Oregon State University - Online Colleges with Degrees in Sustainability

As part of our ongoing effort to identify, evaluate and publicize online degree programs in sustainability, today we will be looking at Oregon State University E-Campus. Oregon State University E-Campus is an online college that awards a degrees and certificates in Sustainable Natural Resources. Our information comes from a variety of sources, but all evaluations and opinions are our own.

Online College

The Oregon State University E-Campus is OSU's distance and extension learning program. OSU is based in Corvallis, Oregon and all E-Campus students receive the same transcript and same diploma as an on-campus attendee. Oregon State is part of the University of Oregon System, and as a Pac-12 Conference member, adheres to the same rigorous academic standards as the other Pac-12 state schools based in California, Washington, Arizona and more.

OSU Ecampus is consistently ranked among the nation's best providers of online education for the quality and strength of our programs. In each of the last four years, Ecampus has been ranked in the top 25 nationally by several independent companies –including 12th for the 2013-14 school year by SuperScholar, which bases its rankings on "degree selection diversity … market credibility and prestige, academic quality, student support, and student satisfaction."

Online Degree Programs

• Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Natural Resource Management (18 Credit)

Descriptions

From their website:

Now you can earn a graduate certificate in Sustainable Natural Resources from Oregon State University, a research institution renowned for its expertise in natural resources. This 18-credit online certificate is designed for all students, especially company, industry or agency employees who desire training in solving complex sustainability problems.

Students complete an integrated course of study in a dynamic learning community, under the mentorship of professionals, to design workable solutions for complex natural resource issues of local, state, regional, national and international importance.

Source: http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/graduate/sustainability/

Pros

The Oregon State University's Department of Forestry, the sponsor of this certificate program, is ranked 8th in the world in an international survey of over 3,000 colleges. Oregon is also geographically positioned to benefit from their proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the Cascade Mountain Range and the Willamette Valley agricultural region.

Cons

Students looking for a degree in energy or corporate sustainability may want to look elsewhere, as this program deals almost exclusively with Natural Resource Management with sustainability as the backdrop. This will, of course, help you to break into a number of fields in which natural resource management is an issue, but may not help as much as, say, the Penn State or University of Denver programs in the private sector.

Cost

• Cost per Credit: $512
• Approximate Cost of Program: $9200

Rankings

Princeton Review College Ranking: 

Princeton Review Green Honor Roll: No

Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: Yes

US News and World Reports MBA Ranking: No

Bloomberg BusinessWeek MBA Rankings: No

Financial Times Global MBA Rankings: No

The Economist Global Executive MBA Rankings: No

Wall Street Journal Business School Rankings: No

Green Report Card Ranking: B+
Sierra Magazine Cool School List: No

Resources

Guide to Sustainability MBA Programs from Wikipedia

GreenerU Guide to Sustainability Rankings

Bloomberg BusinessWeek Top MBAs in Sustainability

Robert Nelson is blogger-in-chief at Dude, Sustainable!. Find us on Google+ or on Facebook.

University of Wisconsin - Online Degrees in Sustainability

As part of our ongoing effort to identify, evaluate and publicize online degree programs in sustainability, today we will be looking at the University of Wisconsin. Our information comes from a variety of sources, but all evaluations and opinions are our own.

School

The University of Wisconsin is, perhaps, the most visible and most prestigious of the land grant colleges. With their flagship campus, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the system comprises dozens of colleges scattered throughout the state and more recently, the internet. The system enrolls more than 180k students and employs more than 32k faculty and staff and includes two doctoral research universities, eleven comprehensive universities, thirteen freshman-sophomore colleges and the statewide University of Wisconsin-Extension, through which their degree and certificate programs  in sustainability are run.

Degree Programs

• Bachelors (21 courses, 63 credits)
• Certificate Programs
• Masters (14 courses)

Descriptions

The Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Management is a fully accredited bachelor degree completion program. The program was approved by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents,^[2] and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.^[3] The curriculum was developed in cooperation with companies that are leading the way in sustainability, including Johnson Controls, Ford Motor Company, Eastman Kodak, Quad Graphics, FedEx, SC Johnson, Kohl’s Department Stores, Veolia Environmental Services, and Modine Manufacturing.^[4] UW–Extension also worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and other government agencies, along with faculty from the four UW campuses, to build the curriculum.^[5]

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Wisconsin_Sustainable_Management

Pros

You get the value and the prestige of a degree from the University of Wisconsin System, as well as a wide-ranging set of courses from which to choose.

Cons

The University of Wisconsin Sustainable Management Degree was not ranked in the top 10 of its category from Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

From the Website

"It’s no secret our world and business environments are always changing. More than ever, sustainability is key to giving you a competitive edge in today’s economy—financially, environmentally, and socially. For this reason, the University of Wisconsin Sustainable Management programs are thoughtfully designed with input from twenty-first-century businesses across the United States. Curriculum is hands-on. Real-world problems are faced head-on. And you learn to develop triple bottom line businesses that balance profitability with the needs of the environment and the wider communities in which we live."

From: http://sustain.wisconsin.edu/about-sustainable-management/

Rankings

Princeton Review College Ranking: #7 (UW Madison)

Princeton Review Green Honor Roll: Yes (UW Stephens Point, UW Oshkosh)

Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: Yes

US News and World Reports MBA Ranking: #34 (UW Madison)

Bloomberg BusinessWeek MBA Rankings: No

Financial Times Global MBA Rankings: #91 (UW Madison)

The Economist Global Executive MBA Rankings: #55 (UW Madison)

Wall Street Journal Business School Rankings: ?

Green Report Card Ranking: A Grade

Resources

Guide to Sustainability MBA Programs from Wikipedia

GreenerU Guide to Sustainability Rankings

Bloomberg BusinessWeek Top MBAs in Sustainability

Robert Nelson is blogger-in-chief at Dude, Sustainable!. Find us on Google+ or on Facebook.

Online Degrees in Sustainability - What to Do?

Online Degrees in Sustainability - What to Do? (via Dude, Sustainable!)

The face of American education is rapidly changing. Traditional four year colleges are becoming increasingly unaffordable for the middle classes, while the ranks and diversity of online degrees are swelling. Many of us who work from home, or even those…

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Online Degrees in Sustainability

Hi, and welcome to this brand new blog. On this site, we intend to discuss degree programs in sustainability, specifically ones that can be taken online. The world of higher education is changing, and an online degree is no longer a joke. Even the world's top universities, the Harvards, Stanfords and Berkeley's of the world are shifting their educational focus from the traditional, in-class model to a more diversified set of offerings with a heavy online component. Furthermore, degrees from the like of Phoenix and DeVry are no longer considered mere sheets of paper. Local colleges have become international, and international universities can now be local in any part of the world.

In this blog, we intend to periodically review degree programs in sustainability, specifically focusing on your options for online degrees. Whether it be strictly related to sustainability, or whether it be tangential like an MBA program, computer science degree or civil engineering degree to name a few, we intend to get to the heart of the matter through investigation and explication. Our sense of corporate social responsibility has informed our desire to be a resource and run a socially responsible business our of our home-based office. Nowhere is this more important than the mounting debate over sustainable development and climate change. Degree programs in sustainability aim to educate the next generation of social advocates, and we want to be on the front lines. Be socially responsible! Robert Nelson is blogger-in-chief at Dude, Sustainable!. Find us on Google+ or on Facebook.