Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

• Bioscience Technology (career pathways in sustainable energy production, bioremediation, biomanufacturing, and more.)
• Environmental Landscape Management Technology
• Geomatics (In addition to the associates degree in geomatics, PCC offers a shorter (less than 1-year) certificate program in Geographic Information Systems and as a Geospatial UAS Specialist)

Environmental Studies and Resources

The PCC Environmental Studies and Resources program has been designed to align with the Environmental Science and Management program at Portland State University. Students have also successfully transferred to other programs in Oregon such as Oregon State University and Pacific University. All ESR classes will transfer to a four-year school. If you plan to transfer to a university and major in environmental sciences or environmental studies, you can complete your first two years of required coursework at PCC.

In addition to courses in Environmental Studies and Resources, PCC offers a large variety of sustainability related courses in over 20 disciplines including in Architecture Design & Drafting, Business Administration, Health, Politics and Sociology. In addition, many STEM fields such as Biology, Chemistry and Geology offer courses that are great for students excited about studying climate change and other sustainability issues.

Green Teams

Green Teams are self-organized groups of employees committed to advancing sustainability efforts on each campus. Green Teams meet about once a month to connect and celebrate their accomplishments, reflect on shortcomings, and share ideas. These meetings also serve as a platform for collaborative education, community building, and innovation.

Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network (GPSEN)

The Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network (GPSEN) is a multi-sector network of educators, students, non-profits, political and industry leaders, organizations, and community members collaborating to promote sustainability education in the Portland Metro region, including Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties, in Oregon, and Clark County in Washington.

Sustainability Practices and Resources for Curriculum Council (SPARC)

The Sustainability Practices and Resources for Curriculum (SPARC) Council leads the PCC effort to instill sustainability in our educational offerings.

Sustainability Community-Based Learning (CBL)

Community-Based Learning (CBL) is a teaching method that integrates reciprocal partnerships, community engagement, and critical reflection to meet institutional and course outcomes while developing individual, civic, and social responsibility. At PCC, the CBL program provides support across all disciplines by assisting faculty with community-based learning course implementation, professional development, and resources. The Sustainability Department is excited to support and collaborate with faculty to create positive learning experiences for students at PCC around sustainability challenges.

Check out Sustainability Community Based Learning (CBL) to learn more about how to work with Sustainability on a CBL project.

Cooperative Education

PCC Sustainability has frequent opportunities through Cooperative Education. Cooperative Education allows students to get course credit for learning done on the job

PCC Library Guides

PCC has a number of library guides for faculty and staff around sustainability and climate change.

• Sustainability Curriculum Resource Guide
• Teaching Climate Change in the Community College
• Climate Change Curriculum

Tracing the Roots of the Climate Crisis Podcast

Check out Sociology Instructor, Ben Cushing’s four-part podcast,  “Tracing the Roots of the Climate Crisis.” The podcast explores the root causes of climate change through an examination of social systems, history and beliefs. This podcast takes a deep look at the interconnections between the climate crisis and other social crises around race, gender and economics.