Teaching and Sustainability
UZH offers a broad range of courses addressing aspects of sustainable development. This page points to further information resources for students and lecturers.
Current information on teaching with a focus on sustainability and aspects of sustainability in the teaching process can be found in the Sustainability Report.
Sustainability Report
Table of contents
Offers for students
Green VVZ: teaching modules addressing sustainability
Each semester, UZH offers well over 100 teaching modules covering aspects of sustainable development. The «Green VVZ» is a search filter that dynamically generates a list of these modules.
Green VVZ
Lecture series «Sustainability Now!»
In cooperation with the Right Livelihood Center at UZH, the Sustainability Hub organizes the public, interdisciplinary lecture series «Sustainability Now!» every spring semester.
Focus topic 2025: «Sufficiency as a strategy for sustainability and economic justice»
Lecture Series «Sustainability now!»
Study Week «Sustainable Development and Transformation»
The Sustainability Hub successfully piloted the study week «Nachhaltige Entwicklung und Transformation» (sustainable development and transformation) in autumn 2023. Basic information about this offer, its goals and insights into the 2023 course can be found on the linked page:
Study Week «Sustainable Development and Transformation»
Study programs with a focus on sustainability
For several years now, the Department of Finance has offered a minor in Sustainable Finance and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities has offered a Master's program in Gender Studies for Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. Since the fall semester 2023, UZH has offered a Bachelor's degree in Biodiversity as a mono, major and minor. From fall 2024, the Master's in Biodiversity can also be studied as a mono and major.
Thanks to Una Europa, students at UZH will be able to integrate individual modules from other universities into their studies from the autumn semester of 2025, for example with the Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS).
Minor in Sustainable Finance
Master Gender Studies
Study program of biodiversity (German)
Bachelor in Sustainabilty (BASUS)
School for Transdisciplinary Studies
The School for Transdisciplinary Studies (STS) offers a central infrastructure for interdisciplinary courses. Every semester, students can find courses related to sustainable development here.
Support offers for teachers
Individual advice: Sustainable development in teaching
Sustainable development is a complex normative model. It combines knowledge and skills from various disciplines and social areas.
The Sustainability Hub offers individual advice and feedback to integrate or consolidate sustainable development within disciplinary curricula. For advice please contact Jeannette Behringer.write an email to Jeannette Behringer
Self-learning offers: Sustainable development in teaching
Tips for integrating sustainability aspects into teaching
Online self-study course “Learning to teach sustainability” by UZH lecturers
Continuing education programs
Continuing education courses for UZH members are offered primarily by the Graduate Campus and Internal Continuing Education. The Leadership Development Program, for example, focuses on how managers can strengthen their units' contribution to sustainable development.
to the Graduate Campus
to the internal continuing education program
UZH also offers CAS, DAS and MAS continuing education programs. Current examples are
CAS in Responsible Business Conduct
CAS Stakeholder Management and Stewardship
CAS Sustainable Finance
DAS in Sustainable Finance
MAS in Sustainable Finance
Working in networks
Below the Community tab, you will find a list of networks in which UZH is active on topics related to sustainable development.
Sustainability Networks
The topic of sustainable development plays a particularly important role in research and teaching in the Una Europa network through one of a total of six Self-Steering Committees (SSC-S). Various collaborative teaching formats are continually emerging within the network, including on the topic of sustainable development:
