University of San Diego
AC-1: Academic Courses

A group of students reviewed USD's 2022-23 and 2023-24 undergraduate and graduate course catalogs to identify courses with keyword hits. Course descriptions were later reviewed by the Sustainability Coordinator to confirm whether or not the identified classes count as either sustainability-inclusive or -focused. USD's online course portal was used to confirm that identified classes were taught during the study period. This process was carried out across the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace and Justice, Knauss School of Business, Hahn School of Nursing, Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, School of Leadership and Education Science, and College of Arts and Science, and included USD courses taught abroad. Courses offered by USD's School of Law was not included in the inventory.

Courses taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels were counted as one course. To avoid double counting, courses labeled as "UG/G" in our inventory were only added to the number of undergraduate courses in the totals above. Similarly, lecture courses with a corresponding lab were counted as one course, and courses cross-listed in two departments were counted as one course. The inventory does not include thesis or research courses, independent studies, or internships, although USD students receive credit for these courses.

Courses were only counted once per semester, regardless of the number of offerings or sections available that semester. Our total number of courses reflects the number of times a course was taught during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years, regardless of the number of sections offered in a given semester.

In Part 1, the total number of courses, number of sustainability-inclusive courses, and number of sustainability-focused courses offered by USD during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years are listed in the Undergraduate column above. Calculating a total number of undergraduate courses vs. graduate courses offered by USD was not feasible due to the way courses are listed in USD's online course portal. However, it should be noted that there were 465 sustainability-inclusive undergraduate courses, 180 sustainability-inclusive graduate courses, and 22 sustainability-inclusive undergraduate/graduate courses taught during the study period (total of 667 sustainability-inclusive courses). Additionally, there were 114 sustainability-focused undergraduate courses, 79 sustainability-focused graduate courses, and 31 sustainability-focused undergraduate/graduate courses taught during the study period (total of 224 sustainability-focused courses).

Additionally, courses in the inventory were listed out by their major or program, not by department. This explains the discrepancy between the number of USD departments that offer sustainability courses and the number of different majors/programs that are listed in the inventory.