Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Minors allow students to earn a credential completely within the structure of Essential Education. These are specific minors that are created to satisfy the spirit of Essential Education by introducing students to multiple disciplinary perspectives, as a complement to their major.
Explore three of the nine Essential Education Minors below. Which compliments your major and peaks your interests?
Human-Centered Design
The Human-Centered Design (HCD) minor at Michigan Tech prepares students to see the world through the lens of people – understanding not just how technologies and systems work, but how they truly impact the individuals and communities who use them. Rooted in internationally recognized design standards (ISO 9241-210:2019 and ANSI/HFES 400-2021), this minor emphasizes designing for usability, accessibility, and positive user experiences while also considering broader social and environmental impacts.
What makes this minor unique is its emphasis on ethical, sustainable, and community-focused approaches. Students will explore how design decisions shape daily life, from the interfaces we interact with to the systems we rely on. For example, you might work on designing a community space for inclusivity, creating safer and more intuitive healthcare technologies, or developing a digital tool that helps reduce energy use. Every project challenges you to think holistically – balancing technical feasibility, user needs, and long-term societal impact.
By completing the HCD minor, you’ll graduate with a versatile skill set that makes you stand out in todays job market. Industries from engineering to healthcare, computing to business, are seeking professionals who can integrate human-centered thinking into their work. This minor shows that you’re not just solving problems – you’re solving the right problems in what’s that make life easier.
Economics and Society
The Economics and Society Minor is designed for students who want to understand how economic forces shape communities, businesses, and public policy. Unlike a traditional economics minor, this program is deeply interdisciplinary – students explore core economics alongside courses in social sciences, humanities, communication, mathematics, and more. With 19 credits, the program integrates seamlessly with the Essential Education framework while giving students flexible pathways tailored to their own interests.
What makes this minor unique is the emphasis on real-world application. Students can pair foundational courses like Principals of Economics and Microeconomic theory with special topics such as Environmental Economics, Game Theory, or Energy Economics. Beyond economics, students dive into courses such as Environmental Communication, Indigenous Natural Resource Management, or Social Inequality. This combination ensures that graduates don’t just learn theory – they practice connecting economics to societies most pressing questions, whether climate change, financial decision-making, or cultural perspectives on development.
Sustainability Studies
This interdisciplinary minor allows students to:
- Build a foundational understanding of sustainability topics through multiple lenses
- Customize their learning with courses across departments and colleges
- Strengthen their ability to think crucially about sustainability issues in a global context
At Michigan Tech, we believe sustainability education should be:
- Accessible to students in all disciplines
- Rooted in real-world, experiential learning
- Inclusive of diverse perspectives and lived experiences
Whether through coursework, minors, living-learning communities, or hands-on projects, our sustainability programs are designed to meet students where they are – and help them grow into leaders ready to shape a sustainable future for all.
List of Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Minors
- AI Ethics
- Creativity and Expression
- Economics and Society
- Entrepreneurship
- Human-Centered Design
- Leadership
- Population Health
- Public Policy and Law
- Sustainability Studies
To learn more about these minors, visit Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Newsblog . In the coming weeks we will continue to provide highlights of these minors from the academic teams and departments/colleges that developed them.
To learn more about what course choices you have for each of Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Minors, follow this link. Take a moment to design your own Essential Education Minor within the available themes that compliments your own major and personal interests.