An increasing body of research is suggesting that many more undergraduates can become more engaged with science and technology if, first, they are provided opportunities for inquiry-based approaches to learning and, second, if they can appreciate the relevance of science and technology to their own lives. Undergraduate STEM courses, especially at the introductory level for both future science majors as well as for students who will pursue interests outside the sciences, which include material on important complex themes such as climate change and global sustainability, may help engage students in science and its use while aiding their learning of the basic science itself more effectively. This symposium will explore emerging evidence that courses with these features improve student engagement and learning by undergraduates. It will consider examples of how to successfully infuse global sustainability issues into STEM undergraduate gateway courses. It also will address infrastructural and organizational issues in higher education that continue to provide challenges to such integration and consider ways to address them.