USC close to approving sustainability course requirement in efforts against climate change
The University of Southern California (USC) appears to close to implementing a brand new sustainability requirement for graduation.
A new sustainability course would be introduced as a result of the curriculum change, but The Daily Trojan reports that various three and four-credit general education courses can satisfy the requirement.
The University of Southern California (USC) appears to close to implementing a brand new sustainability requirement for graduation.
The Daily Trojan reports that the university’s Presidential Working Group on Sustainability in Education, Research and Operations is finalizing the update to the curriculum, which requires the approval of the University Committee on Curriculum.
The working group reportedly introduced the proposal during an academic senate meeting in December and stressed the need to combat the adverse effects of climate change. The group also argued that the United States has failed to meet sufficient United Nations sustainability goals.
A new sustainability course would be introduced as a result of the curriculum change, but The Daily Trojan reports that various three and four-credit general education courses could satisfy the requirement.
“[There is a] lack of sufficient progress towards a more sustainable and resilient world [that] jeopardizes the future that our students will inherit,” a resolution passed by the academic senate in support of the requirement reads.
Created in 2019, the Presidential Working Group on Sustainability implemented a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Committee into all of its existing committees in 2024. The move is consistent with the working group’s belief that “DEI needs to be woven into the fabric of all that we do as a university,” according to the USC website.
USC operates various programs devoted to addressing climate change, including the Center for Climate Journalism and Communication, which “partners with media organizations of all sizes to provide training that enhances journalists’ climate literacy and climate reporting skills.”
[RELATED: New ASU curriculum mandates all students meet ‘sustainability’ course requirement]
USC would not be first California university that mandates climate change education as part of its curriculum.
This past fall, the UC San Diego introduced the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement in order to “empower [its] students with the knowledge and skills needed to confront the urgent global challenge of climate change.”