Master of Science in Sustainable Management
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Learn to lead the way to a sustainable future. 100% Online.
The online Master of Science in Sustainable Management develops skills and knowledge in sustainability by focusing on the social, economic, and environmental concepts that can be applied across a wide range of sectors and industries.
In the program, you’ll explore topics, such as:
- the relationship of humans with the natural environment,
- public policy and the role of government and business in sustainability,
- triple bottom line accounting, including GRI, CDP, and ESG reporting,
- finance and the economics of sustainability,
- using a systems approach to comprehensive problem solving,
- how to foster change management toward sustainability goals within an organization,
- how to apply ecological principles of sustainability to organizational systems.
In addition, elective courses offer an opportunity to align your studies with specific career goals. Electives include:
- corporate social responsibility (CSR),
- supply chain management,
- sustainable water management,
- waste management and resource recovery, and
- climate change.
Courses are completed entirely online. Watch lectures, participate in online forums with your classmates, and although assignments have deadlines, do homework whenever it’s convenient for you. The program also provides optional networking opportunities for you to connect virtually with your peers, faculty, and professionals. Learn more about online learning with UW.
Earn your bachelor’s, master’s, or certificate in sustainability ONLINE with the University of Wisconsin.
Accelerating Toward Net-zero: Job Growth in Sustainability Expands
The sustainability profession is at a pivotal point in its evolution. “Green jobs” are well established in industries such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, natural resource conservation, and waste management, and today, opportunities can be found in nearly any business or organization. While there is no universal definition of what qualifies as a sustainability job, professional organizations, like GreenBiz and Sustainable Brands, offer insight on job trends and growth. According to GreenBiz, we’re at that decisive moment, when job opportunities are increasing as sustainability goals expand. With an expanding array of industries recognizing the need to integrate sustainability goals, like corporate social responsibility, into their business practices, every job has the potential to be a “green job”.
This is indeed an unprecedented moment for the profession … reflective of a mounting climate crisis that requires increasingly bold action. CEOs are more engaged, more companies are expanding their sustainability efforts and the size of their teams, and more commitments are being made to reduce GHG emissions.”—State of the Profession 2022, GreenBiz
READ FURTHER: SUSTAINABILITY CAREERS
Who Should Apply?
The Master of Science in Sustainable Management is an ideal choice for those seeking to advance their career in sustainability, whether their experience is in business, healthcare, manufacturing, design, retail, or other industries that are transitioning to sustainable business models. Through coursework, students develop business skills through a sustainability lens and an understanding of ecological, social and economic principles of sustainability. Students with a wide variety of work, education, and life experience have found success in the program and are making a difference in the world today.
Scholarships Available Fall and Spring Semester
Since launching the scholarship program in 2011, UW Sustainable Management has awarded nearly $1,500,000 to students to help pay for their education and advance the positive impact of sustainability across the world. Learn more about applying for a scholarship.
Universities of Wisconsin Collaboration
The Master of Science in Sustainable Management is a partnership of UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Stout, and UW-Superior. Learn more about our campus partners and choosing a home campus.
UW Sustainable Management faculty have expertise in a wide range of fields, including: business, sustainability, water resource management, economics, environmental science, natural resource management, and more.
Accreditation
Whether online or on campus, Universities of Wisconsin programs have a reputation for delivering world-class education and student support. Accreditation is your assurance that you will graduate with skills that are relevant to your field and valued by employers. The Master of Science in Sustainable Management is approved by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Program Membership
The Sustainable Management program is a member of:
To be eligible for the Master of Science in Sustainable Management, students must meet the following requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree, in any discipline, from an accredited university (min. 3.0 GPA).
Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 may be considered for provisional admission and should contact an enrollment adviser for more information.
Aptitude tests, such as the GRE, are not required for admission.
You will also need to submit the following application materials:
- Official college transcripts,
- Your resume,
- Two letters of recommendation (professional or academic),
- A personal statement of up to 1,000 words describing the reasons behind your decision to pursue this degree.
Campuses may waive some of these requirements as part of the comprehensive application process.
International Guidelines
This program welcomes online students from around the world. Online students do not qualify for an F-1 Student Visa to travel to the U.S., but instead can participate in our online courses remotely. If your native language is not English and/or you attended school outside of the U.S., you will likely need to provide proof of English language proficiency and an official translation or evaluation of academic transcripts. Requirements will vary based on a student’s academic history and home campus policies. For guidance about these requirements and how they apply to your specific situation, contact your preferred home campus admissions office.
