StudyQA — Master: Global Sustainability — University of South Florida

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Description Contents Requirements Funding

The Patel College of Global Sustainability fosters sustainable urban communities and environments through collaborative research, education and community involvement. Its research generates innovations and new knowledge that helps cities around the world, including those in developing countries, to reduce their ecological footprint while improving their form and function to make them healthier, more livable and resilient.

In this innovative 30 credit hour program, the students will apply their passion for the environment with cutting-edge research and on-the-ground experience. The program offers a multidisciplinary study of the environment, social and economical dimensions of sustainability to enable informed decisions and to create tangible change toward sustainable futures. Upon graduation, the students will be ready for careers in global sustainability that require teamwork and program planning skills to solve sustainability issues in developing and developed nations.

Core requirements – 18 credit hours
Concentration – 6 credit hours
Electives – 6 credit hours
Comprehensive Exam

The M.A. in Global Sustainability degree has a multitude of concentration offerings in the field of Global Sustainability . It requires students to complete 24 credit hours of coursework and 6 credit hours of a Global Capstone Project . Twelve (12) credits of the coursework are required to be completed by all students, at least 6 credits of coursework are within the chosen concentration, and 6 credits are reserved for general electives.

CORE REQUIREMENTS - 18 credit hours

IDS 6233 3 Concepts and Principles of Sustainability
IDS 6235 3 Economics and Finance for Sustainability
IDS 6234 3 Systems Thinking: The key to Sustainability
IDS 6238 3 Communicating the Value of Sustainability

Choose one of the following:

IDS 6946 6 Sustainability Internship
IDS 6398 6 Capstone Research Project

The required 6 credit global internship will be completed in the student’s last semester. All students must complete the Global Internship Preparation Seminar Series prior to registration for Internship.

CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS - 6 credits

Students select at least one concentration.

Building Sustainable Enterprise (BSE)

GEB 6457 3 Ethics, Law and Sustainable Business Practices
MAR 6336 3 Promotion Management
or MAR 6936 3 Sustainable Marketing
or MAR 6936 3 Supply Chain Management

Climate Change and Sustainability (CLT)

IDS 6247 3 Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
PHI 6680 3 Climate Change and Civil Evolution

Coastal Sustainability (COA)

IDS 6240 3 Coastal Sustainability: Principles and Concepts
IDS 6241 3 Sustainable Coastal Planning: Strategies and Implementation

Entrepreneurship (ETR)

ENT 6116 3 Business Plan Development
ENT 6186 3 Strategic Market Assessment for New Technologies

Food Sustainability and Security (FOO)

PHC 6515 3 Food Safety
URP 6930 3 Food Systems Planning

Sustainable Energy (SUSE)

IDS 6207 3 Renewable Transportation Fuels
IDS 6208 3 Renewable Power Portfolio

Sustainable Tourism (SUT)

IDS 6236 3 Sustainable Tourism Development: Principles & Practices
IDS 6237 3 Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Management for Coastal & Marine Habitat Protection

Sustainable Transportation (STN)

Choose two of the following courses:

TTE 6651 3 Public Transportation
TTE 6655 3 Transportation and Land Use
URP 6711 3 Multimodal Transportation Planning

Water (WTR)

IDS 6245 3 Sustainable Water Resource Management: Doing More with Less
IDS 6246 3 Water Sensitive Urban design for Sustainable Communities

Electives for all concentrations*: 6 credit hours

Students select two available courses such as the following typically offered:

CGN 6933 3 Green Engineering for Sustainability
CGN 6933 3 Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities
CGN 6933 3 Sustainable Transportation
ECH 5785 3 Sustaining the Earth: An Engineering Approach
EEL 6935 3 Sustainable Energy
ENT 6930 3 Global Entrepreneurship
ENV 6667 3 Environmental Biotechnology
EVR 6216 3 Advances in Water Quality Policy and Management
EVR 6320 3 Environmental Management
EVR 6937 3 Seminar in Environmental Policy: Environmental Policy and the Built Environment
EVR 6937 3 Seminar in Environmental Policy: Sustainability and Development
PAD 6335 3 Urban Growth Management
PAD 6336 3 Community Development Programs and Strategies
PHC 6934 3 Public Health Topics in Global Sustainability
URP 6930 3 Environmental Planning Issues in Coastal Communities

* Other courses in global sustainability may be substituted for these electives as approved by the program director.

Comprehensive exam
The internship report serves as the program’s comprehensive exam. As part of this process, students write a 20- page internship proposal and a final internship report. The report requires both field research conducted during the internship and substantial research in the relevant literature. The report is a minimum of 50 pages.

GRE is not required
GPA of at least 3.0 or greater;
At least two letters of recommendation. One must be academic, from a professor at the applicant's most recent institution
Official transcripts for degrees earned at institutions other than the University of South Florida
250-500 word essay that includes the student's academic and professional background, reasons for pursuing this degree, and their professional goals in terms of contributing to global sustainability.
Portfolio – the applicant may provide a portfolio demonstrating prior work that focuses on sustainability.
Applicants whose native language is not English or who have not earned a degree in the United States must also submit TOEFL scores earned within two (2) years of the desired term of entry. A minimum total score of 79 on the internet-based test or 550 on the paper-based test are required. Applications submitted with TOEFL scores that do not meet the minimum requirements will be denied. The TOEFL requirement may be waived if the applicant meets one of the following conditions:
- The applicant's native language is English, or
- Has scored 500 or higher on the GRE Verbal Test, or
- Has earned a college degree at a U.S. institution of higher learning, or
- Has earned a college degree from an institution whose language of instruction is
- English (must be noted on the transcript), or
- Has scored 6.5 on International English Language Testing System (IELTS) http://www.ielts.org/