Curriculum

Introduction

One of the primary functions of colleges and universities is to educate students. By training and educating future leaders, scholars, workers, and professionals; higher education institutions are uniquely positioned to understand and address sustainability challenges. Institutions that offer courses covering sustainability issues help equip their students to lead society to a sustainable future.

7980 resources

Submitting to “Case Studies in the Environment”: A Workshop for Authors

  • University of Southern California (CA)

“Case Studies in the Environment” (CSE) is a peer-reviewed journal published by the University of California Press. The online journal publishes case studies, which provide nuance to environmental problem solving ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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The LEED Curriculum: A New Standard for Sustainability Education

  • University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (WI)

This session provides a comprehensive overview of The LEED Curriculum for college CTE and university undergraduate programs. Using the globally recognized LEED rating system as a framework, facilitator Heather McCombs ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Just Sustainable Leadership: Integrating Stakeholders

  • Arizona State University (AZ)

Wicked environmental dilemmas (e.g. climate change) are difficult to explain, plainly define, have no one solution, and are often the result of other indefinable problems that require integrative collaborative ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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The Future of Work and Implications for Sustainability in TVET

  • Colleges and Institutes Canada (ON)

According to many reports on sustainability, ambitious net-zero goals will require millions of workers to learn new job skills over the next decade. The world’s transportation, energy, and manufacturing ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Lightning Talks: Teaching & Learning (Group 2)

  • Simon Fraser University (BC)
  • EcoChallenge.org (OR)

This session consists of 3 15-minute Lightning Talk sessions related to campus academics and operations. The Lightning Talks are: Behavior Change for Campus & Courses: Driving Engagement & Impact - This ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Using Self-Assessment to Extend Sustainability Competency Development

  • MacEwan University (AB)

One of the key benefits of developing sustainability competencies is that they enable students to pursue future work and study opportunities within sustainability despite diverse fields and challenges. However, if ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Tools to Fill the Education Gap for Agenda 2030

  • United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (NY)

This discussion will cover the tools needed to fill the gap in higher education systems for Agenda 2030. The mission of the SDG Academy is to create and curate the ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Reimagining Field-Based Sustainability Learning: A Journey to Active Hope

  • Dalhousie University (NS)

Conventional field courses are often focused on experiencing the outside world through the lenses of the natural sciences, where students learn and practice methods to measure and compare various biological ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Impactful Sustainability Curriculum: Supporting Faculty Implementation of High Impact Teaching

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
  • University of Oregon (OR)

Integrating Service-Learning/Community Engagement (SLCE) into Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can enhance student learning outcomes and competencies, across all disciplines. SLCE in higher education has been shown to enhance ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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The 2041 Project: Imagining a Positive Climate Future

  • State University of New York at Oneonta (NY)

One of the essential tasks in responding to the ongoing climate crisis is imagining alternatives to current circumstances that could lead to possible, plausible, and positive futures. Simply absorbing data ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Lightning Talks: Teaching & Learning (Group 1)

  • Lipscomb University (TN)
  • Thompson Rivers University (BC)
  • University of Liverpool

This session consists of 3 15-minute Lightning Talk sessions related to teaching and learning. The Lightning Talks are: Turning Out Graduates Who Can Promote Sustainability Within Organisations - This session covers ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Impactful Education for Sustainability Through Research and a Community of Practice

  • University of Tasmania (TAS)

For humanity to persist, we need populations with sustainability knowledge and practices. Higher education has the potential to contribute but there are many barriers preventing higher education actors from reaching ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Innovation in Sustainability Degree Programs

  • Saybrook University (CA)
  • Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)
  • International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) (OR)

Three ISSP Education Partners will lead a discussion on innovation within sustainability degree programs to meet industry needs and accelerate students within the profession. Topics will include integrating systems thinking ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Teaching Behavior Change Principles for Sustainability Careers

  • Center for Behavior and Climate (FL)
  • Behavior Development Solutions (FL)

As sustainability professionals, we know that to address climate change in the short timeframe we have left requires nothing more than transformational systems change. Sustainability programs have an urgent role ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Teaching Key Competencies in Sustainability Education

  • Colorado Mountain College (CO)
  • University of Dayton (OH)
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
  • Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (MD)

The Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (SCC) and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) have launched a new series of materials for faculty teaching sustainability topics. The ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Integrating Climate Justice and Climate Change Into Curricula Through Community-Based Learning

  • Portland Community College (OR)

Portland Community College’s 2021 Climate Action Plan: Resiliency, Equity and Education for a Just Transition calls for the college to support and encourage students to engage with sustainability and ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Achieving Deep Sustainability Through Hands-on Learning