If you would like to apply as an International Student for an on-campus program in the UW System please refer to these resources through UW-HELP.
Application Deadline
Your online application and all required materials must be submitted to your preferred home campus generally 2-4 weeks prior to the date classes start (this varies by campus) to be considered for admission.
How to Apply
While you are free to apply on your own, many prospective students find it helpful to speak with an enrollment adviser first.
Step 1. Select a home campus from our list of program partners: UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Stout, or UW-Superior. Learn more about our campus partners and choosing a home campus.
Step 2. Apply to your preferred home campus using the University of Wisconsin System Online Admission Application. A nonrefundable $56 application fee is required for most graduate degree-seeking students applying to a UW institution.*
*For a limited time, we are offering an application fee waiver for the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2025 semesters. To redeem, use coupon code APPLY25 on the UW Online Application payment page.
Step 3. Send your resume, personal statement, and letters of recommendation; and arrange to have your official college transcripts (from each institution you attended) sent to the graduate student admissions office of the home campus to which you applied. Please request electronic transcripts, if this service is offered by your previous school(s), to be sent directly to the admissions email of your chosen home campus. Electronic transcripts are usually delivered more quickly than physical copies sent by mail.
12 Courses. 34 Credits. 100% Online.
Coursework in the Master of Science in Sustainable Management focuses on developing a comprehensive understanding of the social, economic, and environmental concepts central to sustainability. Students must complete twelve courses (34 credits) to earn their degree.
- Eight core courses (3 credits per course)
- Two electives (3 credits per course)
- Capstone prep course (1 credit)
- Capstone project course (3 credits)
In the capstone course, students gain valuable, practical experience through a fieldwork project. Students may be able to complete the project at their current place of employment, or arrange for online project work with an external organization. View examples of past capstone projects.
How do these programs prepare me to work in sustainability?
An advisory board, whose members include sustainability experts with experience in a wide range of areas such as strategic planning, market research, waste management, recycling, emergency response planning, community engagement, education, and outreach, consulting, supply chain management, and systems thinking, ensures the curriculum stays relevant to emerging trends.
For a list of corporations and organizations that contributed valuable insight to UW Sustainable Management degree and certificate programs, visit Business Partnerships. Each one has given critical input into determining the competencies required for the degree.
Professor Dunn encourages a deep dive into a multidisciplinary approach to the “Built Environment”, making each lesson resonate with current global challenges. The discussions and assignments are designed not just to educate but to provoke thought, requiring students to critically assess and envision the future of sustainable environments. Moreover, the course’s structure, with its integration of guest interviews and real-world case studies, exposes students to pioneering ideas and practices in urban regeneration and sustainable design from around the world. —Felipe, Master of Science in Sustainable Management student
How long will it take to earn my degree?
Students in the program enroll in 1-2 courses per semester and complete the degree in 2-3 years, on average. Completion time depends on how many courses you take during a semester and whether you attend all three semesters (courses are offered all three semesters, however, course availability varies each semester). The program offers flexibility to formulate a completion plan with your academic advisor that accounts for time constraints such as work and personal obligations.
