Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design
A degree that combines creativity, systems thinking, and sustainability to solve real-world challenges.
→ Follow a Unique, Interdisciplinary Path
→ Gain Skills for Real Impact
→ Shape a More Sustainable Future
What is the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design?
The Sustainable Design Program incorporates design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning to address the places, things, systems, and policies needed to help solve problems in a sustainable society. Students follow an innovative, interdisciplinary, and unique course of study that prepares them for jobs in the public or private sector, or to continue their education in a variety of graduate programs.
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News & Events
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🌱 Today, we are highlighting Dale Sink`s project, another student accomplishment supported by a Fall 2025 BSSD Opportunity Scholarship!
BSSD: Tell us about your project and how the scholarship supported your development
🌱 DS: “Like many urban waterways, Boneyard Creek has developed alongside Urbana, Illinois. The highly industrialized, man-made stretch through West Urbana lacks a natural riparian shore and has lost many ecological functions. Some cities now use artificial wetlands to purify water through phytoremediation while restoring habitat for native species. I am designing a habitat box suspended from the retention wall in Boneyard’s shallow waters. Functioning like a floating ecosystem, it works in only inches of water to revitalize the creek as a protected corridor for riparian plants and wildlife. I have researched native plants, built two prototypes, and assembled a design team.”
“The BSSD Opportunity Scholarship is funding the materials for this project, allowing me to apply sustainability principles learned in class. The project focuses on protecting clean, healthy waterways and sharing them with plants and animals. I hope to ground my future professional design career in water management and urban waterway design. This BSSD support makes the project possible on a student budget and enables me to explore solutions to a complex problem using concepts from my coursework. This project supports both my academic growth and professional development.”
BSSD: What are your future goals for the project?
🌱 DS: “After the working prototype is installed, this project will be pitched to the City of Urbana to be installed as a permanent ecological intervention on Boneyard Creek. This project intends to further my understanding of artificial wetlands as either compatible or incompatible solutions for anthropogenic waterways. I foresee more exploration, either professionally or academically, in advancing the exploration of the ideas in this project to develop a series of hanging wetlands that would line segments of Boneyard Creek to create a riparian corridor for small animals and insects.”
Congrats, Dale! We`re excited to see the project move forward!
You’re invited! Please join us for the opening reception of the 2026 BSSD Capstone Exhibition.
When: Wednesday, May 6th, 5:30 - 7:30 pm, opening remarks at 6:00 pm
Where: Sustainable Design Gallery, Architecture Building, 2nd Floor, 608 Lorado Taft Dr.
The Capstone is the culmination of every BSSD degree, and a demonstration of how students learn to apply creativity, systems thinking, and sustainability to solve real-world challenges. Guided by faculty, students have spent the last year leveraging knowledge gained throughout their college career to design solutions to a critical sustainability concern they are most passionate about. With a shared commitment to cultivating a better future, the diversity of Capstone projects reflects the truly individualized, interdisciplinary paths each student follows.
All are welcome to this free, public program celebrating our graduating class!
First-years, sophomores, and juniors are encouraged to join us. Bring a friend!
Graphic design by Lea Huang-Yanez
🌱 Today, we are highlighting Ezldean Shalabi`s fashion project, another student accomplishment supported by a Fall 2025 BSSD Opportunity Scholarship!
BSSD: Tell us about your project and the progress you`ve made thus far.
🌱 ES: “Since being awarded, I ran a successful brand activation / physical pop-up in downtown Chicago over winter break. In addition, I ordered samples to test different products and design methods from manufacturers.”
BSSD: How has the Scholarship supported your development?
🌱 ES: “It allowed me to have more flexibility and room to breathe. Getting help in managing my cost of education while I continue my growth in entrepreneurship has helped me focus on challenging myself.”
BSSD: What are your future goals or plans for the project?
🌱 ES: "I tried a few new strategies for customizations. Once I get an idea of what`s possible, I`ll be putting together a new collection.”
Congrats, Ezldean! We`re excited to see this move forward!
BSSD students check out what`s happening!
🍎April 29 | Brown Bag Seminar Series: Grad School: Why am I thinking about it and how can I prepare? 12:30-1:30 PM | BSSD Office (210C Architecture) BSSD Brown Bag Seminars are informal, student-centered gatherings where you can discuss compelling topics and connect with peers who share your curiosity. This is a space to explore ideas, ask questions, and learn from one another. Bring your lunch and share in community!
🌳 May 1 | FOREST Sunrise Procession
5:30–7:30 am | University of Illinois Arboretum, Urbana
*Meet in Japan House parking lot* Be part of a Sunrise May Day forest-planting parade with Unreliable Bestiary artists Deke Weaver and Jennifer Allen, Landscape Architecture students and faculty members Brian Deal and David Hays, and musician Jason Finkelman.
