There are many courses across departments that include sustainability content. To find courses that are approved as sustainability electives for the Sustainability Certificate or Sustainability Distinction, please see instructions below.
If you have questions about a specific course that does not have the attribute assigned yet, please contact Savannah Denlinger (sld127@pitt.edu) with course information so we can add it to our list to be reviewed.
1) To find courses in the Course Catalog:
Please visit the Course Catalog and search for ‘sustainability-related’ or ‘sustainability-focused’ in the Catalog Search box located on the right-hand side of the page.
A course listed as ‘sustainability-related’ incorporates sustainability as a distinct component or concentrates on the interconnection between two of the three pillars: social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
A course listed as ‘sustainability-focused’ addresses sustainability as an integrated concept throughout, highlighting the interconnectivity between all three pillars: social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
2) To find courses in PeopleSoft:
Please navigate to your PeopleSoft course search and under the course attribute section, select 'Interdisciplinary Themes'. In the course attribute value section, select one or both of the following: 'MCSI - Sustainability Focused' and 'MCSI - Sustainability Related'.
For Faculty: Sustainability Course Attribute Learning Outcomes
For instructions on assigning sustainability attribute codes to your course, visit Assigning Sustainability Attribute Codes to Courses.
Courses across the University that have the Sustainability course attribute connect to some, if not all, of the following outcomes:
- Students will be able to explain sustainability as an integrated concept within the discipline or course, highlighting the interaction and tradeoffs between ecological, social, and economics systems used to support human society.
- Students will articulate current issues and relate them to the Sustainable Development Goal(s).
- Students will propose/build solutions to sustainability challenges and articulate why they are more sustainable to a broad audience.
- Students will consider the ethical dimensions of decisions meant to improve sustainability, working together with other students in converging fields to foster conversation and collaboration between disciplines.
- Students will be able to consider sustainability at multiple scales in accordance with the problem.