Core Courses
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
In this course, you will investigate the changing relationships of humans to the natural environment, changes in dominant scientific perspectives, and the process of scientific debate. Explore the quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. And learn about cultural and organizational structures, the role and impact of technology, the systems approach to problem solving, and their implications for the future. | 3 Credits |
Through case studies and some pre-reading, this course explores natural cycles, climate, water, energy, biosystems, ecosystems, the role of humans in the biosphere, and the human impacts on natural systems, with the carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Additionally, it covers disturbance pollution and toxicity, carrying capacity, and natural capital. | 3 Credits |
Learn how to document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social, and economic environments. Additionally, gain the ability to assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques, cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis, and business-scenario-based cases. | 3 Credits |
This course delves into 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. We will also explore 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. | 3 Credits |
Learn to understand the economy as a component of the ecosystem in which it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital. Explore traditional micro, macro, and international trade theory and policy and the implications of sustainability. Topics include the 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 food economy. | 3 Credits |
This course explores how the built environment came to be, and how it intersects with human needs such as water, air, food, waste, transportation, healthcare, and education. You will evaluate community design and what a sustainable community looks like, and study related technologies while evaluating alternatives and discussing unintended consequences. This course will include case studies. | 3 Credits |
This course is an examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local levels, with emphasis on the social, economic, and 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. | 3 Credits |
Get a macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics include organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stakeholder management, and situational leadership styles and behaviors. The course focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change. | 3 Credits |
Elective Courses
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
This course will enable students to understand the rationale behind CSR and sustainability. It takes students through an evaluation of risks and potential impacts in decision making, uncovering the links between the success of an organization and the well-being of a community/society. Additionally, methods and standards of integrating CSR throughout an organization, creating metrics and communicating CSR policies internally and externally will be discussed, analyzed, and applied. Students will develop an understanding of best practices of CSR in its entire breadth within an organization as well as delve into economic structures designed to foster more responsibility and accountability. | 3 Credits |
In this course, planning, organizing, and controlling the organization’s supply chain are examined in the context of the triple bottom line, and total cost analyses or product and process life cycles are considered in the context of strategy and operations. Topics include: sourcing, operations, distribution, reverse logistics, and service supply chains. Process measurements and the impact on organizational performance in the context of footprints (e.g., carbon, water, pollution), and existing and potential software systems are also covered. | 3 Credits |
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. | 3 Credits |
This course covers 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. Additional topics will include producer responsibility, design for environment, and life cycle analysis. | 3 Credits |
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. | 3 Credits |
Capstone Experience
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
In this course, you will build the foundation for your capstone project through research, data analysis, and scholarly inquiry that result in a project proposal. This course is a prerequisite for SMGT 792. | 1 Credits |
Prerequisite: SMGT 790 The capstone project provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience in the real world. Each student will help a real organization solve an existing sustainability problem by implementing practical knowledge to achieve a triple-bottom-line solution. Projects may focus on issues such as supply chain structures, energy efficiencies, or environmental and climate concerns. The instructor will serve as a guide throughout the experience. | 3 Credits |
Course availability for the Master of Science in Sustainable Management varies each semester, and is subject to change due to fluctuating enrollment. If you are a current student, please consult with your campus adviser prior to registration.
Fall 2024
Course Preview Week: August 27 - September 02, 2024
Semester Dates: September 03 - December 13, 2024
Core Courses
In this course, you will investigate the changing relationships of humans to the natural environment, changes in dominant scientific perspectives, and the process of scientific debate. Explore the quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. And learn about cultural and organizational structures, the role and impact of technology, the systems approach to problem solving, and their implications for the future.
Through case studies and some pre-reading, this course explores natural cycles, climate, water, energy, biosystems, ecosystems, the role of humans in the biosphere, and the human impacts on natural systems, with the carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Additionally, it covers disturbance pollution and toxicity, carrying capacity, and natural capital.
Learn how to document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social, and economic environments. Additionally, gain the ability to assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques, cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis, and business-scenario-based cases.
This course delves into 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. We will also explore 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.
Learn to understand the economy as a component of the ecosystem in which it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital. Explore traditional micro, macro, and international trade theory and policy and the implications of sustainability. Topics include the 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 food economy.
This course explores how the built environment came to be, and how it intersects with human needs such as water, air, food, waste, transportation, healthcare, and education. You will evaluate community design and what a sustainable community looks like, and study related technologies while evaluating alternatives and discussing unintended consequences. This course will include case studies.
This course is an examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local levels, with emphasis on the social, economic, and 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.
Get a macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics include organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stakeholder management, and situational leadership styles and behaviors. The course focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change.
Elective Courses
In this course, planning, organizing, and controlling the organization’s supply chain are examined in the context of the triple bottom line, and total cost analyses or product and process life cycles are considered in the context of strategy and operations. Topics include: sourcing, operations, distribution, reverse logistics, and service supply chains. Process measurements and the impact on organizational performance in the context of footprints (e.g., carbon, water, pollution), and existing and potential software systems are also covered.
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.
Capstone Experience
In this course, you will build the foundation for your capstone project through research, data analysis, and scholarly inquiry that result in a project proposal. This course is a prerequisite for SMGT 792.
Prerequisite: SMGT 790
The capstone project provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience in the real world. Each student will help a real organization solve an existing sustainability problem by implementing practical knowledge to achieve a triple-bottom-line solution. Projects may focus on issues such as supply chain structures, energy efficiencies, or environmental and climate concerns. The instructor will serve as a guide throughout the experience.
