Course Collaborations
Academic course collaborations bring together students, faculty, staff, and real-world sustainability challenges in an impactful and unique way that transform theoretical knowledge into tangible solutions, enabling students and faculty to engage directly with operational sustainability efforts. This dynamic approach not only fosters innovative thinking but also empowers the next generation of leaders to make meaningful contributions to environmental stewardship, all while enhancing the university's commitment to a sustainable future.
Check out a selection of courses below that demonstrate opportunities for students to incorporate Stanford’s use of the campus as a living lab for sustainability in their academic journeys.
Earth Systems Senior Capstone
The Earth Systems Senior Capstone and Reflection provides students with opportunities to synthesize and reflect on their learning in the major. Students participate in guided career development and planning activities and initiate work on an independent or group capstone project related to an Earth Systems problem or question of interest. In addition, students learn and apply principles of effective oral communication through developing and giving a formal presentation on their internship.
Design for Extreme Affordability
Design for Extreme Affordability (fondly called Extreme) is a two-quarter course offered by the d.school through the School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Business. This multidisciplinary project-based experience creates an enabling environment in which students learn to design products and services that will change the lives of the world's poorest citizens. Students work directly with course partners on real world problems, the culmination of which is actual implementation and real impact.
Life Cycle Assessment for Complex Systems
This course is focused on the life cycle modeling of products, industrial processes, and infrastructure/building systems; material and energy balances for large interdependent systems; environmental accounting; and life cycle costing. These methods, based on ISO 14000 standards, are used to examine emerging technologies, such as biobased products, building materials, building integrated photovoltaics, and alternative design strategies, such as remanufacturing, dematerialization, LEED, and Design for Environment: DfE. Student teams complete a life cycle assessment of a product or system chosen from industry.
Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
This is a multidisciplinary field course conducted at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (‘Ootchamin ‘Ooyakma) during the winter and spring quarters. The course is designed to use the preserve as a “living laboratory” to learn ecology and natural history via expert lectures, discussions, and hands-on field experiences. During the spring quarter, students develop a place-based independent research project that contributes to the preserve with data-driven research, education, and/or outreach.