Educating agents of change: Investigating curricula to foster sustainability competencies in university

Abstract This study critically evaluates the implementation of sustainability competencies in the university‐wide curriculum reform at a Nordic research‐intensive multidisciplinary university. The focus is on assessing how sustainability competencies—especially the newly introduced systems thinking, strategic thinking and futures thinking—are integrated into the curricula of 33 Bachelor's and 63 Master's degree programmes. Employing a mixed‐methods approach, the research analyses curriculum texts to quantitatively explore differences in sustainability competencies between degree programmes and qualitatively assesses the depth of their integration. Quantitative results demonstrate that while traditional competencies, such as scholarly and ethical thinking, and collaboration and communication skills, are commonly included, the newly introduced sustainability competencies appear less frequently. This suggests a gap between the institution's strategic sustainability intentions and their practical application within curricula. Additionally, variations were observed in the emphasis on sustainability competencies between Bachelor's and Master's programmes, as well as across different disciplines. Qualitative analysis reveals that the articulation of newly introduced sustainability competencies generally lacks depth, predominantly focusing on lower cognitive levels such as remembering and understanding, rather than on higher‐order cognitive skills like evaluation and creation. The research underscores the challenges and complexities of implementing curriculum reforms that adequately reflect the university's strategic sustainability goals. The results are compared with findings elsewhere, and recommendations are made. This study highlights the need for enhanced strategies and more rigorous approaches to embedding sustainability deeply and comprehensively across university curricula, ensuring that graduates are well‐equipped to tackle sustainability challenges.