Students

Academics

The Office of Sustainability facilitates sustainable education and learning at UW–Madison by highlighting relevant academic opportunities and resources, as well as administering the Sustainability Course Attribute. You can find a selection of academic opportunities and resources below.

To make suggestions or offer updates, please email info@sustainability.wisc.edu.

Courses and Programs

Courses

UW–Madison offers sustainability-related courses in many subject areas. The Sustainability Course Attribute helps students to find sustainability content. Click below to view courses or submit a course for the attribute:

Sustainability Course Attribute »

Majors

Numerous academic programs at UW–Madison address environmental, social, and/or economic sustainability. Many schools and colleges also offer the opportunity to design individualized majors.

All UW–Madison majors »

Graduate Programs

UW–Madison offers a range of graduate programs (master’s and doctoral) as well as doctoral minors related to sustainability, spanning the natural and social sciences, engineering, business, the humanities, and more.

All graduate programs »

Undergraduate Certificates

Sustainability

This program combines coursework and community engagement to help students learn sustainability principles and how to apply them to issues on our campus and in the wider world.

Eligibility: Any UW undergraduate not earning an environmental studies degree or certificate or the engineering for energy sustainability certificate

Engineering for Energy Sustainability

With courses spanning the engineering curriculum, this program addresses energy sustainability with firm roots in “real world” design and engineering practices.

Eligibility: Any UW undergraduate enrolled in an engineering program

Environmental Studies

Through interdisciplinary courses and optional research or fieldwork, students can learn about society’s environmental challenges through science, policy, literature, art and/or philosophy.

Eligibility: Any UW undergraduate

Graduate Certificates

Sustainability

This certificate’s interdisciplinary curriculum considers environmental, economic, and social factors of sustainability, including: Economics & Development; Systems Analysis, Planning & Engineering; and Environmental Policy, Health & Social Studies.

Eligibility: Any UW graduate student

Business, Environment and Social Responsibility

This program explores interrelations between business and its natural and social environment to help students integrate economic, environmental, and social dimensions into their decision-making.

Eligibility: Any UW graduate student

Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE)

This program stems from the recognition that interdisciplinary (human and natural) scientific and scholarly approaches are key to solving some of the most complex and critical environmental problems.

Eligibility: Any UW graduate student

Energy Analysis and Policy at the Graduate Level

This program considers scientific, technical, economic, political, and social factors that shape energy policy formulation and decision-making, preparing students to become leaders in energy issues.

Eligibility: Any UW graduate student

Campus as a Living Lab

  • The UW–Madison Green Fund supports student-initiated projects that address the environmental footprint, social impact, and operating costs of campus facilities. All students are welcome to apply.
  • To propose other ideas for using campus as a living laboratory for sustainability learning, please contact us via our Collaborate page. 

Sustainability Faculty Fellows

The Faculty Sustainability Fellows Program, which was piloted by the Office of Sustainability during the 2022-2023 academic year, is a cohort-based program that brings together a small community of scholars to discuss sustainability topics related to research and teaching at UW–Madison. Applications for the Academic Year 2024-2025 will be released in Spring 2024.

Current Faculty Fellows:

Styliani Avraamidou, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Morgan Edwards, La Follette School of Public Affairs
Chris Todd Hittinger, Genetics
Leah Horowitz, Environmental Studies and American Indian & Indigenous Studies
Younghyun Kim, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Adrian Treves, Environmental Studies