Online Bachelor’s in Sustainability DegreeOnline Bachelor’s in Sustainability DegreeOnline Bachelor’s in Sustainability Degree
Learn to create a more sustainable future. Earn your sustainability degree online.
Across industries, and in almost every field, sustainability is a growing focus as its benefits to businesses and communities. Sustainable practices can lead to a cleaner environment, a healthier population, lower operational costs, higher profits, sustainable competitive advantage, as well as increased political and social goodwill. As interest in topics like renewable energy, sustainability and social advocacy take hold, we have a unique opportunity to create new solutions and promote stewardship of our environment.
Work toward a more sustainable future and earn your online Bachelor of Science in Sustainability from Maryville University. Prepare for a rewarding career as you build your knowledge base in areas like conservation, ecology, environmental science, economics, social and cultural issues, urban planning, environmental law, and sustainable agriculture. You’ll deepen your understanding of sustainability through interdisciplinary, experiential learning with expert faculty.
Are you ready to become a leader in sustainability management? Start here.
Apply with no fee and no SAT/ACT required
Explore financial aid and transfer credit friendly admission
Access coursework 100% online
Use innovative tech and immersive learning to deepen your understanding of sustainability
Learn from experienced faculty who are passionate about sustainability and environmental stewardship
Choose from three tracks and tailor your education to your career goals
Why earn your sustainability degree online?
Environmental challenges and sustainability issues affect society at every level. When you earn your online bachelor’s in sustainability from Maryville, you will learn how the issues impacting your life and your environment interact with, and relate to, the challenges faced worldwide. You’ll gain an understanding of the world through the lens of a comprehensive, practical, cross-functional educational experience. You’ll also benefit from the convenience and flexibility of online, on-demand learning — from anywhere.
Our program is designed in collaboration with international leaders in sustainability and taught by passionate experts in the field. Study theory, ethics and stewardship in our online classroom environment, then put your knowledge to work with unique real-world projects and experiences — like experiential work, case studies and other hands-on learning opportunities.
You can also gain practical experience and see your sustainability knowledge in action through your choice of a comprehensive capstone project or an internship in the field. This is an opportunity to experience sustainable practices, processes and values in real-world settings.
Flexible, affordable and personalized online sustainability degree
Study on your schedule and apply with no fees or entrance exams.
Choose from three tracks: Environmental Science, Business or Policy.
Use innovative 360-degree video and immersive learning to help deepen your understanding of materials, techniques and settings.
Benefit from transfer credit friendly admission and explore financial aid opportunities.
Learn about real-world scenarios in environmental management, stewardship and sustainability from passionate, experienced faculty.
Get real-world experience through practical learning, internship opportunities, projects, case studies and more.
What can I do with a sustainability degree?
Sustainability isn’t only an ethical and environmental consideration. It’s also good business.
More and more companies are focusing on reducing their environmental impact, effecting social change, and advocating for social justice and human rights. They’re also discovering the profitability of enhanced sustainability measures like utilizing renewable energy, reducing size and volume of packaging materials, promoting healthier conditions, decreasing total shipping miles and tonnage, enacting more sustainable resource development and investing practices, and lowering energy use and emissions output.
As businesses, organizations, nonprofits and governments recognize the importance of addressing sustainability issues and environmental challenges, there are opportunities to leverage your knowledge, skills, and passion through a fulfilling career in sustainability.
What types of careers can I pursue?
As a sustainability professional, your career may take you to any number of settings in traditional office environments or out in the field. Depending on your sustainability career choice, you may find yourself speaking to your organization’s stakeholders on sustainability initiatives, helping build policy, participating in off-site visits, managing high-level environmental projects, advising on urban planning or even traveling abroad with non-profits.
In some cases, you might survey landscapes and waterways, study wildlife, analyze samples in a lab setting, or examine supply chain and distribution routes.
You can get started in most sustainability careers with your bachelor’s degree. At Maryville, we designed our online degree with a focus on emerging trends and issues in the environmental and sustainability fields, so you can prepare for a wide range of career opportunities.
Your online bachelor’s degree in sustainability can act as a stepping stone toward high-level positions, promotions or professional certifications. Wherever your career takes you, the work you do stands to be meaningful and rewarding.
Put your degree to work in a variety of settings, including:
- Architectural engineering firms
- Civil engineering, chemical and life sciences firms
- Colleges, universities and professional schools
- Federal government
- Local and state governments
- Management consulting services
- National and state parks
- Business environments
- Regulatory agencies
- Research and development firms
- Social advocacy organizations
- Testing laboratories
- Zoos and wildlife preserves
Career opportunities for sustainability grads include:
- Conservation scientist/forester
- Corporate stewardship consultant
- Director of corporate responsibility
- Ecologist*
- Environmental attorney*
- Environmental compliance specialist
- Environmental planner
- Environmental protection technician
- Environmental scientist/specialist
- Geoscientist*
- Hydrologist*
- Recycling coordinator
- Sustainability specialist
- Sustainability manager
- Urban planner*
- Zoologist/wildlife biologist*
*Some careers may require further education or professional certification beyond your bachelor’s degree.
