Sustainability, MA
Masters in Sustainability
The Masters in Sustainability program integrates environmental, economic, social, philosophical, and ethical themes of sustainability. The program is designed to give students real-world, hands-on experiences solving sustainability problems. Students in this sustainability program may attend full- or part-time.
Sustainability is often defined as using resources wisely now to ensure the quality of life for future generations. However, this program delves deeper into the concepts of sustainability and asks students to seek different ways of analyzing and achieving sustainability in different settings. This sustainability program also takes a balanced approach in trying to understand how to make developed countries more sustainable while also addressing the real-world sustainability crisis that exists in the developing world. Students are required to complete either a thesis or an internship to complete the sustainability degree.
- Admission Requirements
Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree in a discipline that will allow them to study some aspect of the field of sustainability at an advanced level and have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or equivalent. Please also send a letter explaining your interests in sustainability studies to the graduate director, Dr. Sandra Garren at Sandra.J.Garren[at]hofstra.edu
Apply Online - Program Requirements
- Financial Aid, Department Scholarships, and Teaching Assistantships
For information about Hofstra University Financial Aid or Loan Packages, see: Financial Aid https://www.hofstra.edu/sfs/financialaid/index.html
The Department does have a limited number of Partial Scholarships and Teaching Assistantships available. Please send a letter stating your interest in a scholarship or Teaching Assistantship along with your application letter to Dr. Brinkmann. Include a resume.
- Degree Requirements
The MA in Sustainability requires 30 semester hours of coursework. As part of these 30 hours, students must complete 6 semester hours of internship or 6 semester hours of thesis credits.
Required Core Courses (9 hours)
SBLY 201 Sustainable Development 3 s.h.
SBLY 206 Sustainability Theory and Practice 3 s.h.
GEOL 251 Readings 3 s.h.In addition:
SBLY 340 Sustainability Internship 6 s.h.
Or
SBLY 301 Sustainability Thesis 6 s.h.Students can take either the thesis or the internship for credit. Only six hours of one of these courses counts for the degree. Students must take SBLY 201 and 206 before or concurrently with SBLY 340 and 301.
Electives
15 hours of graduate courses from the Departments of Biology; Computer Science; Community Health; Engineering; Geology Environment, and Sustainability; Management; Philosophy; Public Health; or Sociology with the approval of the advisor. Other courses may count with the approval of the Graduate Director.Contact: Dr. Sandra Garren, Graduate Director
Sandra.J.Garren[at]hofstra.edu
(516) 463-5565
Roosevelt 104Other Contacts:
Graduate Admissions https://www.hofstra.edu/academics/grad/index.html
Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability http://www.hofstra.edu/academics/colleges/hclas/geol/index.html - Graduate Handbook
- Working with a Mentor
Students are encouraged to select a mentor from the list of faculty in the Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability or from the list of Affiliated Faculty in other academic departments. Your faculty mentor will help you select the appropriate electives to reach your goals and assist you with developing a thesis or with finding a suitable internship.
- List of Faculty
Core Faculty
J. Bret Bennington (Chair), Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability: paleoecology, conservation paleobiology, glacial geomorphology, geologic history of Long Island, coastal sedimentology
Robert Brinkmann, Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability: environmental change, karst and sinkholes, water, pollution, sustainability management
E. Christa Farmer, Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability: paleoclimatology, paleoceanography, climate change, trace metals in soils and sediments
Sandra Garren (Graduate Director), Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability: environmental policy, environmental management, energy management, greenhouse gas management, geoscience/geographic information systems (GIS)
Affiliated Faculty
Ralph Acampora, Department of Philosophy: ethics, animals, embodiment
Alan Bailin, Hofstra Library: research methods, research strategies, critical assessment of research, thesis preparation
Kevin Bisceglia, Department of Chemistry: environmental & analytical chemistry, water quality, chemical cycling in the built environment, sewage epidemiology
Meena Bose, Department of Political Science: presidential studies, executive politics, leadership and governance policy making, American politics
Russell Burke, Department of Biology: wildlife, ecology, urban, reptiles, mammals
Daniel Devine, Department of Art: fine arts, sculpture, sustainability in art, environmental sculpture, earth art, social art
Christopher Eliot, Department of Philosophy: philosophy of ecology and conservation biology, history of ecology and environmentalism, scientific reasoning, environmental ethics and aesthetics, urban ecology/ornithology
Martine Hackett, Health Sciences: public health, health promotion, childhood obesity, community based participatory research methods, environmental justice
Margaret Hunter, Department of Engineering: environmental engineering, environmental chemistry, organic pollutants, pesticides, soil and water quality
Javier Izquierdo, Department of Biology: renewable energy, waste management, agriculture
Zilkia Janer, Department of Geography and Global Studies: food culture
Katrina Fischer Kuh, Hofstra School of Law: climate law, regulating individual behaviors, clean water act, endangered species act, environmental review
Linda Longmire, Department of Geography and Global Studies: environmental politics, ecofeminism, sustainability and political theory, environmental racism
Greg Maney, Department of Sociology: funding and community-based research; community organizing, social movements, and sustainability; social inequalities and sustainability; human rights and sustainability
Cheryl Mwaria, Department of Anthropology: health, Africa and the African Diaspora, women, ethics, indigenous practices
Christopher Niedt, Department of Sociology: suburbs, housing, redevelopment, labor, equity
Geri Solomon, Hofstra Library: preservation, history, research
Mary Anne Trasciatti, Department of Rhetoric: advocacy, communication, community activism, public memory
Ying Qiu, Department of Geography and Global Studies: economic geography, environmental sustainability, eco-efficiency, green growth, sustainability indicators
Steve Raciti, Department of Biology: urban ecology, plant and soil biology, forest ecology, biogeochemistry, global environmental change
Ron Sarno, Department of Biology: urban ecology, conservation, behavior
Charles Smith, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship: organizational strategies for sustainability; social/technical innovations for sustainability; ethics, corporate responsibility/accountability; and consciousness/spirituality and activism
Kathleen Wallace, Department of Philosophy: ethics, weak and strong sustainability concepts, environmentalism
Jason Williams, Department of Biology: marine biology, invertebrate zoology, parasitology