Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design
Incorporating the disciplines of design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning, the Sustainable Design major focuses on the places, things, systems, and policies needed to help solve problems in a sustainable society.
Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design
The College of Fine and Applied Arts recognized a unique opportunity to draw on the expertise from across the college to create a new degree program: the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design. Incorporating the disciplines of design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning, this undergraduate major will focus on the places, things, systems, and policies needed to help solve problems in a sustainable society. Through a combination of existing and newly developed classes, students will experience an innovative, interdisciplinary, and unique course of study that will prepare them to enter jobs in the public or private sector guiding institutions and society to greater sustainability or continue their educational pursuits in a variety of graduate programs.
Why a Degree in Sustainable Design?
- Rigorous broad-based education in design with a focus on building sustainable communities through intentional design of environmentally sensitive products, buildings, landscapes, and cities
- Draws on disciplines of design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning
- Focuses on the places, things, systems, and policies needed to help solve problems in a sustainable society
- Prepares you for the future in a sustainable world where ideas from many disciplines will be necessary to solve complex problems
- After graduation
- Enter jobs in design firms, planning agencies, industry, nonprofits, and public policy institutes
- Continue preparation in a variety of graduate or professional programs such as landscape architecture, architecture, industrial design, graphic design, urban design, and urban planning or accelerated graduate design programs at Illinois
Study sustainable design at Illinois, a 2022 Gold STARS campus for sustainability performance awarded by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Opportunities and Events for Sustainable Design Majors
Join Sustainable Design and related organizations in these ongoing events and activities, virtually and in person! As the faculty committee learns of relevant opportunities related to the major, they will be listed here. RSOs can email sustaindesign@illinois.edu to have their events included.
BSSD Newsletter Archives
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📢 BSSD students, check out all of the professional development opportunities during career fair month and remember the deadline to submit your portfolio for Design Illinois on Handshake is Feb 15! Make sure to take advantage of all these opportunities!
🚀✏️ FAA431 – Sustainable Design Capstone just wrapped up a Design Sprint led by Professor Eric Benson, TA Camila Madariaga, and invited professor John Stallmeyer (who led FAA430 in the fall). The sprint marked the transition from project topics and scope development into the design phase, students will be diving into this spring 🌱🏗️. Stay tuned for what’s next!
☀️ Leilany Fuentes-Garcia and Dale Sink created a collaborative poster documenting their experience in the Sustainable Design study abroad program with Casa Pueblo in Puerto Rico in 2025 which is now on view on the 2nd floor of the Architecture Building.
☀️ Q. BSSD: Tell us a bit about yourself and your experience with Casa Pueblo.
☀️ A. Leilany Fuentes-Garcia: “I am currently a senior studying Sustainable Design and I participated in the Casa Pueblo program in Spring 2025. As a Sustainable Design student, I have learned a lot about the importance of community-based sustainable design and why a just energy transition is urgently needed, so it was incredible being able to experience and learn first-hand what this can actually look like.”
☀️ Dale Sink: “I am in the Sustainable Design program with minors in urban planning and landscape architecture. The urban planning department led the trip I took to Adjuntas as a Junior.”
☀️ Leilany and Dale: “Our visit to Adjuntas, Puerto Rico completely transformed our understanding of what sustainability means and the power of grassroots action. This experience has given us new perspectives that sustainable design expands beyond a set of design criteria to how it can be a deeply human process rooted in care, equity, and environmental protection. What struck us most was how resilience comes alive through human interaction. The way people support one another, share knowledge, and build together out of love for their community shows that environmental justice is inseparable from cultural resilience.
☀️ Our collage represents the story of Casa Pueblo as we experienced it. It is a collection of stories from the past and the ongoing journey that we cannot see. It is a story about protecting the place and the people around you; about refusing to remain complacent in an exploitative system; and about employing a praxis of love above all to guide your actions. Adjuntas is truly a unique place, but we hope that you feel a familiarity in this collage and are inspired to exercise your praxis of love, no matter how small the task.”
