Why you should consider this program

We are training the next generation of urban problem-solvers to meet the world’s dual challenges of climate change and inequality. If you dream about changing the system, our 32-semester credit, 2 year program offers an educational home of like-minded students, faculty, and community partners who work and learn together in a hybrid, hands-on, cutting edge program. Our urban centers can be just and sustainable places with effective educators, advocates, and agents of change leading the way. If you see yourself influencing how public policy is made; launching a disruptive, forward-thinking social enterprise; or working with urban communities to ensure access to clean air and water, affordable renewable energy, food, education, healthcare, and housing, an Urban Sustainability MA degree is the right one for you.

We have recently added a Certificate in Spatial Analysis and Geographic Information Systems option to our degree program. The certificate option is a 36-semester credit, four-semester program that can be completed in two years. Students completing this program will graduate with an Urban Sustainability Master of Arts degree and a Certificate in Spatial Analysis and Geographic Information Systems.

Benefits for Coverdell Fellows

	Tuition/fees for Complete Program	Value of Coverdell Fellowship	Net cost *
In state	$ 42,120	$ 16,006	$ 26,114
Out of state	$ 42,120	$ 16,006	$ 26,114

* Net cost is equal to tuition/fees minus fellowship value. For some universities, the fellowship value includes non-tuition/fee benefits such as health insurance or housing—see the first point below for more details.

Where the cost savings value of the Coverdell Fellowship comes from

18% from waived fieldwork units, 20% from tuition waiver.

Note:  The above information only reflects the Urban Sustainability M.A. degree. Please contact us for more information regarding the Urban Sustainability M.A. degree  program with the Certificate in Spatial Analysis and Geographic Information Systems.

Annual cost of living (estimated)

$ 37,800

Application fee waived?

Yes

Internship

Our students have engaged in high level, substantive fieldwork as curriculum developers, policy analysts, policy writers, researchers, grant writers, sustainability coordinators, popular educators, business planners, development staff, presentation authors and designers, climate action plan developers, sustainable community planners, etc. They have worked for local organizations like Tree People, Liberty Hill Foundation, LAANE, Enlace Institute, Black Workers’ Center, City of Carlsbad (Environmental Management Division), City of Los Angeles (Resiliency Office), US Green Business Council, Urban Environmental Policy Institute, Global Green, Green LA Coalition, Los Angeles Unified School District, UCLA Game Lab, Homeboy/Isidore Electronics Recycling, Pacific Electric Cooperative, Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Change and Sustainability, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Climate Resolve, Cal Recycle Office of Education and the Environment, and many more. Many of these fieldwork placements resulted in job offers and permanent employment.

Jobs for program alumni

Sustainability managers and directors (motion picture studios and other private sector corporations); Nonprofit Executive and Program Directors; local and state government sustainability directors, managers, and analysts; farmers’ market managers; sustainability educators and curriculum designers; sustainable community development professionals; recycling/waste management directors and managers (public and private sector); Worker-owned cooperative owners, and many more. Some of the sites and organizations where our alumni have been employed shortly after graduation include, Orange County Food Access Coalition, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles, DePaul University, Sony Pictures Entertainment, NBC Universal, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Odyssey Charter School, Oak Creek Ranch School, Metropolitan Water District, Tree People, Thunder Valley Sustainable Community Development Corporation, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, City of Atlanta Waste Management, City of Culver City Public Works, and many more. Many of these job placements were direct results of high levels of supervisor satisfaction at our students’ fieldwork sites.

Other details

Program length

Three semesters/1.5 years without GIS Certificate option; Four Semesters/2 years with GIS Certificate Option (recently added)

Application requirements

No GRE is required. We require a transcript from the institution that conferred the Bachelor’s (or equivalent) Degree and a 3-5 page essay that amounts to a motivation statement.

Admissions process

When we inform you of whether or not youve been admitted into the MA program, we will also inform you of whether you’ve been accepted as a Coverdell Fellow.

Program begins

Late April and late October

Non-traditional options

• Low residency or distance learning
• Option to pursue degree part time while receiving the Coverdell Fellowship

This is a low-residency program. Students attend classes and engage in residency activities for six days at the beginning of each semester. Students will also attend a 4-day residency (on or off campus to be determined) near the middle of the semester. Throughout the remaining weeks of the semester, students work independently, online in a course management system, and in real time, up to three hours per week in a web conferencing environment.

Year Coverdell Fellows partnership started

2016

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Contact

Donald Strauss, Chair and Core Faculty, Urban Sustainability Department