Sustainable Management (MS)
College: College of Natural & Health Sciences
This program is a collaborative online Master of Science in Sustainable Management degree program offered jointly by UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Stout, UW-Superior with administrative and financial support from UW-Extension. This online M.S. in Sustainable Management programs focuses primarily on adult and nontraditional students who hold an undergraduate degree and have the desire to continue their education to achieve a graduate degree.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Particular attention will be given to ensuring that students are well versed in business and science by teaching them about complex topics that require both perspectives. These topics include climate change, renewable resources, and industrial ecology. The program will ensure that students gain a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which changing human activities affect the inseparable natural, social, and economic environments. This knowledge will position UW graduates, many of whom will work for Wisconsin businesses and organizations, to gain a competitive advantage while preserving natural resources and strengthening communities.
Requirements for the Master of Science in Sustainable Management
To graduate with a master of science in sustainable management students must satisfy all degree requirements for their home institutions.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses | ||
| SMGT 700 | Cultural and Historical Foundations of Sustainability | 3 |
| SMGT 710 | The Natural Environment | 3 |
| SMGT 720 | Applied Research and the Triple Bottom Line | 3 |
| SMGT 730 | Policy, Law, and the Ethics of Sustainability | 3 |
| SMGT 740 | Economics of Sustainability | 3 |
| SMGT 750 | The Built Environment | 3 |
| SMGT 760 | Geopolitical Systems-Decision Making For Sustainability on the Local, State, and National Level | 3 |
| SMGT 770 | Leading Sustainable Organizations | 3 |
| Specialty Track Courses | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Corporate and Social Responsibility | ||
| Supply Chain Management | ||
| Sustainable Water Management | ||
| Waste Management and Resource Recovery | ||
| Climate Change | ||
| Required Capstone Experience Courses | ||
| SMGT 790 | Capstone Preparation Course | 1 |
| SMGT 792 | Capstone Project | 3 |
| Total Credits | 34 | |
University Requirements for Master’s Degree Programs
To receive a master’s degree from UW-Parkside, students must meet the following minimum requirements (note that individual programs may impose more stringent requirements):
- Complete at least 30 graduate credits, of which no more than 12 may be transferred from another institution.
- Have an overall GPA of at least 3.00 for all graduate work taken at UW-Parkside that is applicable to the degree program.
- Satisfy all requirements of the graduate degree program.
Students may take no more than seven years to complete a degree, beginning with the semester in which they complete their first course as a UW-Parkside degree-seeking graduate student, unless they apply for and receive an extension through the appropriate graduate program. Some programs may impose a shorter time limit. To graduate, students must file a request for graduation. The request form, signed by the student’s advisor and filed in the appropriate graduate program office, initiates the final review of the candidate’s records. Students also need to apply to graduate with the Office of the Registrar.
- A bachelor’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited university (in any discipline) and a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0. Students with a GPA less than 3.0 may be considered for a provisional admission. Please contact the Academic Director (skalbeck@uwp.edu) for more information.
- A personal statement of not more than 1,000 words describing your reasons for pursuing a Master of Science in Sustainable Management, your short- and long-term career goals, and what value you would add to the learning experience of your fellow students. Space for the personal statement is included in the online application.
- Your resume.
- Two letters of recommendation.
The GRE will not be required for admission to the program. Writing samples or recommendations may be requested and used toward an admissions decision if warranted. Students will apply and be admitted to one of the five partner institutions. The admissions determination will be made by a committee consisting of academic program directors from the five partner institutions. Once admitted, the student’s home institution will remain constant for the duration of the degree program. Admissions will occur on a rolling basis with new applicants able to start the program during each of the academic terms: fall, spring, and summer.
Courses in Sustainable Management
SMGT 700 | Cultural and Historical Foundations of Sustainability | 3 cr
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.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 710 | The Natural Environment | 3 cr
Natural cycles, climate, water, energy, bio-systems, the role of humans in the biosphere; human impacts on natural systems. Use of case studies; some pre-reading, carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Disturbance pollution and toxicity; carrying capacity; natural capital.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 720 | Applied Research and the Triple Bottom Line | 3 cr
Document and project internal and external costs resulting form the inseparability of the natural, social and economic environments. Assesses sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques; cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis and business scenario based cases.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 730 | Policy, Law, and the Ethics of Sustainability | 3 cr
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 Army Corps of Engineers; Department of Interior, etc., in building a more just, prosperous, and secure environmental common future.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 740 | Economics of Sustainability | 3 cr
Understanding the economy as a component of the ecosystem within it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital. Explores 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 economy.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 750 | The Built Environment | 3 cr
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.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 760 | Geopolitical Systems-Decision Making For Sustainability on the Local, State, and National Level | 3 cr
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.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 770 | Leading Sustainable Organizations | 3 cr
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, stakeholders management and situational leadership styles and behaviors. Focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 780 | Corporate and Social Responsibility | 3 cr
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.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 782 | Supply Chain Management | 3 cr
Planning, organizing and controlling the organization's supply chain is examined in context of the triple bottom line. Total cost analysis of product and process life cycles are considered in the context of strategy and operations. Topics include: sourcing, operations, distribution, reverse logistics and service suply 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.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 784 | Sustainable Water Management | 3 cr
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.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 785 | Waste Management and Resource Recovery | 3 cr
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.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 786 | Climate Change | 3 cr
In this course, you will explore climate change through scientific, humanistic, and sustainability frameworks. After building a strong foundation in the causes, impacts, and study of climate change, you will apply this understanding to evaluate scientific communication, environmental justice and vulnerability, and environmental policy to find solutions and strategies to address anthropogenic climate change.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major/program or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall.
SMGT 790 | Capstone Preparation Course | 1 cr
Research, data, analysis, scholarly inquiry resulting in project proposal.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 792 | Capstone Project | 3 cr
Completion of approved project utilizing concepts from coursework.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
SMGT 795 | Special Topics in Sustainable Management | 3 cr
Various specialized areas in sustainable management will be examined.
Prerequisites: Sustainable management major or program advisor consent.
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.