📚 Do you have an academic or professional opportunity you would like to pursue but need additional funding to do so? The Opportunity Scholarship provides $300 or $500 awards to selected students. Funds are awarded based on clearly articulated benefits to the student’s professional or academic growth.
🔗 Link in bio and QR Code
🗓️ Important Dates:
Application closes: Monday, Feb 16 at 11:59 PM
Winners Notified: By March 5
A lot is going on for BSSD students this week! Make sure to check out what’s coming up!
🖼️Feb 6 - Portfolio Reviews & Alumni Event 1 - 4 PM Siebel Center for Design, Room 1002. Receive individualized feedback on your portfolio from distinguished faculty and alumni. Then, gain insights into multiple sustainable design career paths from successful alumni. state of Sustainable Design, survey current trends in sustainability and design, and explore the evolving career landscape. This is a great chance to ask questions, share ideas, and connect with others who are shaping the future of Sustainable Design. We welcome your voice and encourage your participation.
📔Feb 2 - Opportunity Scholarship Applications open
✏️Feb 2 - 10th day" add/drop deadline for classes
🎓Feb 3- Add yourself to the pending degree list if you are graduating in Spring 2026 by February 3rd, 2026
🖼️Feb 6 - Portfolio Reviews & Alumni Event 1 - 4 PM Siebel Center for Design, Room 1002. Receive individualized feedback on your portfolio from distinguished faculty and alumni. Then, gain insights into multiple sustainable design career paths from successful alumni.
📚Feb 15 - Student submissions for Design IL due in Handshake (link in bio)
Scholarships due:
📕Bates Scholarship Fund for FAA Continuing Student Success | Deadline: February 6
📗Fred S. Bailey Scholarship | Deadline: February 8
📘Illinois Athletic and Academic Strive Scholarship | Deadline: February 8
📙Nowak Fellowship | Deadline: February 15
⭐️ Meet our Social Media Intern, Katherine Minch! Swipe through to find out more about her, like her major, go-to study spot, and what music she’s currently listening to!
☀️Anna Creech is a senior in BSSD graduating this May. She participated in the Spring 2024 study abroad trip to Puerto Rico.
☀️Q. BSSD: Tell us a bit about your experience with Casa Pueblo.
☀️A. AC: "While in Adjuntas in the Spring of 2024, we were tasked with coming up with ideas for a vacant lot that Casa Pueblo had recently acquired to be a part of their Energy Independence Plaza. While in Puerto Rico, we sketched ideas for the plaza, a community space that would support the solar independence movement and the local community. As a part of this design, we envisioned a community garden along with a gathering space and connections to both the main buildings of Casa Pueblo and the already completed Bosque Solar, the site located right next to the lot."
☀️ Documentation of Anna’s project is currently on view in BSSD’s first exhibition in our new gallery space. This exhibition features documentation, reflections, and design interventions conceived by students from the B.S. Sustainable Design Program who participated in a study abroad course to Puerto Rico in spring 2024 and 2025. While there, students met with local academics, artists, activists, and communities working with Casa Pueblo in the Altos de Cuba neighborhood of Adjuntas. They were then tasked with documenting and sharing Casa Pueblo’s achievements as well as actively contributing to the improvement of Altos de Cuba through sustainable design interventions. We invite you to visit the Sustainable Design Corridor on the second floor of the Architecture building to learn about their experiences engaging with Casa Pueblo’s energy independence and economic development work, as well as the designs students conceived for a meaningful, sustainable, community gathering space!
📢 Attention BSSD Students! Receive individualized feedback on your portfolio from distinguished faculty and alumni. Then, gain insights into multiple sustainable design career paths from successful alumni.
👥 Juniors and Seniors are expected to attend in preparation for the Design Illinois Career Fair. Freshmen and Sophomores are strongly encouraged to participate.
Friday, February 6, at Siebel Center for Design, Room 1002
1:00 - 3:00 pm Portfolio Reviews with Faculty & Alumni
3:00 - 4:00 pm Career Panel with BSSD Alumni
