Master of Sustainability Program Student Learning Outcomes

Conceptualizing Sustainability

Students will be able to explain the origins, meanings, and applications of sustainability, and by extension, explain the interrelationships among environmental, societal, and economic well-being. They will do this in a framework that recognizes the cultural dimensions of sustainability.

Systems Thinking

Students will develop tools to model complex systems, describe the impact of changes within systems, consider the impacts of decision-making on systems, and analyze a system's strengths and weaknesses.

Transdisciplinarity and Collaboration

Students will work across knowledge bases to better understand how different individuals and groups make decisions and work collaboratively with partners across and beyond the academy. In these contexts, students will also learn how to apply the appropriate resources and methods to sustainability projects.

Application and Assessment

Students will develop the necessary analytical skills for applying and assessing sustainability in a range of settings.

Communication

Students will become effective communicators by evaluating and implementing appropriate communication strategies. They will develop written, oral, and visual tools and practices for communicating about sustainability to diverse audiences.

Transformative Leadership

Students will be prepared to take an active role in advancing sustainability, with the understanding that to do so will require behavioral, cultural, institutional, and other changes at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Creativity

Students will understand that facilitating sustainable attitudes and practices requires creativity in conceptualizing existing conditions and generating and implementing sustainable solutions to complex problems.

Ethics

Students will understand ethical implications of decisions and actions across diverse cultural, political, and temporal perspectives and be prepared to choose and act with integrity in their careers.