About this course: The Age of Sustainable Development" gives students an understanding of the key challenges and pathways to sustainable development - that is, economic development that is also socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable.

Created by: Columbia University

Taught by: Jeffrey Sachs
Director, Earth Institute; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development; Professor of Health Policy and Management

Commitment	2 hours of lectures per module
Language	English, Subtitles: Chinese (Simplified)
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.8 stars Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Course Materials

Information about the general course structure and reading list can be found here.

3 readings

What is Sustainable Development?

Professor Sachs provides an overview of the challenges the world faces, and introduces the topic of sustainable development.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: What is Sustainable Development?

WEEK 2

Inequality Around the World

Professor Sachs delves into the reasons for and the measurements of inequality between and within countries.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Inequality Around the World

WEEK 3

A Short History of Economic Development

Professor Sachs provides a history of economic development, starting with the Industrial Revolution and ending with the current state of modern economic growth.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: A Short History of Economic Development

WEEK 4

The History of Inequality

Professor Sachs analyzes the intersecting roles of various factors that contribute to some countries advancing while others do not.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: The History of Inequality

WEEK 5

The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty

Professor Sachs outlines the pathways for achieving the end of extreme poverty.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty

WEEK 6

Growth within Planetary Boundaries

Professor Sachs details the various planetary boundaries and their implications for growth dynamics.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Growth within Planetary Boundaries

WEEK 7

Human Rights and Gender Equality

Professor Sachs delves into the ethics of wealth, poverty and inequality as well as the forces that widen inequalities.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Human Rights and Gender Equality

WEEK 8

Education

Professor Sachs provides an overview of the state of modern education, and what needs to be achieved for sustainable development.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Education

WEEK 9

Universal Health Coverage

Professor Sachs provides an overview of the challenges and pathways to achieving universal health coverage.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Universal Health Coverage

WEEK 10

Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunger

Professor Sachs provides an overview of food security, farm systems, and ecology and reviews what can be done to achieve a sustainable global food supply.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunger

WEEK 11

Sustainable Cities

Professor Sachs looks into what makes a city sustainable, the patterns of urbanization, and pathways for urban resilience around the world.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Sustainable Cities

WEEK 12

Curbing Climate Change

Professor Sachs provides an introduction to the science behind climate change, and describes the negotiations and policies that are necessary to mitigate and prevent the consequences.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: The Basic Science of Climate Change and Consequences

WEEK 13

Saving Biodiversity

Professor Sachs reviews the various threats to the world's ecosystem and biodiversity.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: Saving Biodiversity

WEEK 14

The SDGs

Professor Sachs recounts the history of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and describes what is necessary to achieve them.

5 videos

Graded: QUIZ: The SDGs

Graded: Final Exam

FAQs

How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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Creators

Columbia University

For more than 250 years, Columbia has been a leader in higher education in the nation and around the world. At the core of our wide range of academic inquiry is the commitment to attract and engage the best minds in pursuit of greater human understanding, pioneering new discoveries and service to society.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.8 out of 5 of 1,098 ratings

very informative and thoughtful as well as encouraging to pursue sustainable development

Brilliant course, brilliant lecturer! It's a shame that some of the links in the assessments are no longer working, but it's possible to work around it and the value of the course totally outweighs the little technical problems. Definitely recommended to those willing to learn about sustainability (and this should be basically everyone)!

Good one!

excelent

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