Education for Sustainable Development at Notre Dame University – Louaize: Environmental Science Curriculum – a Pre-Phase to the Rucas Project on Education for Sustainable Development

The Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences at Notre Dame University - Louaize, conscious to the need of experts in the emerging field of sustainability and to the role that an educational institution plays for the service of the community, introduced into the university curricula a major in environmental science. This paper will present the programme’s components, goals and implementation. The curriculum encompasses natural, social and managerial sciences, given the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science. Topical courses on water, soil and air pollution, environmental impact assessment and environmental ethics were designed, which integrate theory and practice. The graduates are prepared for managerial, communication and, most importantly, ethical competences to be able to implement best practices in environmental protection and play an active role in the community, especially the public, private, industrial and educational domains. At an inter-faculty level, the programme was successful in offering general education requirements courses on environment, sustainability and ethics, which helped in raising sustainability awareness among the students’ population and strengthened the inter-faculty community relationships. To the present, the main focus of the programme was on education and preparation of graduates for the job market. Research, community outreach and campus sustainability practices need to be further addressed. Therefore, primary efforts should be exerted to improve the outcomes at these domains, especially that the university now joined the international educational programme: RUCAS - Tempus project, which emphasises development and improvements at all the institution sectors.