Sustainability+MBA (MSUS+MBA)

Sustainability+MBA (MSUS+MBA) Overview

This dual degree program leverages the strengths of Chatham’s Master of Sustainability and Master of Business Administration (MSUS+MBA) programs to develop sustainability leadership in business management. The MSUS + MBA positions graduates for leadership positions in sustainability across all sectors, including business, government, and NGOs. The program includes foundational coursework in business and sustainability as well as advanced work in various aspects of sustainability.

Degrees Offered

MSUS + MBA

Program School

Falk School of Sustainability & Environment

Application Deadline

Priority and Regular

Priority deadline for fall is February 1 (all application materials must be received by this date for first consideration of fellowships and assistantships). Regular deadline for fall term is July 1. Regular deadline for spring term is November 1.

Credits Required

57

The MSUS+MBA program may be completed in two years of full-time study.

Cost Per Credit

$1,089

Cost consists of program tuition (cost per credit times number of credits) as well as any applicable University and degree-specific fees.

National Recognition

Environmental Impact

The Princeton Review and the U.S. Green Building Council recognized Chatham as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada.

Explore the MSUS+MBA Degree:

Throughout the curriculum, students work on projects focused on real-world sustainability challenges, such as consultation with sustainable businesses, making business plans for sustainability businesses, or individual or group sustainability projects for businesses.

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
Overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or better on a 4.0 scale. Applicants with less than a 3.3 who show extreme promise through other achievements may be granted conditional admission.
Pre-requisite courses in Financial Accounting and Business Statistics (completed prior to enrollment)
Completed Application Form, including submission of the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae or resume
- Admissions Essay
- 2 letters of recommendation, from an academic source and/or direct work supervisor
- Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts, sent directly by the institutions
- Additional writing sample (optional, but encouraged)

International Applicants

International Applicants must submit additional documentation to the Office of Admissions. A list of these documents can be found on the International Admission web page.

BUS641: Sustainable Supply Chain Management

This course provides students with an understanding of how the supply chain works, how and where along the supply chain sustainability questions should be addressed/considered, and the impacts of those decisions on stakeholders further down the chain. Topics include: packaging, transportation, energy use, and waste.

BUS639: Sustainability Assessment and Reporting

An in-depth study of how to measure, track, and report on sustainability issues in a business. This course will include a study of how to create effective Social Responsibility reports and the standards currently used to measure sustainability, such as the GRI Standards. It will also teach students how to monitor and measure sustainability issues from within a business.

SUS580: Sustainable Behavior Change

This hybrid course combines classroom and online instruction with real-world application. Students learn the latest science concerning sources of environmental degradation. In teams, students apply motivational theory, collect secondary and primary data, and develop an action plan for increasing pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) in a real project.

View Full Curriculum

The combination of sustainability and management skills truly positions you to build the businesses of the future where the efficiencies of sustainability and preserving our natural resource base are going to be crucial.

—LOU LEONARD, JD, dean of the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment

Our Faculty

Faculty members are accomplished teachers, scholars, practitioners, and active leaders in the field.

Full Faculty

Linda MK Johnson

Associate Professor and Department Chair, Environmental Science and Interim Program Director, Sustainability

Ryan Utz

Assistant Professor of Water Resources

Iris Grossman

Assistant Professor of Sustainable Technology

Mary Whitney

Assistant Professor of Practice of Sustainability

Roy Weitzell

Aquatic Laboratory Director

Photo of a masked Chatham University student working in the agroecology garden on Eden Hall Campus

Research Experience

Explore the current faculty- and student-driven research projects and opportunities at the Falk School to see the types of experience students can gain in the program.

Explore Research

Photo of a woman in a blue t-shirt tending to yellow peppers in a greenhouse at Chatham University's Eden Hall Campus.

Funding Opportunities

The Falk School provides numerous financial resources to our currently enrolled students, including funds available for research, unpaid internships, conference presentations, and study abroad opportunities.

