The paper considers the major aspects of improving the teaching of economic and geographical courses for students of the field 05.03.02 “Geography” in the interests of sustainable development. The study of the course “Economic and social Geography of Russia” is considered in detail as an example. Based on the analysis of documents regulating the learning process, scientific and pedagogical literature and generalization of the experience in teaching the course, current trends in selection of academic content, organization of educational process, system of evaluation of students’ achievements were revealed. Attention to the issues of sustainable development in the capture of all topics, an integrated approach to the study of industries and regions, the activation of students’ cognitive activity in all types of classes, the appropriate use of electronic, including distance teaching methods, ensuring evaluation transparency and accounting of students’ learning achievements meets the interests of sustainable society development.