The dual Master of Science-MBA in Sustainability Management degree is designed for students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, such as engineering, science, business, management, finance, architecture, planning, communications, social science, policy, and law who are interested in honing their business and management skills offered by the MBA program while pursuing a STEM graduate degree in sustainability. The students will earn two separate Master’s degrees at completion of this dual degree program.

This dual program offers an exceptional combination of management skills with deep and practical knowledge of the technical aspects of sustainability. In-depth training in strategic management enables the graduates of the dual program to evaluate and implement sustainability-related projects from financial and managerial perspectives. The program emphasizes development of sustainable models for business operations, i.e., promoting economic and business development without damaging the environment, and implementation of practical solutions inside of organizations resulting in cost-saving through sustainable practices.

Hands-on training is emphasized in the program to prepare students for life after graduation, which includes a standalone training module in sustainability consulting as part of the capstone project course. The program requires industry mentors to work directly with students on their capstone projects; students are connected with senior professionals from local/regional companies who act as their guides. 

Graduates of the program will be well positioned to devise sustainable business strategies, form new ventures and startups on sustainability, join leading management consulting firms, and lead sustainability projects and initiatives within midsize or large corporations or with a government institution.

The objectives of the program are to train the students such that:

• they develop basic skills in management as well as the ability to integrate managerial and technical aspects of sustainability at various levels of their organization,

• they are knowledgeable in current sustainability practices and can apply that knowledge toward optimal decision- making process,

• they are capable of integrative thinking to holistically analyze a sustainability problem,

• they develop qualitative and quantitative analytical skill sets in the area of sustainability management, such as sustainability data analysis, evaluation of sustainability aspects of technology applications, etc.,

• they develop strong written and oral communication skills and are able to communicate the value of sustainability to both technical and lay audience,

• they understand the value of professionalism and the code of ethical conduct.

Three to six years after graduation, students will be able to:

• head an organization’s sustainability program as Sustainability Manager. Sustainability managers find jobs in business, nonprofit and public sectors (municipal, state, or federal government). They lead the corporate social responsibility team in a medium or large company or work in the sustainability and environmental management sections of management consulting firms.

• establish new ventures and startups offering sustainability services as sustainability consultants.

• pursue further studies: Based on their disciplinary backgrounds, students with this degree may decide to pursue a Ph.D. and join academia as a researcher and/or faculty member (e.g., Ph.D. in Sustainable Development, Sustainability Science, or Sustainability Management with focus on finance, marketing, or operations management). Other requirements may be necessary for a Ph.D. application.

Program Outcomes

Students graduating with an MS-MBA Sustainability Management are expected to develop in-depth insights required for critical thinking in pursuing deeper understanding and concomitant solutions to important sustainability problems. Specifically, the graduates will:

• develop basic skills of management as well as gain knowledge of analytical methods for approaching organization problems.

• be able to integrate managerial and technical aspects of sustainability.

• demonstrate fluency in the current body of knowledge in sustainability and apply that knowledge toward optimal decision-making processes in their respective field of practice.

• exhibit proper use of integrative thinking in order to holistically analyze the relationship between human activity and the natural, social, and economic environments.

• integrate sustainability at various levels in their organizations.

• acquire both qualitative and quantitative analytical skills and apply those skills in solving sustainability- related problems in the context of their professional interests and expertise.

• evaluate the sustainability of current and future technology applications.

• be able to perform sustainability data management.

• possess high quality written and oral communication skills to efficiently communicate complex sustainability issues to a varied audience.

• demonstrate a high level of professionalism.