View Funding Opportunities

Photo of a Chatham University MSUS+MBA graduate in a professional suit, posing in front of her desk with a white board and post-it notes in the background

Alumni Employment

One hundred percent of students are employed within a year of graduation. Graduates have gone on to work for organizations including Evoqua, MGM International, Allegheny Land Trust, and Chromolax.

Eden Hall Campus

The University’s 388-acre Eden Hall Campus is the first campus in the world built from ground up on the principles of sustainability, where students have the tools to test, experiment, and refine practices for use in the real world. As an MSUS+MBA student, you will balance your time between the Shadyside Campus and Eden Hall.

Explore Eden Hall Campus

Decorative image reading Sustainable Development Goals

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The MSUS curriculum incorporates the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a roadmap for sustainability adopted by all nations. In addition to links within courses, each student’s thesis addresses at least one SDG. Focused on concrete issues like water, food, and energy, learning through the SDGs helps sustainability come alive.

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Business Insight Blog

Read about the people, events, and opportunities of the Department of Business and Entrepreneurship in their blog.

Read the Blog

Photo of Chatham University students and instructors gathering in the industrial style field lab at Eden Hall Farm.

Master of Sustainability Option

Not sure the dual-degree MSUS+MBA program is right for you? Chatham also offers a stand-alone MSUS that allows students to go even deeper in a specialization area and have more flexibility to take electives. One possible area of MSUS specialization is in sustainable business. This concentration focuses on the intersection of sustainability and business, rather than providing a broad overview of business administration.

Learn About MSUS

Master of Sustainability+MBA (MSUS+MBA)

Water Science and Sustainability

The Falk School of Sustainability & Environment uses Chatham's Eden Hall Campus to employ classroom learning for research, experience, and education. Master of Sustainability + MBA students in the Falk School measure and monitor stream conditions to better understand the ways water quality changes, and how that can change everything around us.

Mary Schrott, MSUS + MBA '21

Feyisola Akintola, MSUS+MBA '16

Eden Hall Campus

Chatham University's Eden Hall Campus, located in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, is home to Chatham's Falk School of Sustainability and functions as a living and learning laboratory, where the campus just doesn't house classrooms, but is the classroom. It's where a blend of knowledge, experience, and creativity is always working, persistently developing, and constantly improving. It's the first in the world of its kind.

Photo of a large red milk carton reading "Marburger Dairy" on top of a production facility in Pennsylvania.

Falk School Students Consult for Marburger Farm Dairy

“Marburger came to us and wanted us to put together a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report for their suppliers,” explains Taylor Whitehead, MSUS+MBA ’20. Throughout the course, students asked questions about how Marburger Farm Dairy and their suppliers run their farms and how they could be more sustainable.

Read the Story

Photo of a solar panel overhang glistening with blue skies behind it.

Student Profile: Lindsey Mifsud, MSUS+MBA ’20

In summer 2019, Lindsey Mifsud, MSUS+MBA ’20 completed an internship with 3R Sustainability, a high-performance building consulting company. 3R tackles LEED review documentation and energy modeling; creates corporate social responsibility reports for companies; and finds solutions to an organization’s needs in regards to environmental impact reduction and resource-management. Lindsey provided effective communication for 3R in the form of social media and news releases regarding our current projects, sustainability tips, and case studies.

Photo of Julia and James Rea House, atop a grassy hill covered in multicolored fall leaves on Chatham University's Shadyside Campus.

High Ranking

Chatham routinely ranks within the top 25 universities in the world for sustainability as measured by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

Photo of Chatham University students walking to class and sitting outside on the academic quad on a sunny day surrounded by red-brick academic buildings and greenery

Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll

Chatham has been selected as one of only 21 universities for The Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll, which recognizes the most environmentally responsible colleges across the United States, earning a perfect Green Rating score of 99 out of 99.

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Sustainability+MBA (MSUS+MBA)