USD to Offer Graduate Program in Sustainability
The South Dakota Board of Regents granted USD’s request to offer both the master of science degree and the Ph.D. degree in sustainability late last month and USD will start accepting students into the program this summer.
USD is one of only 16 schools nationally with an undergraduate degree in sustainability and will now offer the first such doctoral program in the central United States. Sustainability is an emerging field that seeks to address complex and interdisciplinary issues, focusing on systems that are environmentally sound and economically profitable now and into the future.
The graduate sustainability program will emphasize research and will be offered through face-to-face instruction.
Meghann Jarchow, the Chair of the Department of Sustainability and Environment at USD, said the the graduate degree program in sustainability will be different than some other graduate degrees as there will be an explicit focus on identifying and working towards solutions.
“Sustainability is about finding solutions to making the world a more desirable place,” she said. “We hope to train students different methods for being effective agents of change through the experiential coursework and through the students’ research.”
