Masters in Sustainability

The Masters in Sustainability program integrates environmental, economic, social, philosophical, and ethical themes of sustainability. Our 30 s.h. 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. Jase Bernhardt at Jase.E.Bernhardt[at]hofstra.edu

  Apply Online
• Program Requirements

  Sustainability, MA

  
• 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 available. All applicants will be automatically considered, with the most outstanding receiving support. Those who apply by January 31st for admission in the fall semester will be given priority scholarship consideration.

• 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. Jase E. Bernhardt, Graduate Director
  Jase.E.Bernhardt[at]hofstra.edu
  (516) 463-7348
  Roosevelt 104A

  Other Contacts:
  Graduate Admissions https://www.hofstra.edu/graduate
  Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability https://www.hofstra.edu/academics/colleges/hclas/geol/index.html

• Graduate Handbook

  Masters in Sustainability: 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

  E. Christa Farmer, Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability: paleoclimatology, paleoceanography, climate change, trace metals in soils and sediments

  Sandra Garren, 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