Spring 2025
Request Permission NumberCourse Preview Week: January 21 - January 27, 2025
Semester Dates: January 28 - May 09, 2025
Core Courses
In this course, you will investigate the changing relationships of humans to the natural environment, changes in dominant scientific perspectives, and the process of scientific debate. Explore the quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. And learn about cultural and organizational structures, the role and impact of technology, the systems approach to problem solving, and their implications for the future.
Through case studies and some pre-reading, this course explores natural cycles, climate, water, energy, biosystems, ecosystems, the role of humans in the biosphere, and the human impacts on natural systems, with the carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Additionally, it covers disturbance pollution and toxicity, carrying capacity, and natural capital.
Learn how to document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social, and economic environments. Additionally, gain the ability to assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques, cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis, and business-scenario-based cases.
This course delves into 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. We will also explore 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.
Learn to understand the economy as a component of the ecosystem in which it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital. Explore traditional micro, macro, and international trade theory and policy and the implications of sustainability. Topics include the 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 food economy.
This course explores how the built environment came to be, and how it intersects with human needs such as water, air, food, waste, transportation, healthcare, and education. You will evaluate community design and what a sustainable community looks like, and study related technologies while evaluating alternatives and discussing unintended consequences. This course will include case studies.
This course is an examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local levels, with emphasis on the social, economic, and 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.
Get a macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics include organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stakeholder management, and situational leadership styles and behaviors. The course focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change.
Elective Courses
This course will enable students to understand the rationale behind CSR and sustainability. It takes students through an evaluation of risks and potential impacts in decision making, uncovering the links between the success of an organization and the well-being of a community/society. Additionally, methods and standards of integrating CSR throughout an organization, creating metrics and communicating CSR policies internally and externally will be discussed, analyzed, and applied. Students will develop an understanding of best practices of CSR in its entire breadth within an organization as well as delve into economic structures designed to foster more responsibility and accountability.
This course covers 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. Additional topics will include producer responsibility, design for environment, and life cycle analysis.
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.
Capstone Experience
In this course, you will build the foundation for your capstone project through research, data analysis, and scholarly inquiry that result in a project proposal. This course is a prerequisite for SMGT 792.
Prerequisite: SMGT 790
The capstone project provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience in the real world. Each student will help a real organization solve an existing sustainability problem by implementing practical knowledge to achieve a triple-bottom-line solution. Projects may focus on issues such as supply chain structures, energy efficiencies, or environmental and climate concerns. The instructor will serve as a guide throughout the experience.
Summer 2025
Registration Opens: March 10, 2025
Course Preview Week: May 20 - May 26, 2025
Semester Dates: May 27 - August 08, 2025
Core Courses
Learn to understand the economy as a component of the ecosystem in which it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital. Explore traditional micro, macro, and international trade theory and policy and the implications of sustainability. Topics include the 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 food economy.
This course explores how the built environment came to be, and how it intersects with human needs such as water, air, food, waste, transportation, healthcare, and education. You will evaluate community design and what a sustainable community looks like, and study related technologies while evaluating alternatives and discussing unintended consequences. This course will include case studies.
Get a macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics include organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stakeholder management, and situational leadership styles and behaviors. The course focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change.
Elective Courses
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.
Capstone Experience
In this course, you will build the foundation for your capstone project through research, data analysis, and scholarly inquiry that result in a project proposal. This course is a prerequisite for SMGT 792.
Prerequisite: SMGT 790
The capstone project provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience in the real world. Each student will help a real organization solve an existing sustainability problem by implementing practical knowledge to achieve a triple-bottom-line solution. Projects may focus on issues such as supply chain structures, energy efficiencies, or environmental and climate concerns. The instructor will serve as a guide throughout the experience.
Fall 2025
Registration Opens: April 14, 2025
Course Preview Week: August 26 - September 01, 2025
Semester Dates: September 02 - December 12, 2025
Core Courses
In this course, you will investigate the changing relationships of humans to the natural environment, changes in dominant scientific perspectives, and the process of scientific debate. Explore the quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. And learn about cultural and organizational structures, the role and impact of technology, the systems approach to problem solving, and their implications for the future.
Through case studies and some pre-reading, this course explores natural cycles, climate, water, energy, biosystems, ecosystems, the role of humans in the biosphere, and the human impacts on natural systems, with the carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Additionally, it covers disturbance pollution and toxicity, carrying capacity, and natural capital.
Learn how to document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social, and economic environments. Additionally, gain the ability to assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques, cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis, and business-scenario-based cases.
