Sustainability continues to be a critical issue in higher education curriculum and many different frameworks abound for defining and integrating sustainability into curriculum design. As one method for tackling and embracing the complexity and abstractness of sustainability in higher education, this paper focuses on how to deliberately integrate literature-based sustainability competencies into curricula. Using an original, empirically-derived framework of five sustainability meta-competencies—system thinking, temporal thinking, interpersonal literacy, ethical literacy, and creativity/imagination—the authors re-designed and refined their own seminar course, Sustainability 200: Foundations of Leadership for Sustainability. Working in an iterative process, the authors mapped course topics and assignments to the competencies framework to develop holistic course goals and learning objectives. The aim of this model was to build scaffolding toward holistic sustainability literacy, deeper thinking and thoughtful ethical action. To support their curricular design decisions, the authors devised a Sustainability Meta-Competencies Matrix tool that mapped the course units and assignments to the five meta-competencies. Evidence of this approach and its contribution to learning objectives will be shared through discussion on and examples of the course’s final student assignment, which weaves sustainability meta-competencies together into a meaningful and impactful case study assignment that uses both research and media projects to convey the intricacies of sustainability-related issues. Additional insights will be shared on the application of the course’s structure and assignments drawn from formal and informal student course evaluations. Copies of relevant course design materials (sustainability meta-competencies matrix, annotated assignment sheet) will be provided.