University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Introduction to Sustainability

Introduction to Sustainability is a flexible online course offered by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through Coursera. It introduces the academic study of sustainability and looks at the big systems that shape human welfare, including population change, ecosystems, global change, energy, agriculture, water, environmental economics, policy, ethics, and cultural history.

The course is structured into 8 modules and combines short videos, readings, quizzes, homework tasks, and peer review activities. Learners explore topics such as climate change, resource limits, food and water systems, sustainability metrics, and environmental policy, while also considering how different disciplines, from the sciences to engineering and management, contribute to solutions.

It is designed as a self-paced course with a flexible schedule, taking around 3 weeks at about 10 hours per week.