Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.88
Liaison Laura Young
Submission Date Feb. 11, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Michigan State University
AC-4: Graduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Cathy Huddy
Former Energy Educator - left MSU
IPF Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution offer at least one sustainability-focused major, degree program, or the equivalent for graduate students?:
Yes

The name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program (1st program):
Community Sustainability

A brief description of the graduate degree program (1st program):

The Community Sustainability graduate program is designed for students interested in issues of community sustainability in either a domestic or international context. Broadly speaking, faculty, academic staff and graduate students working in this graduate program tend to focus their work on community food and agricultural systems, education & civic engagement, and environment and natural resource management. These areas are very broad and they overlap not only with each other but also with issues around sustainable tourism and protected area management, the focus of the department’s other graduate program. We apply our work in these areas in both U.S. and international settings, with quite a number of faculty and graduate students working in the context of international development.


The website URL for the graduate degree program (1st program) :
The name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program (2nd program):
Sustainable Tourism and Protected Area Management (STPAM)

A brief description of the graduate degree program (2nd program):

Sustainable Tourism has a focus on the economic, socio-cultural and environmental aspects of systems that support travel for recreation and education. This includes the planning, development and management of such systems and their component parts including tourism enterprises. Its implementation requires an interdisciplinary and community-based approach that incorporates social, physical and biological realms. Parks and protected area management encompass a wide range of cultural and natural resources at the local, regional, national and international scales, including land-based and marine areas in settings ranging from urban to remote. The sustainable management of parks and protected areas is critical to the longevity of these areas for conservation purposes as well as to the provision of quality experiences for recreation and long-term economic viability for tourism.


The website URL for the graduate degree program (2nd program):
The name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program (3rd program):
Packaging

A brief description of the graduate degree program (3rd program):

The mission of the School of Packaging is: To seek, through research, improved functioning of the packaging system; To educate students to analyze social, scientific, environmental, and business problems related to packaging; To synthesize solutions to those packaging problems that will contribute to the betterment of the world, its environment, and its people; To provide continuing service to the community at large, using the results of the research and educational effort conducted at the School.


The website URL for the graduate degree program (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program(s):

Ecological Food & Farming Systems (EFFS) graduate specialization - http://www.effs.msu.edu/


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

The name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (1st program):
Environmental Science & Policy Program (ESPP) Doctoral Specialization

A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (1st program):

Doctoral students pursue a Ph.D. in one of MSU's many existing doctoral programs that have an environmental focus. In addition, they complete the coursework for the Specialization in Environmental Science and Policy. The Specialization provides students with an understanding of the diverse disciplines brought to bear on contemporary environmental problems. It is designed to provide an understanding of how various disciplines conceptualize environmental issues and how scientific information can be brought to bear on environmental decision-making and environmental policy.


The website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (1st program):
The name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Ecological Food & Farming Systems Graduate Specialization

A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):

The Graduate Specialization in Ecological Food and Farming Systems is designed to foster an understanding of biogeochemical, socioeconomic, and policy concepts using experiential learning within the individual’s program of study as a venue for multidisciplinary work. For global perspectives, students are encouraged to participate in either a study abroad course with ecological food and farming systems content, or in a course with international focus.


The website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
The name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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The website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
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The name and website URLs of all other graduate-level, sustainability-focused minors, concentrations and certificates:

Biosystems Engineering (BE) - http://www.egr.msu.edu/bae/
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science - http://www.chems.msu.edu/
Fisheries and Wildlife - http://www.fw.msu.edu/
Forestry - http://www.for.msu.edu/
Environmental Geography - http://geo.msu.edu/undergraduate-information/undergraduate-degrees-2/
Crop and Soil Sciences - http://www.psm.msu.edu/
Packaging -http://www.packaging.msu.edu/


Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.