Applied Environmental and Sustainability Studies, MA

The online Master of Arts in Applied Environmental and Sustainability Studies prepares graduates for positions in the corporate, government, and non-governmental worlds as a sustainability manager, corporate sustainability specialist, or one of many other fast growing environmental and sustainability professions. 

Students take a total of 30 credit-hours of graduate coursework (24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of either capstone research or internship). Coursework consists of three core courses (total of 9 credit hours), two skills courses (total of 6 credit hours), and three elective courses (total of 9 credit hours) to expand their skills, insights and engagement with Environmental and Sustainability Studies. This MA degree only offers non-thesis, plan B options: Upon completing these 24 credit-hours, students take two courses for three credits each to prepare and implement their final Master’s research project under the supervision of faculty members. The MA also offers the alternate plan B option of completing six credit hours of internship work under supervision of faculty members. All MA students will have a final oral examination.

Admission Requirements

CV or resume
Statement of Purpose (2-3 pages)
Writing Sample (optional)
Undergraduate transcript

A non-refundable $65 application fee ($75 for international applicants)
TOEFL or IELTS score (international applicants only). Minimum scores are listed on the graduate school’s admission page.
GRE or GMAT scores are NOT required for admission to this program.

Degree Requirements

Core Courses (9 Credit Hours)

ENS 601 ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY: ISSUES AND IDEAS (3 credit hours)
ENS 602 ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY POLICY AND GOVERNANCE (3 credit hours)
ENS 603 COMMUNICATING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES (3 credit hours)

Skills Courses (6 Credit Hours)

Students choose a total of 6 credit hours from two of the skills courses listed below.

LA 556 CONTEMPORARY GEOSPATIAL APPLICATIONS FOR LAND ANALYSIS / NRE 556 CONTEMPORARY GEOSPATIAL APPLICATIONS FOR LAND ANALYSIS (3 credit hours)
MAP 671 INTRODUCTION TO NEW MAPPING (3 credit hours)

STA 570 BASIC STATISTICAL ANALYSIS (3 credit hours)
STA 674 REGRESSION ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS  (3 credit hours
STA 677 APPLIED MULTIVARIATE METHODS (3 credit hours)

Capstone/Internship (6 Credit Hours)

Students must complete one of two options to satisfy the non-thesis requirement for the Master’s in Applied Environmental and Sustainability Studies. All students will be required to complete a one-hour oral exam.

Plan B Option #1 Internship

Complete 6 credit hours of internship coursework:

ENS 697 INTERNSHIP IN APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES I (3 credit hours)

ENS 698 INTERNSHIP IN APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES II (3 credit hours)

Plan B Option #2 Capstone

Complete 6 credit hours through a capstone research project and report

ENS 695 RESEARCH IN APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES (3 credit hours)

ENS 696 REPORTING RESEARCH IN APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES (3 credit hours)

Elective Courses (9 Credit Hours)

Students must take an additional 9 credit hours from the approved list of courses. Other courses at the 600-level and above that relate to environmental and sustainability studies may be used to satisfy this requirement with the permission of the program director. Students may only count 6 credit hours of ENS 605 (under different subtitles) or ENS 699 (up to 3 credit hours) towards this requirement.