Academic Sustainability
Sustainability in the Curriculum2022-2023 Course Audit
Sustainability-focused courses
To count as sustainability-focused, the course title or description must indicate a primary and explicit focus on sustainability. This includes:
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Foundational courses with a primary and explicit focus on sustainability (e.g., Introduction to Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Sustainability Science).
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Courses with a primary and explicit focus on the application of sustainability within a field (e.g., Architecture for Sustainability, Green Chemistry, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Business). As sustainability is an interdisciplinary topic, such courses generally incorporate insights from multiple disciplines.
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Courses with a primary and explicit focus on a major sustainability challenge (e.g., Climate Change Science, Environmental Justice, Global Poverty and Development, Renewable Energy Policy). The focus of such courses might be on providing knowledge and understanding of the problems and/or the tools for solving them.
The course title or description does not have to use the term “sustainability” to count as sustainability focused if the primary and explicit focus of the course is on the interdependence of ecological and social/economic systems or a major sustainability challenge. If the course title and description do not unequivocally indicate such a focus, but it is evident from the course description or syllabus that the course incorporates sustainability challenges, issues, and concepts in a prominent way, the course may qualify as sustainability-inclusive.
Sustainability-inclusive courses
Courses that are not explicitly focused on sustainability may contribute towards scoring if sustainability has clearly been incorporated into course content. To count as sustainability-inclusive, the course description or rationale provided in the course inventory must indicate that the course incorporates a unit or module on sustainability or a sustainability challenge, includes one or more sustainability-focused activities, or integrates sustainability challenges, issues, and concepts throughout the course.
While a foundational course such as chemistry or sociology might provide knowledge that is useful to practitioners of sustainability, it would not be considered “sustainability-inclusive” unless the concept of sustainability or sustainability challenges and issues are specifically integrated into the course. Likewise, although specific tools or practices such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) or engineering can be applied towards sustainability, such courses would not count unless the description or rationale provided in the inventory clearly indicates that sustainability is integrated into the course.
Interested in incorporating sustainability into your academic experience while at OSU?
Below are some undergraduate majors, minors and certificates, graduate degree programs and certificates, as well as immersive experiences abroad that all incorporate sustainability into their curriculum.
- Undergraduate Degree Programs
College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology
Ferguson College of Agriculture
- Agricultural Economics, BSAG
- Agricultural Education, BSAG
- Agricultural Leadership, BSAG
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, BSAG
- Environmental Science, BSAG
- Horticulture: Public Horticulture, BSAG
- Landscape Architecture, BLA
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management, BSAG
- Plant and Soil Sciences, BSAG
College of Arts & Sciences
- Biology: Environmental Biology, BS
- Geography, BA
- Geography, BS
- Geology: Environmental Geology, BS
- Plant Biology, BS
- Sociology: Environment and Society, BA
- Sociology: Environment and Society, BS
Spears School of Business
- Management, BSBA
- Undergraduate Minors
- Agricultural Leadership
- Agronomy
- Business Sustainability
- Emergency Management
- Energy Finance
- Environmental Economics, Politics and Policy
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Science
- Fisheries and Aquatic Ecology
- Forestry
- Geography
- Geology
- Global Studies
- Horticulture
- International Studies
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management
- Pest Management
- Plant Biology
- Rangeland Ecology and Management
- Social Justice
- Soil Science
- Sustainable Design
- Wildlife Ecology
- Undergraduate Certificates
- Masters Programs
- Agriculture Economics, MS
- Agricultural Education and Leadership, MS
- Business Administration: Business Sustainability, BMA
- Business Administration: Energy Business, BMA
- Environmental Science, MS
- General Agriculture: Agribusiness, MAG
- General Agriculture: Agricultural Leadership, MAG
- Geography, MS
- Global Studies
- Integrative Biology
- International Agriculture, MAG
- International Agriculture, MS
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management, MS
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Fisheries and Aquatic Ecology, MS
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Forest Resources, MS
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Rangeland Ecology and Management, MS
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Wildlife Ecology and Management, MS
- Plant and Soil Sciences, MS
- Plant Biology, MS
- Public Health: Rural and Underserved Populations, MPH
- Sociology, MS
- Doctoral Degree Programs
- Agricultural Economics, PhD
- Agricultural Education, PhD
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, PhD
- Biosystems Engineering, PhD
- Crop Science, PhD
- Environmental Science, PhD
- Geography, PhD
- Geology, PhD
- Integrative Biology, PhD
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management, PhD
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Fisheries and Aquatic Ecology, PhD
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Forest Resources, PhD
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Rangeland Ecology and Management, PhD
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management: Wildlife Ecology and Management, PhD
- Plant Biology, PhD
- Sociology, PhD
- Soil Science, PhD
- Graduate Certificates
- Immersive Experiences
- International Studies, Development and Sustainability Internships Abroad
- Environmental Studies, Ecological Restoration and Conservation Internships Abroad
- Multidisciplinary and Environmental Studies in Costa Rica
- API Business, Environmental Studies, and Sciences in The Himalayas (Bhutan)
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Internships Abroad
- Animal Sciences and Wildlife Internships Abroad
- Women's and Gender Studies, Social Justice and Human Rights Internships Abroad
- Technical University of Munich
- The Intersection of Culture & Industry of France