This course delves into 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. We will also explore 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.
This course is an examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local levels, with emphasis on the social, economic, and 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.
Elective Courses
In this course, planning, organizing, and controlling the organization’s supply chain are examined in the context of the triple bottom line, and total cost analyses or product and process life cycles are considered in the context of strategy and operations. Topics include: sourcing, operations, distribution, reverse logistics, and service supply chains. Process measurements and the impact on organizational performance in the context of footprints (e.g., carbon, water, pollution), and existing and potential software systems are also covered.
Capstone Experience
In this course, you will build the foundation for your capstone project through research, data analysis, and scholarly inquiry that result in a project proposal. This course is a prerequisite for SMGT 792.
Prerequisite: SMGT 790
The capstone project provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience in the real world. Each student will help a real organization solve an existing sustainability problem by implementing practical knowledge to achieve a triple-bottom-line solution. Projects may focus on issues such as supply chain structures, energy efficiencies, or environmental and climate concerns. The instructor will serve as a guide throughout the experience.
Spring 2026
Registration Opens: November 10, 2025
Course Preview Week: January 20 - January 26, 2026
Semester Dates: January 27 - May 08, 2026
Core Courses
In this course, you will investigate the changing relationships of humans to the natural environment, changes in dominant scientific perspectives, and the process of scientific debate. Explore the quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. And learn about cultural and organizational structures, the role and impact of technology, the systems approach to problem solving, and their implications for the future.
Through case studies and some pre-reading, this course explores natural cycles, climate, water, energy, biosystems, ecosystems, the role of humans in the biosphere, and the human impacts on natural systems, with the carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Additionally, it covers disturbance pollution and toxicity, carrying capacity, and natural capital.
Learn how to document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social, and economic environments. Additionally, gain the ability to assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques, cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis, and business-scenario-based cases.
This course explores how the built environment came to be, and how it intersects with human needs such as water, air, food, waste, transportation, healthcare, and education. You will evaluate community design and what a sustainable community looks like, and study related technologies while evaluating alternatives and discussing unintended consequences. This course will include case studies.
This course is an examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local levels, with emphasis on the social, economic, and 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.
Get a macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics include organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stakeholder management, and situational leadership styles and behaviors. The course focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change.
Elective Courses
This course will enable students to understand the rationale behind CSR and sustainability. It takes students through an evaluation of risks and potential impacts in decision making, uncovering the links between the success of an organization and the well-being of a community/society. Additionally, methods and standards of integrating CSR throughout an organization, creating metrics and communicating CSR policies internally and externally will be discussed, analyzed, and applied. Students will develop an understanding of best practices of CSR in its entire breadth within an organization as well as delve into economic structures designed to foster more responsibility and accountability.
This course covers 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. Additional topics will include producer responsibility, design for environment, and life cycle analysis.
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.
Capstone Experience
In this course, you will build the foundation for your capstone project through research, data analysis, and scholarly inquiry that result in a project proposal. This course is a prerequisite for SMGT 792.
Prerequisite: SMGT 790
The capstone project provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience in the real world. Each student will help a real organization solve an existing sustainability problem by implementing practical knowledge to achieve a triple-bottom-line solution. Projects may focus on issues such as supply chain structures, energy efficiencies, or environmental and climate concerns. The instructor will serve as a guide throughout the experience.
The Master of Science in Sustainable Management was developed with advice from industry experts across various disciplines to equip graduates with practical skills that allow them to pursue jobs in a variety of settings. You’ll graduate with confidence that your skills and knowledge will match employer needs and expectations. Program outcomes are based on current industry standards and best practices.
Upon completion of your master’s degree, you will be able to:
- Solve complex problems with a systems thinking approach;
- Communicate complex social, economic, and environmental issues and their interrelationships to diverse audiences;
- Analyze and critically evaluate evidence to formulate and organize sustainable strategies;
- Engage and lead sustainability initiatives at local, national, and global levels.
Tuition is a flat fee of $750 per credit. There are no additional course or program fees, with the exception of textbooks which are purchased separately.
- You’ll pay the same tuition whether you live in Wisconsin or out of state.
- You will not pay technology fees. If software or special technology is required in a course, it will be provided to you and is included in tuition.
- You will not pay segregated fees (fees for student services, activities, programs, and facilities).
- Textbooks are purchased separately and are not included in tuition.
