Sustainability is one of the crucial goals of universities being put into practice in education, research, societal interaction and knowledge transfer and also in own campus operations. Sustainability and the issue of global change are increasingly integrated in the education of professionals in their respective disciplines. In addition, there is a growing demand of sustainability professionals whose focus and knowledge basis is in sustainability science, the merging novel discipline. Sustainability professionals have strong systems-thinking, anticipatory, normative, strategic and interpersonal competences.
Sustainability studies on the Master's level at the University of Helsinki include the Master’s Programme in Environmental Change and Global Sustainability (ECGS) as well as the programme in Urban Studies and Planning. Both programmes welcome international students annually. Doctoral studies can be pursued in several doctoral programmes with research scopes in natural resources, the environment and the society.