Master of Science in Sustainable Management

Cultural and Historical Foundations of Sustainability
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
The changing relationships of humans to the natural environment; changes in dominant scientific perspectives and the process of scientific debate. The quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. Cultural and organizational structures; the role and impact of technology; the systems approach to problem solving and its implications for the future.

The Natural Environment
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Natural cycles, climate, water, energy, biosystems, ecosystems, the role of humans in the biosphere; human impacts on natural systems.  The carbon cycle as a unifying theme.  Specific topics to be studied include: disturbance pollution and toxicity, carrying capacity, and natural capital. Use of case studies.

Applied Research and the Triple Bottom Line
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social, and economic environments. Assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques; cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis, and business scenario–based cases.

Policy, Law, and the Ethics of Sustainability
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
The law and ethics regarding sustainability of economic development and emerging environmental challenges at national and international levels; including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), carbon footprints, Kyoto Protocol, and Brundtland Commission. The policy and role of government and its agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Interior, in building a more just, prosperous, and secure environmental common future.

Economics of Sustainability
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Understand the economy as a component of the ecosystem within which it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital.   Explore traditional micro, macro, and international trade theory and policy and the implications of sustainability. Topics include: history of economic systems and thought; globalization and localization; distinguishing between growth and development; the nature and causes of market failure; consumption, consumerism, and human well-being; emerging markets; technological change; business organization and financial market alternatives; demographic change; and the global food economy.

The Built Environment
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Explore how the built environment came to be and the intersection of human needs:  water, air, food, water, waste, transportation, healthcare and education.  Evaluate community design: what does a sustainable community look like? Study related technologies and evaluate alternatives, discuss unintended consequences.   Course will include case studies.

Geopolitical Systems-Decision Making for Sustainability on the Local, State, and National Level
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
An examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local level, with emphasis on the social, economic, political factors affecting decisions within both the public and private sectors. Attention is given to formal American policymaking processes, informal grassroots activities and consensus building, public engagement with sustainability decisions, corporate sustainability actions and reporting, the promise of public-private partnerships and collaborative decision making, and practical examples of how decision making fosters effective transitions to sustainability goals at all levels.

Leading Sustainable Organizations
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
A macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics addressed include: organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stakeholder management and situational leadership styles and behaviors. Focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change.

Corporate and Social Responsibility
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Corporate social responsibility and an organization.  Evaluation of risks and potential impacts in decision making recognizing the links between the success of an organization and the well-being of a community. Integrating corporate social responsibility throughout an organization, creating metrics and communicating CSR policies internally and externally. Development of best practices in an organization pertaining to corporate social responsibility.

Supply Chain Management
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Planning, organizing and controlling the organization’s supply chain is examined in context of the triple bottom line.  Total cost analyses or product and process life cycles are considered in the context of strategy and operations. Topics include: sourcing, operations, distribution, reverse logistics and service supply chains.  Process measurements and the impact on organizational performance in the context of footprints (e.g. carbon, water, pollution). Discussion of existing and potential software systems.

Sustainable Water Management
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
This course addresses practical applications of sustainability in aquatic environments. Topics covered include water and health, water quality and quantity, governance, assessing the aquatic environment, water treatment technologies, environmental mitigation, and impacts of climate change. Emphasis will be on selected areas of interest from the perspective of public health, engineering, and municipal conservation management.

Waste Management and Resource Recovery
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Topics include the generation, processing, management and disposal of municipal, industrial and agricultural waste with an emphasis on the technical, economic and environmental aspects of various recovery processes.  Additional topics will include producer responsibility, design for environment and life cycle analysis.

Capstone Preparation Course
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Research, data analysis, scholarly inquiry resulting in project proposal.

Capstone Project
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Completion of approved project utilizing concepts from coursework.

Special Topics in Sustainable Management
Prereq: Consent of program advisor. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Various specialized areas in sustainable management will be examined. May be repeated for credit with different topic.