Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 48.56
Liaison Alan Turnquist
Submission Date July 8, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Michigan Technological University
AC-4: Graduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Jay Meldrum
Executive Director of Sustainability
Facilities Management
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Majors and Degree Programs 

Does the institution offer at least one sustainability-focused major, degree program, or the equivalent for graduate students (I.e. an interdisciplinary academic program that concentrates on sustainability as an integrated concept)?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program:
Environmental and Energy Policy - MS and PhD

A brief description of the graduate-level degree program:
We prepare students to conduct research that helps frame and support our society's environmental and energy policy goals, strategies, decisions, and programs. Students use the tools and approaches of multiple disciplines for integrated, interdisciplinary assessment in sociology, geography, anthropology, political science, economics, history, sustainability science, and ecology. https://www.mtu.edu/gradschool/programs/degrees/environmental-energy-policy-masters/ https://www.mtu.edu/gradschool/programs/degrees/environmental-energy-policy/

The 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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Name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level 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:
Graduate Certificate in Sustainability

A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate:
Michigan Technological University developed the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability in 2003 as an outcome of an NSF-funded research project in collaboration with Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. The Graduate Certificate allows students to select classes that focus on integrating the engineering and technology of industrial ecology; the science of environmental assessment and modeling; and the economic, human behavior, and policy-making aspects of the social sciences to develop professionals knowledgeable in sustainability. We offer a wide range of potential courses that work with many different academic disciplines and have had students from several departments in engineering, science, and humanities complete the certificate program.

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Additional Minors, Concentrations and Certificate Programs (optional) 

Name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Sustainable Water Resources Systems

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A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
The certificate in Sustainable Water Resources Systems requires a total of 12 credits. Students who complete this certificate will have a set of core competencies in understanding current water resource issues and develop an advanced understanding of the problems and new technology development in their field of expertise. This certificate will be useful to students in such fields as natwww.mtu.eduural resource management, business and policy, environmental and civil engineering, geology and geological engineering, and environmental policy. Students who complete this certificate will be able to demonstrate that they understand water resource management from an interdisciplinary perspective that includes policy, natural sciences, and applied sciences. Increasingly, water managers have to work effectively on problem solving that crosses disciplines. For instance, a community water resource management issue may involve the failure of multiple homeowner onsite wastewater systems causing lake eutrophication with negative impacts on fisheries. Solving this problem effectively necessitates an understanding of how to work effectively with the homeowners, communicate fisheries impacts, work within existing state law governing onsite wastewater management, and the technical dimensions of the wastewater systems in use. While no one individual is likely to have deep knowledge in every area, our certificate will give students literacy in multiple areas allowing them to absorb information outside of their core discipline.

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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:
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