Academic Sustainability
Through the integration of a creative, multidisciplinary curriculum, groundbreaking research, and social engagement, the University of Pittsburgh is working to educate every member of its faculty, staff, and student communities on sustainability, while creating innovative contributions to a more sustainable world. Through various academic centers, courses, certificates, minors, majors, internships, and community activities, there are many opportunities to engage with and consider sustainability.
Academic Programs
Pitt schools and departments offer a wide variety of courses with sustainability content, as well as sustainability-focused undergraduate and graduate programs and fellowships.
Undergraduate Certificates
- Sustainability
- Business, Leadership, & Ethics
- Engineering for Humanity
- Global Studies, with focus on Critical World Ecologies; Health & Wellbeing; or Human Rights & Social Justice
Majors & Minors
- Environmental Science (BS)
- Environmental Studies (BA)
- Environmental Engineering
- Literature (Concentration in Environment, Science, and Culture)
Transcript Distinction
The Sustainability Transcript Distinction provides students with a mechanism to gain recognition and “credit” for their outside-the-classroom endeavors, combined with sustainability-focused classes. (Started in 2021)

Doctoral Program
Masters Degrees
- International Development: Energy & Environment
- International Development: Social Policy
- International Development: Urban Affairs & Planning
- Public Administration: Energy & Environment
- Public Administration: Social Policy
- Public Administration: Urban Affairs & Planning
- Public Health (M.S. & MPH both in Environmental & Occupational Health, plus M.S. in Behavioral & Community Healthy and Multidisciplinary)
- Sustainability Engineering
Graduate Certificates
- Critical World Ecologies (Global Studies)
- Global Health (Public Health)
- Health & Well-Being (Global Studies)
- Peace, Conflict, & (In)Security (Global Studies)
Micro-credential
New in 2023, the Micro-credential in Sustainable Business is a 9-credit opportunity for Pitt graduate students or anyone with a bachelor’s degree.
Courses
Offerings vary from term to term, but Pitt offers a wide array of sustainability-related courses.
Look for these 2 attribute codes to students courses with sustainability content and focus (under Interdisciplinary Themes):
MCSI – Sustainability-focused
A sustainability-focused course addresses sustainability as an integrated concept throughout, highlighting the interconnectivity between social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
MCSI – Sustainability-related
A sustainability-related course or program incorporates sustainability as a distinct component or concentrates on the interconnection between two of the three pillars: social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
Explore Sustainability-focused Courses
Undergraduate Academic Toolkit
Learn how to apply your sustainability interests to your academic, service, advocacy, and professional pursuits!



(First Year & Upperclass)

Research Opportunities
Pitt fosters a community of passionate students interested in working on solving concerns at the nexus of equity, environment, and economics — and there are lots of opportunities to do sustainability research as a Pitt student.
Research Opportunities
- Community Research Fellowship through the Honors College.
- Covestro Circular Economy doctoral program
- Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology
- Undergraduate Summer Research Program with the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI)
- Undergraduate Summer Research Program with the Water Collaboratory
- Undergraduate Scholars Program with Public Health, including climate and health, environmental justice, and maternal and child health.

Faculty
Faculty are integral to Pitt’s sustainability journey in many ways. Whether through teaching, research, or outreach (and more), opporutnities for Pitt faculty to lead University sustainability achievements are fast.
Learn more about which faculty are already involved in sustainability work, how to green your course(s), what a sustainability course attribute is (and how to apply for one), funding, and more!
