At Ruhr University you can live and study sustainability! Whether in the undergraduate program, the subject-specific master's program or in the form of our sustainability certificate: students acquire knowledge and skills at Ruhr University to help shape the change towards a sustainable future in an informed way.
At Ruhr University, we offer a variety of degree programs that address aspects of social, environmental and economic sustainability.
The Bachelor's and Master's programs that deal with sustainability topics include Environmental EngineeringGeography and Management and Economics, as well as the Master's program Global Sustainability Economics.
Information on specific course contents can be obtained from the student advisors or subject advisors:
In the longer term, new courses of study are to be created that deal with sustainability topics, for example Sustainable Engineering or Sustainable Economics.
Even outside of a degree program, it is possible at Ruhr University to acquire additional qualifications in the field of sustainability while studying and across disciplines.
Since the summer semester of 2023, all students at Ruhr University have the opportunity to acquire a sustainability certificate. A fixed component is a lecture series in which researchers and teachers from different disciplines present their approaches for a sustainable future.
The optional area offers a platform for interdisciplinary exchange and scientific deepening on the topic of sustainability.
Example from the winter semester 2023/2024
As part of the practical project ‘Pitch Your Science’, various models and prototypes were developed on the topic of science communication on sustainability. The results include the HexAwald board game.
The Centre for Foreign Language Education (ZFA) offers language courses with a focus on sustainability in English, Spanish, French and Swedish. Credit is possible in the basic module of the sustainability certificate as well as in the optional area.
Humboldtn is the sustainability initiative of the universities in NRW. Students have the opportunity to earn up to 3 ECTS credits as part of a lecture series. The lecture series can be credited towards the Sustainability Certificate and, by individual arrangement, also towards the degree programme.
Ruhr University has successfully applied to the Stifterverband for inclusion in the "Transformative Skills for Sustainability" funding program. It is now one of the 20 German universities in the network initiative of the same name. In addition to the Stifterverband, the initiators are the Carl Zeiss Foundation and the German Federal Environmental Foundation.
At selected chairs, students have the opportunity to write theses on sustainability topics. The Green Office will put you in touch if you are interested.
Do you have your own ideas for a project or thesis and/or are you already working with a chair?
Then please feel free to contact the Green Office at: nachhaltigkeitsbüro@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Whether in the Student Garden, the Repair Café, or the Green Office: For many years, the student community of the Ruhr-Universität has been committed to more sustainability on and off campus. This also includes initiatives such as Students for Future, Enactus or the NABU university group Bochum.
