Portland State University is offering a new minor this fall aimed at informing and engaging students on the pressing issue of climate change.  The new Climate Change Science and Adaptation minor is a collaboration between the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Geography and Environmental Science and Management departments, but it is open to undergraduate students in any major.

Paul Loikith, a climate scientist and assistant professor of geography, said employers are increasingly looking for graduates who are literate in climate change, both from the science and solutions perspectives.

“As the public and private sectors increasingly make efforts to either adapt to future conditions so that their business or populations can be resilient in those changes or reduce their impact on the change itself, we think it’s an attractive thing for employees to have this additional knowledge,” he said.

Loikith said the cross-disciplinary nature of the major is an example of what Portland State does best.

The minor can be earned with a BA or BS degree or post baccalaureate in any major. Students pursuing the minor will take a set of core courses as well as electives to fulfill a Management and Policy or Physical Science Track.