  • University of British Columbia (BC)
  • University of the Fraser Valley (BC)
  • Okanagan College (BC)

Achieving sustainability competencies often involves multiple skill sets, from abstract reasoning to applied and experiential learning. How exactly can sustainability competencies be demonstrated? How can these competencies be transferred to ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Building Decarbonization Education for the Next Generation

  • Howard University (DC)
  • Stanford University (CA)

In order to prepare the next generation of building professionals, engineering education must adapt. The Stanford Building Decarbonization Learning Accelerator (BDLA) provides free teaching resources to professors so they can ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Interdisciplinary Learning Community: Sustainability and Agriculture

  • County College of Morris (NJ)

An interdisciplinary approach to environmental topics, such as climate change and sustainability, helps to bridge the gap between identifying an environmental concern and implementing a societal resolution. This presentation aims ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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High Impact Practices at Bridgewater State University’s Permaculture Garden and Local Farms

  • Bridgewater State University (MA)

In this presentation, faculty from the Bridgewater State University Sustainability Program share their experiences of using the permaculture garden as a tool for their teaching, research, and scholarship. The goal ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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A Review of an Online International Sustainability Collaboration

  • The College of Saint Scholastica (MN)

In spring of 2021, nine Chemistry and Sustainability at The College of St. Scholastica entered into an innovative active learning collaboration with five English-major Russian students at Petrozavodsk State University ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Advancing the SDGs through Education Abroad

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)
  • The Forum on Education Abroad (RI)

It may seem that institutional goals for education abroad are at odds with institutional goals for sustainability. But what if your study abroad programming could actually advance one or more ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Making Study Away Programs More Climate Conscious

  • Williams College (MA)

The presentation will illustrate opportunities and challenges in measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of study away programs using data from Williams College. A growing number of students opt to ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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University Power Grid Resilience Teaches Steps to Carbon Neutrality

  • Chatham University (PA)
  • Green Business Certification Inc (DC)

Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus is designed to be a living lab for sustainability and resiliency where students can drive progress while developing their skills. Advancing progress towards carbon neutrality ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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Developing Sustainability Skills in Future Language Teachers

  • Universidad de Colima

As teachers, we address the sustainability crisis from the field of education and we dedicate ourselves to develop sustainability skills among teachers in training who will be key players in ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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A Student-led Process for University Carbon Footprinting

  • Michigan Technological University (MI)

Students at Michigan Technological University have been calculating the institution’s carbon footprint for over 20 years as part of a project-based academic course. We will share the contours of ...

  • Posted May 17, 2023
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The Week: The New Playbook for Climate Mobilization

  • The Week

The Week is a climate mobilization tool that anyone can pick up and use, for free, to create courageous conversations about climate breakdown, and what we as a society can ...


Curriculum Self-Assessment Rubrics

  • University of Michigan (MI)

This brief document offers several rubrics to assess courses, syllabi and individual units based on principles of sustainability- and social justice pedagogy, including community connections, cultural relevance, and more.

  • Posted May 8, 2023
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Integrating Sustainability and Social Justice Concepts Across the Curriculum

  • University of Michigan (MI)

This brief document offers matrices that show how sustainability and social justice concepts such as community and equity can be integrated across disciplines. With this document, instructors can take steps ...

  • Posted May 8, 2023
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Building an Embedded Sustainability Approach

  • TAFE Queensland Robina Campus (QLD)

The TAFE Queensland Robina Campus has been purpose-built to lead the way as a sustainable vocational education and training (VET) provider across Australia. The campus was designed from the ground ...


Rider University Earth Day Event

  • Rider University (NJ)

Eco-Reps that work for the Office of Sustainability that also conduct plant research in our campus greenhouse grew pollinator friendly plants to sell at our Earth Day event. With a ...


Climate in the Classroom: Bell Tower Takeover

  • Temple University (PA)

Climate in the Classroom: Bell Tower Takeover was a special Earth Month event hosted by the Temple University Office of Sustainability, the Office of the Provost and select student and ...


Shifting Instruction for Sustainability: Lessons from COVID

  • New Mexico State University (NM)

The COVID-19 pandemic irrevocably changed the ways that libraries function. Libraries had to shift and our skills as librarians and educators were put to the test in new ways. As ...

  • Posted April 13, 2023
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Bending Towards Justice: Evolving Sustainability Education at Prescott College

  • Prescott College (AZ)
  • AASHE (PA)

The PhD in Sustainability Education at Prescott College, the first of its kind in North America, attracts a transdisciplinary cadre of students/scholars/activists committed to social and environmental justice ...

