Sustainability Specialists are #2 on the Top 10 fastest growing jobs according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023, with a growth rate of more than 30% and a net employment gain of 9 million new jobs per year. The demand for sustainability professionals continues to increase as governments, corporations, and the United Nations have set sustainability goals for decades to come. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported strong growth in all sustainability-related job categories, with a 11.9% increase in employment forecasted for 2019-2028. Global efforts to decarbonize in response to the climate crisis require a wide range of green jobs across sectors and industries, potentially creating 30 million jobs in clean energy, efficiency, and low-emissions technologies by 2030.
CSULB's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts, College of Business, and the College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPaCE) have joined efforts to offer a Master of Science in Sustainability Management and Policy (MSSMP) degree program to meet the needs of this growing workforce. This program provides an interdisciplinary graduate degree that will empower students with in-demand technical, managerial, and problem-solving skills to guide the decision-making process in the context of sustainability.
Students will engage with regional and national sustainability groups and collaborate with various professionals from a wide array of industries, government, non-government, and academic organizations in order to excel as active leaders in sustainability fields.
The Integrative Capstone Experience course (6 units) will serve as the culminating educational experience for students in the MSSMP program. It is designed to integrate the transdisciplinary fields of the program’s curriculum. Under the guidance of faculty mentors, students will engage in a 12-week project with partner companies and non-profit organizations.
Program Unit Requirement: 36 units
Required core courses:
SUST 601 Sustainability and Society: Introduction to sustainability using a transdisciplinary foundation based on social sciences and natural sciences. The focus is on developing the skills to integrate material from diverse disciplines to understand the human dimension.
SUST 602 Sustainability Science: This course will provide a comprehensive compilation of conceptual perspectives, methodological approaches and empirical insights of inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability science. Developed and taught by a transdisciplinary team of faculty, it will offer perspectives and topics focused on the development, integration, and application of knowledge about Earth systems.
SUST 603 Sustainability Case Studies: Examines the science of climate change and the prospect of global, regional, and local sustainability within the context of a warming planet. Uses contemporary case studies to examine climate impacts on natural and human systems and to evaluate climate-change policies.
SUST 604 Data Analytics and Sustainability: The course explores how data analytics applied to the area of sustainability can help managers enhance economics, environmental impacts, and social performance.
SUST 605 Sustainability and Organization Theory: Explore the core organization elements for building highly sustainable organizations that can achieve both business and environmental objectives. Identify the business issues related to sustainability. Develop analytical tools for assessing and designing organization structures and processes to achieve high sustainability.
SUST 606 Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics: Focuses on the law and politics that govern, manage, and change the relationships between human activities and the environment. Examine how those policies are created, how people respond, and the underlying ethical debates.
SUST 607 Decision-Making and Uncertainty: This course provides tools that allow decision makers to make better choices when uncertainty exists. Tools may include decision trees, determining risk tolerance, identifying subjective and objective probabilities, and other techniques.
SUST 608 Benefit Cost Analysis: This course introduces how and when to use the tools of benefit cost analysis while considering issues of sustainability. Content includes identification of both private and social costs and benefits used to evaluate projects and policies within the context of sustainability.
SUST 609 Environmental Economics and Policy: Economic analysis of environmental problems that lead to market failure. Analysis of policy options to provide incentive compatible mechanisms to correct for market failure from externalities, the tragedy of the commons, and information inefficiencies.
SUST 610 Sustainability and Strategic Management: Examine the strategic sustainability issues confronting contemporary organizations. Explore strategy formulation and implementation process for creating sustainable organizations that can achieve both business and environmental objectives. Integrate sustainability into the business value chain to create sustainable competitive advantage.
SUST 699A Project Orientation and Support: Develop skills necessary to complete an applied project. Specific focus on proposal development and writing. Review of research methods and project deliverables. A grade of C or better is required for students to progress to SUST 699B.
SUST 699B Applied Professional Project: Complete an applied project. Specific focus on proposal development and writing. Give an oral presentation and produce a written report. A grade of B or better is required for students to pass.
Potential students interested in learning more about the MSSMP program are encouraged to attend a free information session. The information sessions include short presentations by a program representative, designed to provide you with an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the program's benefits.
Upcoming online-only Information Sessions are below. Click on each date to register for the Zoom meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Admission decisions are based on consideration of the applicant’s previous academic record, statement of purpose, resume, and letters of recommendation.
Admission requirements for the MSSMP program include:
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university that includes the following coursework*:
- Science or engineering courses, which could include Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology and Engineering.
- Microeconomics
- Minimum grade point average of 2.75 in the last 60 semester units attempted, and in good standing at the last college attended.
- A statement of purpose
- A recent resume
- Two letters of recommendation
*A student may be admitted conditionally so that required economic and science classes may be fulfilled prior to starting coursework.
To be admitted to the program, you must apply for admission using the California State University admissions portal called Cal State Apply. By applying online, you can start, stop, and save your application information throughout the process.
Note the following steps to begin the application process:
- Select a term to apply for (Fall).
- Sign in or create an account.
- Select "CSU Long Beach" as your campus and select "Extended Education" as the Source.
- Select "Sustainability Management" from the list of available programs; and once chosen, the program title will be highlighted in green, with a check mark to indicate that you have chosen the correct program.
- Use the dashboard to continue with your application for admission to the program.