Why choose Maryville University’s online Bachelor of Science in Sustainability?
You’re passionate about sustainability, natural resource management and environmental science. So are we. When you earn your Bachelor of Science in Sustainability from Maryville, you join an online program designed to prepare you for the future of the industry. We’ll help you develop the skills to understand people’s interactions with and impact on the environment, navigate complex social and economic issues, develop sustainable solutions and drive innovation — to help bring about innovation for better stewardship of our Earth.
We designed our program with a multidisciplinary focus to help prepare you for the future of the field — and your future. Start shaping your career in sustainability and the natural environment by choosing from three tracks designed to accommodate your broad interests and career goals:
1. Environmental Science
2. Business
3. Policy
You’ll round out your education with a host of practical, career-oriented electives, and prepare for the challenges and opportunities in this rewarding field.
Go beyond theory — learn by doing: sustainability practices
The sustainability field has applications all around the world, from your own backyard to the farthest reaches of our planet. We designed our online bachelor’s degree program to help you build sustainability expertise through real-world experience and action.
You’ll join a community of like-minded students and expert faculty who are passionate about sustainability and participate in practical activities like projects, case studies, simulations and field exercises. You can also take part in an industry-relevant internship, or synthesize all you’ve learned into a valuable project or portfolio through a capstone experience.
Bachelor of Science in Sustainability faculty spotlight
Dr Kyra N Krakos
Sustainability Program Coordinator and Associate Professor of Biology
When you earn your bachelor’s in sustainability from Maryville, you get the chance to study with award-winning experts like Dr Kyra N Krakos.
Since joining Maryville as an associate professor of biology in 2011, Dr Krakos has broadened her focus and established herself as a leader in education. She was named Educator of the Year by the STL Academy of Science in 2016, and she has been a guest speaker at a number of academic and scientific institutions. In 2015, she delivered a TEDx Talk titled “Plants, Pollinators, and People: A Love Story.”
Dr Krakos is a St Louis Biodiversity Fellow in the Living Earth Collaborative. She also serves as a research associate at Missouri Botanical Garden.
With more than a decade of experience in biology and sustainability, Dr Krakos has conducted research in areas involving topics like invasive species, ecology and the evolution of plant reproductive biology. She’s a member of American Women in Science and the Botanical Society for America and she served for four years as the co-director for the Missouri Junior Science, Engineering and Humanities Symposium.
At Maryville, Dr Krakos teaches courses in ecology, plants and people, conservation, sustainability and botany. Her lab focuses on building an understanding of the dynamic relationship between the natural world and our changing environment.
Online sustainability degree curriculum
Our online bachelor’s degree in sustainability is focused on the biggest environmental challenges we face today and the sustainability issues that will drive conversation, business and policy in the years to come. It’s a cross-disciplinary program meant to help you develop vital skills and knowledge to enhance your understanding of important topics like the complex environmental questions facing humanity; the links between human choices and environmental effects; and innovative, evidence-based solutions that can help build a more sustainable future.
Maryville University’s online Bachelor of Science in Sustainability curriculum comprises degree-focused coursework plus general education classes. This includes sustainability major core courses, professional track courses and sustainability electives.
Build your foundation in sustainability.
You’ll have the opportunity to establish your knowledge base in subjects like sustainability, environmental science and health, business, environmental policy, earth systems and environmental ethics.
Specialize your sustainability knowledge.
In addition to your core courses, you can customize your degree to fit your professional ambitions. Establish your expertise by choosing from three tracks — Environmental Science, Business, or Policy — and further broaden your knowledge with your choice in electives.
Put your knowledge to work.
Sustainability is all about the real world, so experience is important. At Maryville, you can see the practical effects of what you learn by participating in experiential projects, case studies, simulations, and field tests. You can also deepen your real-world knowledge with an internship, or show off what you’ve learned through a capstone experience.
Take your education further with Early Access.
Want to take the next step in your sustainability education? Get a head start with our Early Access program.
With Early Access, you can earn up to 12 credits toward your master’s degree as you complete the requirements for your bachelor’s. That means you can begin graduate studies with as much as one-third of your master’s course requirements already completed — saving you time and money. Graduate-level courses take the place of undergraduate electives during the last phase of your bachelor’s degree.
If you’re a qualified undergraduate student and you have not yet completed your elective requirements, we invite you to explore Early Access as an option. To qualify, you must have earned at least 75 credits toward your undergraduate degree (with at least 20 credits completed at Maryville) and have at least a 3.25 GPA. You can learn more at our Early Access page, or contact an advisor if you have any questions.
Apply to the online sustainability degree at Maryville University.
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