomore Seminar (Regis), and either Diversity or Theology and Culture (student choice; Santa Clara).