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Sustainable Development Studies Program
Sustainable Development Studies Program
Overview
Overview
Sustainable Development Studies programs offer a comprehensive suite of graduate degrees designed to tackle global sustainability challenges through academic research and professional practice. The Master's level includes the research-oriented Master of Science in Sustainable Development Studies (MS SDS), which delivers foundational courses like Fundamentals of Sustainable Development and GIS, flexible cognate electives, second-year major-specific courses across seven tracks: Community Development, Economic Development, Environmental Education, Environmental Engineering, Resource Management, Rural and Urban Planning, and Peace and Conflict Transformation culminating in comprehensive exams and a thesis to build scholarly expertise. Complementing this, the Master in Sustainable Development Studies (MSDS) provides dual tracks: an Academic Track mirroring the MS SDS for in-depth analysis and thesis work, and a Professional Track geared toward practitioners with core coursework, summer intensives, 240 hours of field practice, comprehensive exam capstone for real-world application.
At the doctoral level, the Doctor of Philosophy in Sustainable Development Studies (PhD SDS) emphasizes advanced research without bridging courses (36 units total) or with qualifiers, featuring core courses such as Advanced Research Methods, Sustainable Project Management, Sustainable Development Policy and Governance, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, alongside track-specific majors (e.g., Gender, Security and Sustainable Development for Community Development), cognates, special problems, exams, and a dissertation with continuous enrollment. The Doctor in Sustainable Development Studies (DSDS), its practice-focused counterpart, follows a similar structure but incorporates 320 hours of field practice and a practice-based dissertation to equip expert practitioners for impactful sustainability solutions across the same tracks. Overall, these programs blend rigorous training, interdisciplinary flexibility, and practical components to foster contributions in policy, community building, environmental management, and conflict resolution.
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