Kogod School of Business

Info For

Our Approach to Learning

MBA

MS in Sustainability Management

When is the next deadline?
Start Your Application
FALL START
Priority Scholarship Deadline

Dec 15, 2023
Closed
FALL START
Round 3

Feb 15, 2024
Closed
FALL START
Round 4

Apr 15, 2024
Final Domestic Applicant Deadline
At a Glance

Global sustainability presents a range of critical problems including climate change, environmental justice, resource conservation, and sustainable development. To meet these challenges, companies and organizations seek talented professionals trained in sustainability management. Situated at the intersection of business and sustainability, Kogod attracts students from the US and abroad pursuing careers in the public, private, non-profit, and NGO sectors.

30 Credits
Can be Completed in 12-21 Months

The program can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis, starting in the fall. The residential MS in sustainability management is also a STEM-designated program.

$90,667
Average Salary

In 2019, the average salary of Kogod's MS in sustainability management graduates was $90,667, with employers including Deloitte Consulting, EY, Marriott International, World Wildlife Fund, 
World Bank Group, and more.

In-Person & Online
Can be Completed 100% Online

Both in-person and online options mostly consist of condensed evening courses to give the necessary flexibility to working students who may need to adjust the pace of their studies to accommodate work and life demands.

Why Kogod?

A Business School Dedicated to Sustainability

Our program is one of the few of its kind that is housed in a business school. We teach the mechanics of sustainable business and empower students to maximize their impact in the field through a variety of cutting-edge courses and experiential learning opportunities.  At Kogod, we practice what we preach—we are the first carbon-neutral university in the country and are an AASHE-certified green campus. The campus itself is an arboretum.

Experiential in Nature

Kogod's MS in sustainability management program emphasizes experiential learning. We undertake live projects with sustainability stakeholders in the US and abroad, including an international capstone program in Scandinavia. Through these projects,  students apply the tools and methodologies acquired in their studies to critical problems in sustainability.

Three Career Tracks Available

A complex issue requires a multidisciplinary approach. That's why our curriculum incorporates topics like environmental and social science, public policy, and international relations. For additional expertise, you can choose from one of our three career tracks—business, environment, and policy.

Obtain Professional Certificates

Gain an edge in this competitive job market by completing one of our six professional graduate certificates.

Kogod’s Master's in Sustainability Management has opened up my world in so many positive ways; it's enabled me to pursue a career in something that I wake up excited about, inspired by and motivated to create meaningful and impactful change.

Beck Treharne

Becks Treharne

Kogod/BS Business Administration '14, MS Sustainability Management '15

What You'll Learn

Curriculum

The MS in sustainability management consists of 30 credit hours. The curriculum is divided into 15 credit hours of core curriculum courses and 15 credit hours of electives.

The core curriculum includes:

  • Social sustainability
  • Managing for Climate Change
  • Business Fundamentals
  • Managerial Economic and Business Strategy
  • Applied Sustainability Management

Elective courses are available in three tracks:

  • Business sustainability—including sustainability finance, ESG funds, sustainability systems, sustainable entrepreneurship, urban planning and sustainability, and much more.
  • Environment—including water resources, international environmental law, environmental sustainability, and more.
  • Policy—including managing non-profit organizations, environment and politics, international development, and more.

International Capstone

The highlight of our program is our international capstone project in applied sustainability management. Together with your classmates, you'll travel internationally to learn about best practices in sustainability across different industries and cultures.

Degree Requirements

You'll Walk Away With

  • Functional Business Knowledge—a foundation in each of the functional areas of business, including accounting and financial analysis, production and marketing of goods and services, management of people and organizations, and information and technology management.
  • Strategic Thinking & Integration—proficiency in strategic decision-making abilities by integrating academic (across disciplines) and experiential learning. Understand critical interrelationships and linkages necessary for developing global business strategy, including connections between strategic and operational issues, and relationships among functional disciplines.
  • The Power of Kogod’s Network—since its inception ten years ago, the program has graduated an ever-expanding global alumni network, with graduates filling sustainability-related roles in the private, public, non-profit, and NGO sectors.
  • Analytical Problem Solving—proficiency in applying quantitative information, tools, methods, and professional judgment in solving business problems.
  • Communication—ability to demonstrate professional competence in oral and written communication skills in a business setting.
  • Leadership Styles and Teamwork—proficiency to identify different leadership styles and demonstrate the ability to work effectively in diverse teams.
  • Business & Society—proficiency in understanding the global environment in which business operates, including economic, legal, ethical, and societal dimensions.

The MS in Sustainability Management program at Kogod is one of the best. The professors are very supportive, the materials shared are very relevant and easily relatable, the cohorts are highly diverse in terms of all demographic elements, and hence conversations are very enriching."  

Vivian Moyana

Vivian Moyana

Current Master's in Sustainability Management Student

Program Highlights
Students learning how to operate machinery

STEM-Designated Program

STEM-designated programs equip students with technological expertise and leadership skills vital to the US economy. The designation also allows international students to apply for a 24-month extension of their Optional Practical Training, granting them the ability to work in the US for up to 3 years.

Kogod students waving hello in Norway

International Capstone Experience

During the spring semester, students will participate in a Global Consulting project. Over spring break, you will travel abroad with your team to learn first-hand about sustainable practices in another country and meet in person with your consulting clients.  Past locations include Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmo and Stockholm in Sweden. 

Looking up at columns at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington, DC.

City at the Forefront of Sustainability

Washington, DC, has been named the first Platinum LEED city in the world for its efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, innovating around clean energy, and implementing other green initiatives.

sustainability
Kogod School of Business Deepens Investment in Flagship MS in Sustainability Management Program

American University is further deepening its investment in sustainability by redesigning its flagship MS in sustainability management program with a new curriculum, new online modality, and expanded faculty expertise.

Class Profile
3.43
Average GPA
67%
Women
3.1 Years
Average Work Experience
Careers & Outcomes

Our graduates have found professional success across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, with 63 percent working in for-profit organizations, 21 percent working in government organizations, and 16 percent working in nonprofit organizations. 

Graduates of the program can work as:

  • Communications officers
  • Program officers
  • Project managers
  • Analysts
  • Policy advisors

Recent employers include:

  • Bain & Company
  • Carlyle Group
  • Climate Finance Advisors
  • Deloitte Consulting
  • EY
  • IDB Invest
  • JLL
  • Marriott International
  • UBS
  • World Wildlife Fund
  • World Bank Group

Recent Sustainability News

February 21, 2024
Sustainability Management Students Encourage Sustainable 2024 With New Year’s Resolutions List

Sustainability management students Florence Vanderschueren, Savannah Haeger, Binderiya Usukhbayar,...

February 21, 2024
Gamechangers in Sustainability Speaker Series with Xylem CEO Matthew Pine

Kogod School of Business welcomes the leader of water technology company “at the perfect...

December 6, 2023
“We need more people to fight this fight.”

Gabriela Vidad ‘23 reflects on the Kogod School of Business program, the intersection of...

November 8, 2023
Students Make 90-Second Case For Social Change in First Changemaker Challenge

Kogod School of Business pitch competition draws 30 contestants, with $5,000 in prize money on the...

November 8, 2023
Tenth Annual Sovereign Wealth Funds Conference Highlights Trends in the Field

Experts discussed sustainability, private equity, and investment at the Kogod School of Business’s...

October 16, 2023
The Fourth Annual Startup and Standout Competition Helps Create a More Sustainable World Through Business

Over one hundred students, alums, faculty, and staff from the Kogod and larger AU community came...

Upcoming Admissions Events