Sustainability and Communication in Higher Education

Abstract

[EN] Sustainability Sciences need communication to communicate knowledge effectively and to engage audiences toward sustainable development. Therefore, the present study examines to what extent media and communication aspects are integrated into sustainability science's curricula of higher education institutions in Europe. For this purpose, a total of n=1117 bachelor and master's degree programs and their related curricula/program specifications from 31 European countries were analyzed by means of content analysis. Results show that the level of curricular integration of media and communication aspects in the field of sustainability science is not (yet) far advanced (18%). This leaves room for a reflection on the perceived (ir-)relevance of communication as a crucial discipline and competence in the sustainability science area, as well as on the social and educational responsibility of higher education institutions.