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This study aims to describe the role of design thinking in achievement of transformative sustainability learning outcomes among undergraduate art and design students to support future curricular design efforts and thereby train sustainability minded future designers.

Baseline and culminating sustainability concept mapping assessments and reflective surveys were administered to 70 students enrolled in a general ecology and design-centric Ecology for Architects course. Correlation and regression analyses compared samples and case studies, further elucidated patterns of variation relating to the complexity and breadth of students’ sustainability knowledge and transformative potential.

Students in the design-centric course performed better on transformative sustainability indicator metrics than those enrolled in the General Ecology course, driven by improvement in design applications. Complexity of sustainability knowledge improved more among the general ecology students but was accompanied by declines in transformative indicators. Increasing foundational sustainability knowledge is unlikely, on its own, to support transformative learning. Survey responses indicated students were, however, motivated to apply what they learned to their design work, with the most significant improvement in transformative indicators seen in students enrolled in the design-centric course.

This study focuses on a population of students often marginalized in STEM education and provides a unique perspective on the value of design-centric general education courses in a population of students accustomed to design thinking pedagogies.