Near the end of the 20 th century,as the science and technology advance and the prominence of issues related to global change,Earth system science emerged as a new science addressing global change problems for sustainable development. Several institutions in China have established educational and research programs on Earth system science. Although there has been a well-formed framework,how to develop this new science in China and to promote higher education in Chinese universities requires careful organization and planning. First,how to develop the curriculum of Earth system science? Education of Earth system science needs to face with the demands of the society,to cover both the academic and application aspects. Meeting the nation's sustainable development requirements and enabling future employments of students should be considered as the top priority. For undergraduate education,Earth system science should include an introduction level common course open to the entire university. Sustainable development is such an important subject to the nation and to global governance,it should become a major component in the curriculum of Earth system science for university-wide instruction. Students at the graduate level should be divided into two groups. Those with academic interests should focus on strengthening basic knowledge in various interdisciplinary subjects. Emphasis on Earth system science training should be placed on the ability of students in raising critical questions in cross-disciplinary fields. On the practical aspects,Earth system science training should pay attention to the extension capability of students in applying learned knowledge to such fields as environmental protection,health,energy,finance,insurance and others where Earth system science skills are highly demanded. Since Earth system science is highly interdisciplinary,not a single program can cover every aspect. For example,we proposed four major directions on global change and Earth system science,i.e,Earth observation and data assimilation in global change studies,Earth system modeling,the interaction mechanism between human activities and global change,and global change economics. Different universities should have different emphases based on their own strengths. In summary,curriculum designed should be based on societal needs and the disciplinary strengths of individual universities. Second,how to organize instruction on Earth system science? Instruction groups should be formed to organize instructors better investigate and exchange ideas for effective teaching. Students should also be allowed to take classes from multiple universities. Cultivating students with excellent scientific spirits should be encouraged. This is particularly important at a time when there are a large amount of uncertainties in global change research. Third,how to develop a set of textbooks? Textbooks on Earth system science should integrate specialists from multiple universities. Tasks should be assigned based on strength of each individual instructor according to overall planning and design. Textbook materials should take advantage of the different forms of instructions including internet- based platforms.