University of Maryland, College Park
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

Sustainability is commonly defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The University of Maryland is committed to being a national model for a green university and preparing all students to help create a more sustainable world. Toward this goal, the Education for Sustainability Work Group of the University Sustainability Council recommends further integrating sustainability into existing academic programs and campus life so that all students earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland will be able to: 1. Describe how sustainability relates to environmental issues, social justice, and economic development. 2. Explain how natural, economic, and social systems interact to foster or prevent sustainability. 3. Evaluate how an individual’s choices and activities impact the environment and, as a result, affect the health and well-being of everyone. 4. State a long-term vision for individual happiness and societal well-being and explain how existing norms contribute to or diminish this vision. 5. Demonstrate an ability to collaborate and communicate effectively across academic disciplines and with diverse stakeholders. 6. Apply their knowledge of sustainability to their behaviors as consumers, citizens, and/or leaders.

The Office of Sustainability, working with student interns used the STARS recommended definition to complete an inventory of all sustainability-focused and sustainability-related courses in the University of Maryland Course Catalog. Since the inventory was completed, a multi-stakeholder Education for Sustainability Work Group developed a more specific definition of sustainability in the curriculum at the University of Maryland (see above).