Jessica Crowell and Kate Bellody advocate for a student-centered research approach to evaluating sustainability education based on their 2023–24 research findings. First, they discuss the need for more qualitative research given that much of the extant scholarship on sustainability education in higher education draws on quantitative approaches, predominantly survey data. In addition to arguing for the need for more qualitative approaches, they outline the specific value of focus groups as a methodology. They use a cognitive mapping exercise during the focus groups to better track student connections between diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and sustainability, a choice informed by previous scholarship in this area. Finally, they provide practical information on how they structured their project as a tool to help others who may be interested in utilizing a similar approach to evaluate sustainability education at their own institutions. They conclude with a brief overview of their findings. These focus groups and surveys were funded by a generous SUNY PRODiG grant.