Dear EarthTalk:

Do any colleges require students to take classes on sustainability or climate change in order to graduate?

D.F.P. Norwalk, CT

Teaching young people about climate change is essential if future generations are understand and be prepared for the extreme weather and environmental disruptions that are accelerating. Integrating climate literacy into higher education can ensure that students, no matter their major, gain the tools to address environmental challenges in their careers and communities. While most American colleges still don’t require such coursework, several institutions have made notable progress recently.

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One big development is at the University of California San Diego, which in Fall 2024 launched the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement. All first-time, first-year students entering that term—the Class of 2028—must now take an approved climate-related course before graduating. UC San Diego created a menu of over 50 classes across some 20 disciplines, allowing students to fulfill the requirement without adding time to their degrees. To qualify, each course must devote at least 30 percent of its content to climate change and address multiple aspects of the issue, such as climate science, societal impacts, and solution-focused learning. Roughly 7,000 students are part of the first cohort subject to the new rule.

Arizona State University introduced a similar plan for Fall 2024. As part of its redesigned General Studies Gold curriculum, all incoming undergraduates must complete a three-credit sustainability course. The plan is broader than climate change alone, focusing heavily on climate systems, human–environment interactions, and global environmental challenges.

Another major step is at San Francisco State University, which will require every incoming student to complete a course on climate justice. The revised Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action requirement expands the university’s focus from general sustainability to the unequal impacts of climate change on historically marginalized communities. Over 100 existing courses are being updated so they align with the new climate justice standards.

A few smaller institutions adopted climate or sustainability requirements years ago. Dickinson College implemented one in 2015, and Goucher College has required environmental sustainability coursework since 2007. Unity Environmental University in Maine has long built environmental literacy into its core curriculum. Even at schools without graduation mandates, many are expanding climate-related offerings, opening new sustainability schools, or weaving climate themes throughout the curriculum. Still, most U.S. colleges have yet to adopt institution-wide requirements, slowed by bureaucratic processes, staffing limitations, and regional political sensitivities.

CONTACTS

• Climate Change Is the New Liberal Arts, hechingerreport.org/climate-change-is-the-new-liberal-arts-colleges-build-environmental-lessons-into-degrees/.

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