Sustainability Education at Portland State University

Freshmen can choose a year-long “Sustainability” class with a Living Learning Community option, where students live together in campus housing and take part in projects to create a more livable society. 

Seniors in Capstone courses work as teams with businesses, nonprofits, and civic organizations to address sustainability issues in Portland and beyond.

PSU has adopted sustainability as a learning outcome for all Portland State students. This outcome states that as a result of attending PSU, "students will identify, act on, and evaluate their professional and personal actions with the knowledge and appreciation of interconnections among economic, environmental, and social perspectives in order to create a more sustainable future."

Sustainability Programs at PSU

We are approaching sustainability not as a new and separate topic but as a way of living and working and thus integrating sustainble concepts into both disciplinary majors and general education. To assist with the process of integration, PSU has developed the following programs:

• Undergraduate Programs
• Graduate Programs
• Graduate Certificates
• Professional Education

Our goal is for all students to become sustainability-literate—not just those pursuing “green degrees” like environmental sciences, community development, or environmental engineering (yes, we have those too). Many of our graduate and research programs incorporate sustainability: architecture, business, education, environmental sciences, mechanical engineering, urban studies, and others. We also offer a graduate certificate in sustainability.

To learn more about the rationale behind the sustainability learning outcome, visit PSU's Institutional Assessment Council's website.

Please note that this website may not fully represent all that PSU has to offer in sustainability as it is a multidisciplinary subject. If you cannot find something you are looking for or would like to learn more about an academic sustainability program, please contact us at sustainability@pdx.edu. Lists of the sustainability-focused and sustainability-related courses identified through the STARS reporting process can be found here and here, respectively. The PSU Ecowiki also maintains a list of all the identified sustainability courses offered at PSU.

We practice what we teach

PSU’s 49-acre urban campus creates a vibrant living laboratory for green practices. Six of our buildings have been LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, including a brand-new student recreation center.

Student groups at PSU go green outside the classroom—Engineers Without Borders, the Permaculture Guild, bikes and cycling clubs, and even the student-run Ooligan Press. Students also run Food For Thought Café, committed to serving local, organic, and fair-trade menu items since 2003.

While many of our green initiatives have come from grassroots efforts by students, faculty, and staff, a $25 million donation in 2008 from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation in support of sustainability at Portland State is helping us extend these efforts nationally and globally. 

And for what it’s worth, green really is our school color. Go Vikings!

* Source: SustainLane 2008 U.S. City Rankings