Online Master of Sustainability Leadership

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The Master of Sustainability Leadership (MSL) prepares professionals to advance social and environmental responsibility. The program teaches organizational leadership skills through the lens of sustainability. MSL equips graduates to drive high-impact global sustainability results for their companies, organizations and communities.

Resident tuition | Non-resident tuition
ASU Online offers start dates every 7.5 weeks.
Multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year.
Required number of credits to complete this degree.

A sustainable future requires leaders who are able to integrate sustainability into existing institutions and new enterprises. A particular knowledge base and skill set is required to drive this kind of transformational change. Because sustainability is a relatively new field of study, professionals who are interested in this emerging field have often migrated into sustainability roles without formal training and education in sustainability practice. Today's sustainability professionals may have extensive experience and academic training in a particular area – such as engineering, accounting, operations or communications – yet lack the sustainability skills and knowledge to advance their work and their careers.

The Master of Sustainability Leadership program will equip graduates to drive high-impact transformative sustainability results for their companies, organizations, communities and their own careers. The curriculum is organized around four themes that prepare graduates to lead organizational change: leadership for sustainability; sustainability and strategy; communications and change management; and global context of sustainability.

The MSL program allows students to include electives related to their specific area of interest – from green energy, to urban planning, law, nonprofit organization, military and more. Work with the School of Sustainability to build a focus area best suited to your future plans. Offered through ASU’s School of Sustainability, the MSL features a powerful curriculum backed by the extensive knowledge base of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU. MSL teaching faculty are recruited from among the finest minds and practitioners in sustainability science, business, governance and mission-driven organizations, offering a perspective available nowhere else.


First comprehensive degree-granting program of its kind in the country:

  • Study at the nation’s #1 school of sustainability
  • Create a degree tailored to your sustainability interest
  • Cutting-edge sustainability research
  • #1 university in the U.S. for innovation
  • #2 online undergraduate degree programs in the nation
  • #5 in the nation for producing the best-qualified graduates

Calendar

Next Start Date:

08/22/19
Most Innovative

Featured Courses

Required Core (25 credit hours)

SOS 501 Foundations of Sustainability (1)

EMS 502 Global Context I (2)

EMS 503 Strategic Sustainability I (2)

EMS 504 Communications and Sustainability I (2)

EMS 505 Sustainability Leadership I (2)

EMS 506 Global Context II (2)

EMS 507 Strategic Sustainability II (2)

EMS 509 Communications and Sustainability II (2)

EMS 510 Sustainability Leadership II (2)

EMS 511 Global Context III (2)

EMS 512 Strategic Sustainability III (2)

EMS 513 Communications and Sustainability III (2)

EMS 514 Sustainability Leadership III (2)

Focus Area Electives (6 hours)

Students select six credit hours of electives in line with their overall goals and objectives for their plan of study. Examples of possible focus areas are military, law, supply chain management, nonprofit organization, urban planning and policy and administration. Students can also choose from a variety of Study Abroad options to satisfy this requirement.

Culminating Experience (4 credit hours)

EMS 586 Introduction to MSL Capstone (1)

EMS 587 MSL Capstone Preparation (1)

EMS 588 MSL Capstone (2)

Faculty

World-Class Faculty:

ASU’s School of Sustainability spans a multitude of expertise among faculty members who are training tomorrow’s leaders to address real-world challenges. Faculty members cover a vast set of disciplines. Examples include:

  • Business and policy
  • Renewable energy
  • Environmental science

Additionally, the school’s faculty members have been placed in the Popular Science “Brilliant 10”, members of the National Academy of Sciences and earned recognitions as a U.N. “Champion of the Earth”.

Program Summary

Total Hours:

35

Related Careers

Graduates with an ASU Online Master of Sustainability Leadership have career opportunities illustrated in the following list. Career examples include but are not limited to:

  • Sustainability specialist
  • Urban and regional planner
  • Operations manager
  • Chief sustainability officer

The graduate will be ready to progress through successively higher levels of management responsibility.

ASU Online Story

Learn about student experiences as they earn their Sustainability Leadership online at ASU Online.

Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements for both the Graduate College and the School of Sustainability.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree, in any field, from a regionally accredited institution. They should also have a minimum of three years of professional or organizational experience or the equivalent.

Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of a student's first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program. Applicants who have a GPA below 3.00 may submit a statement describing contributing circumstances and reference personal experience to be considered for admission.

All applicants must submit:

  1. Graduate admission application and application fee
  2. Official transcripts
  3. Statement of intent
  4. Resume or curriculum vitae
  5. Proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information

An applicant whose native language is not English (regardless of current residency) must provide proof of English proficiency. Because sustainability explores ways to improve human well-being globally without threatening earth's life supporting systems and because this program is designed to prepare decision-makers for the challenges ahead, for the statement of intent, applicants must explain in their own words (in no more than 300 words per question) why sustainability is important to them, and they must describe a time in which they demonstrated leadership to enact positive change. Applicants must explain how they plan to apply the lessons they learn from this degree in the short-term and long-term. And, lastly, applicants must explain how they have prepared to manage and accommodate family, work and life balance while completing this program in two years.

Affording College

Learn about the different types of financial aid and scholarship opportunities available. ASU offers a Cost Calculator, Budget Worksheet and Scholarship Search to make the college planning process easier.

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