Sustainability or S-designated courses

Sustainability (S) designated courses are designed to teach students about sustainability across a variety of academic disciplines. They are part of a growing system wide effort to teach students ecological literacy and make the University of Hawaii system a leader in sustainability. These courses are not a graduation requirement, but the designation can steer students towards courses that address issues of sustainability. Sustainability designated courses encourage students to learn about the social, cultural, economic, political, scientific, and artistic approaches to sustainability, recognizing the valuable contributions from each academic discipline to thinking about the health of the planet and local communities. Sustainability designated courses may be either S-focused or S-related.

• S-focused – these courses focus primarily on sustainability from within a given academic discipline and/or the course will examine an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens.
• S-related – these courses include some assignments and course content that addresses issues of sustainability.

S-Designation Hallmarks

• A significant component of readings, assignments, and other course materials address environmental topics.
• The course teaches students to think critically and examine environmental challenges and debates on an international, national, and local level.
• Students learn the underlying causes of environmental challenges and explore ways to address these challenges.