51±¬ÁϹÙÍø

51±¬ÁϹÙÍø emphasizes an engaging process working with students from multiple professions. For this Master of Arts degree, you take courses in several different areas adding up to the 30 total credits required for graduation. Courses are completely online with no on-campus requirements. Courses are asynchronous, meaning you will not have set class times—you can choose works best for you to complete your work.

This program culminates in a student-driven thesis project. With the support and direction of a mentor and thesis committee, you will conduct independent research on a sustainability-focused project of your choice.

51±¬ÁϹÙÍø defines sustainable design as traditional design which incorporates an integrated systems-thinking perspective. This means:

• Balancing the important factors of environment, ethics, and economy in every design.
• Designing appropriately for the system in which the design will exist for its entire life cycle.
• Designing with global and positive changes in mind: where the design leads to more opportunities, better conditions, and more innovative solutions, no matter what the design challenge may be.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe the term sustainability and summarize the history of its usage through various readings, critiques, and discussions.
• Identify relevant sustainability frameworks and describe examples of their application.
• Select and apply appropriate sustainable design tools to solve real-world sustainability challenges.
• Work collaboratively in cross-disciplinary groups to produce sustainability-focused work and deliver professional presentations.
• Exhibit sustainable design capacity through a professional web-based portfolio.
• Propose, create, and discuss a self-driven, sustainability-focused thesis project and presentation.