Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.91
Liaison Julie Hopper
Submission Date Dec. 20, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Southern California
EN-12: Continuing Education

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.70 / 5.00 Julie Hopper
Data Analyst
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 . Continuing education courses in sustainability

Total number of continuing education courses offered:
477

Number of continuing education courses that are sustainability course offerings:
27

Percentage of continuing education courses that are sustainability course offerings:
5.66

Course Inventory 

A copy of the institution’s inventory of its continuing education sustainability course offerings and descriptions:
Institution’s inventory of its continuing education sustainability course offerings and descriptions:
Please see the uploaded continuing education inventory from USC academic years 2022 and 2023. The number of courses presented in this credit is the number of unique courses (so duplicates across AY22 and AY23 count as one). For this credit, we are only counting 'sustainability-focused' courses (relates to at least one socio-economic SDG and one environmental SDG). This uses the same methodology and classification used for 'sustainability-focused' courses and programs used in AC-1 and AC-2. As the dataset was relatively small, we took an additional manual review step with this credit and reviewed all of the classifications for the final numbers that we submit here.

Sustainability-Focused Continuing Education Example:
The Course- "Green Building and Sustainability Basics" contained a course description that had keywords (infrastructure, design and construction, green building, sustainability, sustainable building, sustainable design) that mapped to two socio-economic SDGs: 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and one environmental SDG: 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and was thereby classified as 'Sustainability-Focused'

If we were to include 'sustainability-inclusive' (433 ontinuing courses, fellowships, programs, certificates, etc. relating to at least one UN SDG), then we would have a total of 460 sustainability-related continuing education courses, fellowships, programs, certificates, etc. We chose to remain on the conservative side for this credit purpose and just present the sustainability-focused courses/certificates/programs/fellowships/etc.

For more information, please see our open-source GitHub with code and datasets: https://github.com/USC-Office-of-Sustainability/SustainabilityCourseFinder

Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
Two

Part 2. Sustainability-focused certificate program

Does the institution have at least one sustainability-focused certificate program through its continuing education or extension department?:
Yes

A brief description of the certificate program(s):
Graduate Certificate in Sustainability and Business
https://www.marshall.usc.edu/programs/certificate-programs/graduate-certificate-sustainability-and-business

This certificate focuses upon the incorporation of business in resolving social and environmental issues. It is offered by USC’s Marshall School of Business in both a full-time and part-time capacity. The program’s primary goal is to teach its students about the tools and skills needed to adapt to the necessary sustainable transformations to industry. It is designed for the admission of USC’s graduate students as well as alumni and any individual with the desire to gain extensive knowledge in this area of study.

Certificate in Sustainable Design
https://arch.usc.edu/certificate-in-sustainable-design

As a certificate offered by USC Architecture School, the Certificate in Sustainable Design emphasizes the importance in conscious design. Understanding the concern in regard to the Earth’s finite resources, the program aims to teach its architecture students to incorporate these concerns in the design of the built environment. To receive this certificate the student must complete a minimum of 14 units of environmental seminars, sustainable infrastructure and building courses, and various electives. These courses are all a means to educate the individual of the many ways an architect can promote sustainability within natural and man-made landscapes through the proper design of a structure’s energy consumption.

This is not a degree-based program. For more details: https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/cwpusc-57771.appspot.com/o/_PDF%2FCert_Grad_Req_2023-2024.pdf?alt=media&token=bfcaf796-06e5-4874-8460-b9adb71f1fcd

Certificate in Landscape Architecture
https://arch.usc.edu/certificate-in-landscape-architecture

This program is intended to introduce at the graduate level the basic subjects inherent to the field of landscape architecture: plant materials suitable to urban conditions; urban utility and transportation systems in relation to topography, natural drainage and pathways; plant and wildlife communities; as well as inquiries about landscape infrastructure and ecology, and the history of human settle­ment in the evolution of urban landscapes. Southern California and Los Angeles provide an exceptionally valuable natural and socio­cultural laboratory for landscape architecture studies. Completion of the certificate requires a mini­mum of 12 units.

This is not a degree-based program. For more details: https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/cwpusc-57771.appspot.com/o/_PDF%2FCert_Grad_Req_2023-2024.pdf?alt=media&token=bfcaf796-06e5-4874-8460-b9adb71f1fcd
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Please see attached inventory and view the 'sustainability-focused' category of the 'Manual_Classification' column to see all 27 sustainability-focused continuing education programs.

We also separately attached a file below with just the 15 'sustainability-focused' certificate programs.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s continuing education courses and programs in sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Continuing education courses, certificates, programs, fellowships, executive and residencies were based on AY22 and AY23 data.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.