Financial Aid
Financial aid may be available to you as a returning adult student and is awarded by your home campus. Learn more about our campus partners and choosing a home campus.
Contact your home campus financial aid office for details:
- UW-Green Bay Financial Aid
- UW-Oshkosh Financial Aid
- UW-Parkside Financial Aid
- UW-Stout Financial Aid
- UW-Superior Financial Aid
Please check with your home campus regarding minimum credits required to qualify for financial aid as a full- or part-time student.
Ways to Pay for Your Degree
As a returning adult student, you may consider the following sources of financial aid to help with the cost of your online degree:
- Grants—award is usually based on financial need. Grants, unlike loans, generally do not have to be repaid.
- Scholarships—usually based on academic merit, financial need, or other criteria, awarded by a wide range of organizations. Scholarships do not need to be repaid.
- Loans—a loan is money you borrow and must pay back with interest. Student loans are available from the federal government, private sources such as a bank or financial institution, or other sources. Federal student loans usually have lower interest rates than private loans, and offer flexible repayment plans.
- Military benefits—aid available to eligible veterans and current members of the military.
- Tuition reimbursement—a benefit offered by companies to their employees to help pay for education. Ask your human resources department if your company offers this benefit.
- Education tax benefits—research possible tax benefits with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Your first step when applying for federal and state financial aid is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Federal financial aid is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who apply early have a better chance of receiving aid, including grant aid that does not have to be repaid.
UW Online Collaborative Programs Grants and Scholarships
You may be eligible for a grant or scholarship as a student in a semester-based collaborative program. More information can be found here.
New and continuing degree-seeking students in the online Master of Science in Sustainable Management are eligible for a scholarship. Students interested in a career in sustainability are encouraged to apply to the program and submit a scholarship application. The scholarship application deadline is the first day of the semester.
Scholarships Available Fall and Spring Semester
Since launching the scholarship program in 2011, UW Sustainable Management has awarded nearly $1,500,000 to students to help pay for their education and advance the positive impact of sustainability across the world.
Scholarships are awarded during the fall and spring semesters, subject to available funding. Students entering the program during the summer semester are eligible to apply for the fall scholarship.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the scholarship,
- New students in the Master of Science in Sustainable Management program:
- must be admitted to a campus, and
- registered for at least one SMGT course in the program.
- Continuing students in the Master of Science in Sustainable Management program:
- must have completed at least SMGT one course, and
- maintained a 3.0 or higher grade point average in the program.
International students are eligible for the scholarship. Certificate and special students are not eligible. As long as the eligibility requirements are met, most students receive the scholarship.
How to Apply
Scholarship applicants must submit a personal essay with the online scholarship application form.
Respond to all four questions listed below in your essay (500 words minimum):
- Explain why you chose UW Sustainable Management.
- Who or what inspires you to be in this sustainability program?
- How do you see yourself applying the knowledge and skills you build in this program to the work you do or would like to do in the future?
- Through your actions (professionally or personally) how do you hope to inspire others for a more sustainable future?
Respond to one of the questions listed below in your essay (500 words minimum):
- What has been the most interesting or rewarding part of your experience in the Sustainable Management program so far and why?
- Pick three of your favorite sustainability-related subject areas. Describe how the Sustainable Management program has increased your understanding of those topics.
- Explain why you chose the Sustainable Management program, and your ultimate career goal after graduation.
- Choose one company or organization and analyze its sustainability efforts. In what ways are the leaders of that organization succeeding in sustainability? What could they do to improve their sustainable strategy?
- Who or what inspires you to be in this program?
- How do you see yourself applying the knowledge and skills you build in this program to the work you do or would like to do in the future?
- Through your actions (professionally or personally) how do you hope to inspire others for a more sustainable future?
As a new student you will also need to submit an application to the program. Please note that the deadline to apply to the degree program is two weeks prior to the first day of the semester.
Start Your Scholarship Application
Important Information
Scholarship awards are disbursed during the second half of the semester. Students will need to pay their tuition bill in full by the due date for their campus. If you plan to use financial aid, you should submit your financial aid application as soon as possible. You can apply and receive the scholarship multiple times throughout your time in the program, however, the award amount per semester may vary.
If you have questions about the scholarship program, call 608-800-6753 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT), or email sustainable@uwex.wisconsin.edu.
Experience UW Sustainable Management
Learn about sustainable management, meet the faculty, read student stories, and more. Read the blog.
