CU Denver to Add Master’s in Sustainable Business

• The University of Colorado Denver will soon offer a new master's degree in sustainable business.
• The degree program will be offered online but will feature in-person options.
• The 33-credit-hour degree will have a tuition of $23,000.
• The degree program will consist of stackable credentials, creating a customizable, job-ready education for students.

The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) will soon offer a new master's degree in sustainable business as climate change and sustainability surge in interest among students and employers alike.

The CU Board of Regents approved the new master's program at a November meeting, according to a press release from the University of Colorado system. The 33-credit-hour degree program will be made up of stackable certificates, allowing students to customize their education.

The program will begin in fall 2024. It has a projected tuition of $23,000 and will be offered online with in-person options.

There's so much about this new degree that is exciting, Regent Lesley Smith, chair of the University Affairs Committee, said in the release. There is a growing demand for graduates to have a sustainability background. This is stackable, it can be completed online, and ours will be the only free-standing program like this at a public institution.

CU Denver has long offered a managing for sustainability specialization within its business school, according to the master's in sustainable business proposal from CU Denver, and enrollment has been on the rise in that specialization in recent years.

That reflects a nationwide trend of interest in sustainability-related programs, according to the proposal, which notes that the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects job growth in that sector over the next decade.

Master's and undergraduate degrees in sustainability have been on the rise as more companies adopt sustainability-related positions. The international business school INSEAD, for instance, will launch a new master of business administration (MBA) program focused on sustainability in January 2024.

Stanford University this year announced a new “ecopreneurship” program as a collaboration between its new Doerr School of Sustainability and the Graduate School of Business to encourage students to start eco-friendly businesses.

Southern Connecticut State University is another school that's embracing sustainability in its business school, opening a 60,000-square-foot net-zero carbon footprint building earlier this year. That new business school building features geothermal wells and solar panels to achieve net-zero emissions.

Climate change entered the top 10 most sought-after topics for prospective MBA students for the first time in the United Kingdom-based consulting firm's 2023 Tomorrow's MBA report, BestColleges previously reported, reflecting businesses adopting positions like chief climate and sustainability officers.