Arizona State University
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

Sustainability courses introduce students to the concept of sustainability in the context of real-world problems, exploring the interaction of environmental, economic and social systems. In addition, sustainability courses are designed to build and deepen students' understanding of the following key concepts: a. Systems Dynamics: Human systems and natural systems are linked. Changes in any part of any system has multiple consequences that reach far beyond the initial change. b. Tradeoffs: Addressing almost all problems related to sustainability involves tradeoffs. There are rarely perfect solutions with no costs, and there are often winners and losers. c. Cascading Effects and Unintended Consequences: There are cascading effects (positive and negative, intended and unintended) of human policies, decisions, and actions, all of which have implications for sustainability. d. Scale: Problems of sustainability exist at multiple scales. Solving a problem at a local level is very different than solving a problem across international boundaries. e. Transdisciplinarity: There is no one "solution" to address sustainability - no one person has the answer. Effective solutions require the collaboration of scientists and social scientists of all disciplines, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, farmers, and business and community leaders.

Arizona State University courses over the past academic year were carefully reviewed to determine which were sustainability-focused versus related. Courses offered through the university or in collaboration with the School of Sustainability were automatically designated as sustainability-focused. There are a number of courses that are offered as electives for students in sustainability undergraduate and graduate programs, which have been selected in curriculum development exercises for their relation to sustainability and were automatically designated as sustainability-related.