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A towering cylinder holds rainwater on reserve, which feeds into a pond to irrigate a re-created desert ecosystem.

It is here, at the University of Arizona's School of Architecture, where students use innovative building materials to adapt to a change in environmental awareness.

From architecture to ecology, departments at the UA are collaborating with the School of Natural Resources to offer environmental courses, a trend also holding true nationally. On campuses across the country, more and more students are spending their green on a greener education.

"It's not just U of A," said the school's dean, Janice Cervelli. "It's every university that I'm aware of. It's become front and center."

Conservation courses have changed the environment at the UA. A freshman looking for a job in sustainability may search for degrees with the word "environment" in them, but it's not only those majors that lead to environmental careers.

"There's a sense of urgency that's never been there before," Cervelli said, and young people are looking to the future with a sense of purpose.

"I haven't seen anything like it since the original Earth Day in the 1970s," Cervelli said, regarding the overall environmental movement.

The dean is pushing for a new name — the College of Design for the Sustainable Environment — and a new minor in sustainable design.

"We're beginning to create an opportunity for students who have an interest in the environment or sustainability," Cervelli said.

And it's not just the architecture college building sustainability into its program.

Next school year, the dean of the Eller College of Management, Paul Portney, plans to add a class on energy, environment and business for MBA students.

The class will teach about corporate social responsibility and sustainability. If the students continue to show interest, more elective courses may be added to the curriculum, Portney said.

The new course is intended to offer business opportunities that are both profitable and beneficial from society's standpoint, Portney said. There seems to be a lot of interest from business students to do things that are both economical and good for society, he added.

"More and more companies pay attention to corporate responsibility," Portney said, and keep track of things such as greenhouse gases, the environment and energy.

The College of Engineering at UA has multiple degrees related to sustainability.

The number of students in biosystems engineering has risen from 50 to 90 in the past four years, after the college changed its curriculum in 2002, said Mark Riley, professor in agriculture and biosystems engineering. He attributes the rise to students being more environmentally conscious.

"Some people really like the idea of spending most of their time outside," Riley said about one of the reasons why students choose environmental degrees.

Many environmental courses integrate computers, math and natural systems, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) — a computer tool used to interpret spatial data.

"You can't get a J-O-B without G-I-S," said Steve Yool, professor of geography and regional development.

"And I think largely in environmental careers that's true." Students can add $10,000 a year to their starting salary with GIS training, and it has increased students' demand for the degree, Yool added.

"GIS really opens employment opportunities for students seeking jobs in the environment," Yool said.

This fall was the first semester students could choose between three majors with a bachelor of science in geography: physical geography, geographic information science, and water, land and society, Yool said, making students more marketable upon graduation.

Water, land and society constitute "the most inventive of the three tracks," Yool said, because the major addresses regional water issues in the Southwest.

Naturally, environmentally focused students attending a university in the desert see water issues flooding into the coursework.

"If you want to know how the environment works, you have to understand hydrology," said Thomas Maddock, head of the department of hydrology and water resources.

"People are starting to understand that there's some serious water problems," Maddock said, and they need people who understand water systems to fix the problems.

Students in chemical engineering can add an environmental certification to their degree by taking required courses.

The certification says, "Look, I'm more than just a chemical engineer," said Paul Blowers, associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering.

"Companies realize that all the chemicals they need come from nature," he said, and they also can use chemical knowledge to offset past pollution.

Blowers has seen more environmental companies begin to hire undergraduates in the past few years. Previously, they hired only master's and Ph.D. students, he said.

Between the 1940s and '60s, everything was all about money, Blowers said. Although profit is still motivating companies, they now realize they also have to protect the environment. "So there's sort of a trade-off to where you have to balance these two out," Blowers said.

Kevin Oh, a Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology, chose his major due to his interest in animal behavior.

"I've always been interested in biology in general," Oh said. Now, he studies populations of native birds and how they choose partners.

In his department, Oh has noticed a shift. "There's always been an interest in conservation," Oh said, "but more so now with climate change."

Researchers are paying attention to global climate change — "how it affects organisms and ecosystems, and how animals and plants are responding," Oh said.