Sustainability-focused education is essential for preparing students to address the complex, interdisciplinary challenges of global environmental and social change. Yet, fast-evolving labor-market demands and technological change can create misalignment between academic sustainability programs and the workforce competencies expected in sustainability-related careers. This paper aims to present a case study of the sustainable systems science major at Virginia Tech; a newly developed undergraduate program created in tandem with a broader curriculum redesign in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials.
Drawing on program documentation, sustainability education literature and occupational data, this study examines the design and implementation processes undertaken in 2021–2022. The curriculum development process integrated two evidence-based design tools: (1) a validated sustainability competency framework and; (2) national labor-market intelligence, specifically knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) from the US Department of Labor’s occupational information network (O*NET) system. This dual integration guided curriculum structure, course development and learning outcomes to support both academic rigor and workforce relevance.
The case demonstrates how embedding sustainability competencies alongside occupational data can strengthen alignment among curriculum domains, professional pathways and selected Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) themes. Rather than evaluating student or graduate outcomes, the study documents a curriculum design process that can inform evidence-based program development in sustainability higher education.
This study contributes a curriculum design process that integrates sustainability competency frameworks, SDG alignment and labor-market intelligence as complementary evidence sources for undergraduate sustainability program development.
