Sustainability – a new minor subject at LMU

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What is the relevance of sustainability for a musicology student? Or for a sociology student who will go on to work in corporate consulting? Quite a lot, actually. Sustainability has long been about more than climate protection. It concerns how institutions conduct long-term planning, how industries work resource-efficiently, and how social change is communicated. In view of the role played by sustainability issues in many occupations, LMU is launching a new program: As of the 2026/27 winter semester, bachelor’s students will be able to study Sustainability alongside their major subject. The program will run across six semesters and in two variants, one with 30 ECTS credits and another with 60. Enrolment will open every year ahead of the winter semester, and lessons will be given in German and English.

“We’ve felt for years that sustainability needs a broader platform in university education,” says Ralf Ludwig, Professor of Applied Physical Geography and Environmental Modeling and director of the “el mundo – Sustainability in Studies and Teaching” program at LMU. Experiences from a certificate program and the additional subject offered in teacher education prove there is a lively interest. However, voluntary courses tend to reach students who are strongly motivated anyway. “We wanted to reach everybody,” emphasizes Ludwig, “including those who have just discovered the topic and want to deepen their knowledge.” A minor subject is better suited to achieving this. It can also benefit students in their subsequent professional lives. Depending on the major subject, the sustainability profile that students acquire through the program can open doors for them in local government, business, and various associations and cultural institutions.

29 main subject combinations, 8 faculties, 1 shared goal

Now is the ideal time to launch this program, reckons Ludwig, Chief Sustainability Officer at LMU. The climate crisis, wars, social inequality, economic uncertainties – these issues highlight the interconnected nature of global challenges. And for all the talk about sustainability, action is a different challenge. The minor subject is designed to bring together students from a wide variety of fields. For now, it can be combined with a total of 29 bachelor’s major subjects, from geography and sociology to musicology and Egyptology; further combination options will follow. Sixteen subjects from eight faculties are participating in the program – an unprecedented constellation at LMU.

The initiative was not easy to get off the ground. As a minor subject that involves so many disciplines, there had to be lots of discussions first about why and how sustainability is relevant in domains where this might not immediately be apparent. For program coordinator Lea Antony, this is precisely what makes the program so special: “The variety of access points to sustainability from the natural and social sciences and the humanities is incredibly valuable.” This dialog process brought home how broadly the topic is already conceived today.

This is why the openness of the program is emphasized. Everything starts out on a common basis: Compulsory modules and lecture series discuss the foundations of sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, and current debates – from climate change and biodiversity to health, democracy, and social inequality, all conceptualized according to the principles of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). After that, the field opens out. Students can combine events from different areas, depending on whether they are more interested in ethical questions, sustainable urban development, public relations work, or economic aspects. Excursions, field seminars, and science communication round out the program.

Empowering people to shape a sustainable future

The minor subject becomes particularly hands-on when it comes to service learning, an educational approach that combines academic learning with social engagement. Students work on real-life projects with local governments, NGOs, and social institutions. This ensures that sustainability does not remain abstract, but becomes a practical experience.

Service learning has already been trialed with students in the Education for Sustainable Development in Teaching certificate program. For example, a student team developed ideas with a municipal government for how to make the importance of biodiversity visible and understandable for various target groups. “Proceeding in a self-directed manner, the students make a concrete contribution to sustainable transformation and learn how to deal with the challenges that arise,” explains Antony. At the same time, everybody benefits from the reciprocal knowledge transfer and the positive approach to learning from mistakes.

Another reference point for the design of the study program are the so-called Inner Development Goals (IDGs). The idea here is that sustainable development requires more than just knowledge, but also things like collaboration, perspective-taking, sense-making, empathy, and courage. These goals complement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Setting goals is one thing; empowering people to achieve them is another. Ludwig sees this as a core part of the university mission: “Universities concentrate on imparting subject-specific knowledge.” For him, however, sustainability is about much more than conveying knowledge. It is also a frame of mind and a means of empowering people to shape their world: “It’s not just talking about the future, but being part of it.”