  • Posted March 30, 2023
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Obstacles to Environmental Progress: A US Perspective

  • Austin College (TX)

Open-access (free) book from University College London Press. The primary intended audiences are undergraduate and graduate students in environmental studies, sustainability, and related fields. The book focuses on predictable, practical ...

  • Posted March 6, 2023
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Devise and Dismantle Racial Inequity through Inclusive Professional Learning and Course Design

  • Old Dominion University (VA)
  • San Diego Mesa College (CA)
  • AASHE (PA)

Diversity, equity, and Inclusion operations within higher education are critical to fostering an environment that dismantles structural racism and intentionally develops solutions to challenges faced by marginalized and non-marginalized populations ...

  • Posted March 3, 2023
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Water Sustainability Graduate Certificate

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

Skilled sustainability professionals are needed in order to create effective solutions to the complex global water challenges. This certificate program will equip students with the theory, practice and skills to ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
  • Academic Programs
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Sustainable Transportation Graduate Certificate

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

The predominant focus on automobile transportation has led to a variety of consequences that are less than sustainable such as urban sprawl, rising rates of obesity, growth in green house ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
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Sustainable Tourism Graduate Certificate

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, accounting for 9% of the world GDP and 10.5% of the world's workforce. Tourism is also the fastest ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
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Global Sustainability Graduate Certificate

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

The Graduate Certificate in Global Sustainability is intended to prepare students to address complex regional, national, and global challenges related to sustainability and the ability to innovate in diverse cultural ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
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Food Sustainability and Security

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

Concerns about population growth, human health, and environmental quality have made food sustainability and security a top priority worldwide. The goal of this program is to provide students with a ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
  • Academic Programs
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Energy Sustainability Graduate Certificate

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

Concerns about future economic growth, standards of living, and environmental quality have made sustainable energy a top priority worldwide. The goal of this certificate program is to provide students with ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
  • Academic Programs
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Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Graduate Certificate

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

The certificate program in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation is intended to prepare students to address complex regional, national and global challenges associated with climate change adaptation and resilience. This concentration ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
  • Academic Programs
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Sustainable Business Graduate Certificate

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

The Sustainable Business graduate certificate will provide a foundation for designing sustainable organizations and businesses and related concepts pertaining to sustainability. Organizations and businesses from all sectors need to develop ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
  • Academic Programs
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MS in Global Sustainability

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
  • University of South Florida (FL)

The Master of Science (MS) degree in Global Sustainability offers five (5) academic concentrations, available in a traditional on-campus format, blended hybrid formats or fully online: Entrepreneurship, Food Sustainability and ...

  • Posted Feb. 23, 2023
  • Academic Programs
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Environmental Justice in Higher Education: From Intent to Sustainable Action

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • Princeton University (NJ)
  • AASHE (PA)

This webinar will trace shifts in the traditional framing of sustainability in higher education and how it is implemented, following the recent racial reckoning in the wake of the killing ...

  • Posted Feb. 16, 2023
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Summer REU in Urban Ecology and the Environment (2024 enrollment)

  • City University of New York, Baruch College (NY)
  • The City University of New York (NY)
  • City University of New York, Brooklyn College (NY)

The Brooklyn Urban Ecology and Environment Program (BUEE) is a NSF-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates hosted at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. BUEE supports the training ...

  • Posted Jan. 10, 2023
  • Academic Programs
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Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops

  • Moving Still Productions Inc.

Teach climate change with the following free resources: Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops, a series of five short films narrated by Richard Gere, featuring twelve renown climate scientists, and endorsed by ...

  • Posted Oct. 19, 2022
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Sustainability Management Simulation: Net Zero

  • Harvard University (MA)

In the Sustainability Management Simulation: Net Zero - Winner of the 2022 Gold Medal at the International Serious Play Awards - learners play the role of the General Manager of a 500-room ...

  • Posted Oct. 19, 2022
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Employing the SDGs to Enhance University Research and Education Sustainability Objectives

  • Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
  • University of California, Davis (CA)
  • University of Southern California (CA)
  • AASHE (PA)

Although the SDGs are a global framework, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to how universities employ them to enhance research, education, and operational sustainability objectives. The purpose of this ...

  • Posted Oct. 17, 2022
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.

AC 1: Academic Courses

AC 2: Learning Outcomes

AC 3: Undergraduate Program

AC 4: Graduate Program

AC 5: Immersive Experience

AC 6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

AC 7: Incentives for Developing Courses

AC 8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

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