Unity Environmental University Introduces “Psychology of Human Behavior and Change” Degrees, Uniting Human Well-Being and Climate Action
As the nation marks Mental Health Awareness Month, Unity Environmental University Distance Education is announcing a portfolio of five bachelor’s programs that treat human flourishing and planetary health as two sides of the same coin. The degrees centered within the Psychology of Human Behavior and Change include Ecopsychology & Human Resilience, Applied Positive Psychology & Leadership, Applied Psychology & Biophilic Design, Psychology for Organizational Sustainability, and Psychology of Cybernetic Design. All of these programs will train students to harness behavioral science for climate-smart solutions that also safeguard human well-being.
“One in five American adults grapples with a mental-health condition each year, and climate anxiety is surging among young people who will inherit today’s environmental choices,” said Dr. Melik Peter Khoury, President & CEO of Unity Environmental University. “By fusing psychology with sustainability, these degrees empower our learners to design technologies, spaces, and local environments that help both people and the planet thrive.”
The launch answers an urgent workforce call. The U.S. Surgeon General has labeled youth mental health a national crisis, while a Lancet Planetary Health global survey shows that 60 percent of 16- to 25-year-olds are “very worried” about climate change and nearly half say that worry affects their daily functioning. At the same time, industries are pivoting toward human-centered sustainability: the global market for green-building materials is on pace to top $645 billion by 2030, user-experience and AI-interaction roles are projected to expand 17 percent through 2033, and demand for training-and-development specialists, crucial to embedding environmental practices inside organizations, is set to grow 12 percent in the same window.
Executive Vice President of Educational Solutions, Dr. Jennifer Cartier, noted that “companies and communities alike are discovering a simple truth: you can’t solve sustainability problems without understanding human behavior. Our graduates will leave able to apply psychological principles, knowledge of human physiology, and systems thinking to tackle eco-anxiety in schools, incorporate biophilic design principles into workplaces to lower stress hormones and increase well-being, or build digital interfaces that maximize productivity and learning by being responsive to how people think and feel.”
Unity is developing each curriculum in collaboration with leading subject-matter experts. One example is internationally renowned architect and scholar Helena van Vliet, whose research anchors the Applied Psychology and Biophilic Design track. Van Vliet recently authored the chapter “Building as Habitat” in the forthcoming academic volume “Towards a Nature-Positive Built Environment,” which demonstrates how “ecotonal” living façades can cool urban streets, prevent bird strikes, and lower human cortisol levels. Those types of evidence-backed insights will be woven into the fabric of Unity’s coursework, giving students practical tools for designing spaces that heal both people and planet.
All five degrees are covered by Unity’s tuition-freeze guarantee through 2030, so students’ wallets can relax even as they learn to help the world do the same. All five programs are set to launch in Fall 2025. For early access to program updates click this link.