📅 May 4 | Application Due for BSSD Social Media and Communications Internship
We are looking for a part-time student employee to manage social media communications for the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design (BSSD) program and contribute to our graphic design and documentation needs. Flexible schedule of 4-10 hours per week. Email Mariana Seda at mseda2@illinois.edu to apply and include a resume, summary of experience and interest, and work samples (a combination of graphic design, photography, and video or reels for social media are preferred).
🎉 May 5 | FAA Senior Celebration
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Papa Del`s Pizza Factory. FAA wants to celebrate your graduation! Please RSVP and join us for food, giveaways, toasts, music, and more!
🖼️ May 6 | Capstone Exhibition Reception
The Capstone is the culmination of every Sustainable Design major’s degree, and a demonstration of how students learn to apply creativity, systems thinking, and sustainability to solve real-world challenges. With a shared commitment to cultivating a better future, the diversity of Capstone projects reflects the truly individualized, interdisciplinary paths each student follows. Please join us in congratulating our graduating class on the completion of their BSSD Capstone Projects!
📚May 6 | Last Day of Classes
☀️May 7 | Reading Day
✏️May 8-14 | Final Exam Period
Happy Arbor Day! One week from today! Be part of a communal forest planting!
May 01, 2026 - 5:30–7:30am
University of Illinois Arboretum, Urbana
**Meet in Japan House parking lot**
It’s been said that there’s nothing more hopeful than planting a tree. So come plant a forest with us—be part of a Sunrise May Day forest-planting parade with Unreliable Bestiary artists Deke Weaver and Jennifer Allen, Landscape Architecture students and faculty members Brian Deal and David Hays, and musician Jason Finkelman. Before we head into the Illinois Arboretum, we’ll meet at the Japan House parking lot (F32) just before sunrise, at 5:30 am on Friday, May 1 (rain date: Saturday, May 2).
From The Golden Bough to Totoro, the seasonal rebirth of the land has long been met with ceremony and possibility. Let’s make our own ceremony. We’ll make masks out of the leaves, sticks, and vegetation found in the Arboretum, and parade our way with bells and drums to a new Illinois Arboretum forest plot where we will put in over 2800 plants and trees.
Dress for the weather and walking outside in the early morning dew. Things you could bring: a trowel, some gloves, a tight-fitting cap/hat or a couple of rubber bands, and a cape or a blanket or a tarp. Or don’t bring anything – just come. You could even bring your hopes, fears, complaints, and glowing futures. The event is part of The Unreliable Bestiary’s FOREST project and presented in conjunction with the Krannert Art Museum’s exhibition Another Place: Storymaking the Entangled Prairie.
This was a big day for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as @illinichancellor signed the newest Illinois Climate Action Plan! Congrats to everyone across the university (including the BSSD students who contribute to iCAP teams!) whose hard work has so far led to a 40% reduction in campus emissions, 13% campus electricity from clean energy, increased waste diversion, sustainable transportation options, and more!
The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) is the campus’s strategic plan for achieving carbon neutrality, or net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, if not sooner. The iCAP is a roadmap — with explicit, achievable steps — toward fulfilling our commitments to a sustainable campus.
iCAP 2026, the fourth update to the Illinois Climate Action Plan, contains 40 objectives organized around seven themes: Energy, Transportation, Land & Water, Zero Waste, Sustainable Buildings, Education, and Engagement. These objectives require continuous action and evaluation from units, organizations, and campus leadership.
Learn more: isee.illinois.edu/campus-sustainability/icap
Happy Earth Day!
@sustainillinois @uofifs
We Are Hiring!
Attention BSSD Students!: We are looking for a part-time student employee to manage social media communications for the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design (BSSD) program and contribute to our graphic design and documentation needs.
As an integral part of our communications team, you will work with the Communications and Marketing Office in the College of Fine and Applied Arts and with BSSD program staff to design fliers, create your own photos and videos, and manage image submissions that represent BSSD students, faculty, and
programs.
Students will be paid an hourly rate with a flexible schedule of 4-10 hours per week. This is a wonderful opportunity for a student to work with a professional design team and to gain access to a variety of facilities and events across the college.
Interested students should email Mariana Seda mseda2@illinois.edu and include examples, a resume, and a summary of their experience and interest. Examples of a combination of graphic design, photography, and video or reels for social media is preferred.
Requirements:
- Experience with social media platforms, especially Instagram
- Comfort creating content that may include photos, graphic design, and/or video
- Excited to attend and document events and programs hosted by BSSD
- Commit to 4-10 hours of work per week
Preferred:
- Experience with video editing using programs like Edits or Capcut
- Experience contributing to social media for an organization
- Experience with Meta Business Suites
- Initiative and desire to contribute creatively to a team
Apply by May 4
Join us for our next BSSD Brown Bag Seminar: Grad School: Why am I thinking about it and how can I prepare? on Wednesday, April 29th, from 12:30-1:30 pm in the BSSD Office (210C Architecture)
🍎 Bring your lunch and share in the community!
🍏 BSSD Brown Bag Seminars are informal, student-centered gatherings where you can discuss compelling topics and connect with peers who share your curiosity. This is a space to explore ideas, ask questions, and learn from one another.
