Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 62.34
Liaison Christie-Joy Hartman
Submission Date Jan. 27, 2022

STARS v2.2

James Madison University
AC-4: Graduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 3.00 Peter Bsumek
Professor
School of Communication Studies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Majors and degree programs 

Does the institution offer at least one sustainability-focused major, degree program, or the equivalent for graduate students?:
No

Name of the sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program:
Integrated Science and Technology, Sustainable Environmental Resources Management Concentration, M.S.

A brief description of the graduate-level degree program:
A sustainability-focused version of the ISAT master's degree is in the catalog as a dual degree, international master's program jointly with the University of Malta. However, it has been on hold and is being redesigned.

Website URL for the graduate-level degree program:

Additional degree programs (optional) 

Name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program (2nd program):
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None
A brief description of the graduate degree program (2nd program):
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Website URL for the graduate degree program (2nd program):
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Name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program (3rd program):
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None
A brief description of the graduate degree program (3rd program):
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Website URL for the graduate degree program (3rd program):
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The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused graduate-level degree programs:
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Minors, concentrations and certificates 

Does the institution offer one or more graduate-level sustainability-focused minors, concentrations or certificates?:
Yes

Name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate:
Communication and Advocacy, Environmental Communication Concentration, M.A.

A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate:
As part of their requirements for an M.A. in Communication and Advocacy, students will select a concentrated area of study: Health Communication or Environmental Communication. In each concentration, research, theory and practical application are combined to help students develop communication strategies and research designs associated with positive health outcomes and successful negotiation of the health care system, as well as the development and promotion of local to global action steps with the potential to positively shape environmental quality of life levels across local, regional, national and international living spaces. Graduate students in health and environmental communication advocacy will develop and refine knowledge and skills essential to becoming more effective health and environmental communication advocates, health and environmental communication research investigators, and health and environmental communication research consumers.

Graduate students interested in specializing in environmental communication will complete course work focusing on the multifaceted nature of environmental advocacy, key forums through which competing local to international interests are identified, contested, and managed, as well as how various levels of risk are framed, challenged, and negotiated. Students graduating with a concentration in environmental communication will be prepared to work in a variety of nonprofit, government and corporate settings constructing and evaluating environmental campaigns, facilitating organizational and group decision making about issues related to environmental practices, communicating effectively with varied stakeholders with conflicting interests, and educating and motivating diverse audiences regarding environmental interests.

Website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate:

Additional minors, concentrations and certificate programs (optional) 

Name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
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None
A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
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Website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
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Name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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None
A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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Website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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None
The name and website URLs of all other graduate-level, sustainability-focused minors, concentrations and certificates:
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Optional Fields 

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information was obtained from the JMU Graduate Catalog 2020-21.

Completed by Essa Paterson, February 2, 2021.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.