Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Corporate Sustainability Online

This innovative degree prepares you to support a more eco-friendly and socially responsible future by helping to build organizations with positive impacts on people, the planet, and profits.

12/23/24 Next Application Due Date
1/6/25 Start Classes
Apply Now Request Information

Program Overview

Champion sustainable practices in business with our MBA Corporate Sustainability program

$19,350* Total Tuition
As few as 16 months Program Duration
45 Credit Hours

In this innovative program, you will learn how you can help organizations better contribute to environmental and social responsibility goals while developing sustainable economic business models. Learn to implement change initiatives, create corporate reporting documents that detail a company’s eco-friendly efforts, and use case studies to understand how accounting decisions help organizations expand sustainability strategies.

Our 100 percent online courses are taught by supportive faculty who help you personalize your MBA experience. Take advantage of our competitive tuition while qualifying to lead in this growing field.

An online MBA that prepares you for any business challenge

"As I progressed in my career there were certain things that I knew I needed to understand better, and getting an MBA was the best way to go and do that."

– Brian Ziff-Levine, SOU online MBA graduate

In the online corporate sustainability MBA program, you will:

  • Develop and utilize a corporate sustainability framework to create a stronger and longer-lasting business organization
  • Manage environmental and social risks that can impact an organization’s financial performance and reputation
  • Communicate quantitative and qualitative measures of corporate sustainability efforts
  • Synthesize information and refine critical-thinking skills to make effective business decisions
  • Understand, evaluate, and implement initiatives through financial, operational, strategic, and personnel perspectives

Careers in corporate sustainability include:

  • Director of Sustainability Analytics
  • Director of ESG Reporting
  • Sustainability Innovation Manager
  • Sustainability Operations Consultant
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Reporting Manager

Also available online:

SOU offers our online Master of Business Administration in a variety of concentration areas. Explore all of our online MBA programs.

Learn what the SOU online MBA program can do for you

"We attract students that are not necessarily working in a corporate world, but also both in government and nonprofits."

– Rene Ordonez, PhD, Professor, SOU online MBA

$19,350* Total Tuition
As few as 16 months Program Duration
45 Credit Hours
Request Info Apply Now
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Call 800-490-7974

Call 800-490-7974

Learn to help corporations adopt eco-friendly practices from an institution with expertise in sustainability

Institute for Applied Sustainability at SOU

The university’s Institute for Applied Sustainability creates practical and sustainable solutions by supporting research and education, envisioning new possibilities in sustainability, engaging organizations to collaborate, funding sustainability projects in the community, and driving change.

Gold Rating for Campus-Wide Sustainability

SOU achieved a gold rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in its Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), which recognizes the university’s sustainability efforts in academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership.

Better Climate Challenge

SOU participates in the Better Climate Challenge set by the U.S. Department of Energy and is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% and decreasing its energy intensity 25% by 2028.

First Certified Bee Campus in the Nation

SOU is honored to be the first Bee Campus USA for its dedication to bees and other pollinators and is recertified annually with work recognized by Bee City USA and the Sierra Club.

Tree Campus

SOU has been recognized for 10 consecutive years in the national Tree Campus Higher Education program, which supports community forests and green space as part of the Arbor Day Foundation.

Tuition

Learn more about our competitive tuition

The SOU Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Corporate Sustainability online program features the same affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition whether you reside in Oregon or outside the state.

Tuition breakdown:

$19,350* Total Tuition
$430 Per Credit Hour

Tuition breakdown:

$19,350* Total Tuition
$430 Per Credit Hour

Calendar

Take note of these dates and deadlines

The corporate sustainability program is convenient and accessible for working professionals. All courses are seven weeks in length, with multiple start dates each year. View the calendar to see upcoming starts and related due dates.

Now enrolling:

12/23/24 Apply Date
1/6/25 Class Starts
TermStart DateApp DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition Deadline
Fall9/30/249/16/249/25/2410/4/24
Winter1/6/2512/23/241/1/251/10/25

Now enrolling:

12/23/24 Apply Date
1/6/25 Class Starts

Have questions or need more information about our online programs?

Ready to take the rewarding path toward earning your degree online?

Admissions

Learn how to apply for the MBA Corporate Sustainability

The Master of Business Administration online degree admission process is streamlined to help you get started right away. Requirements for full admission include:

Admission Requirements:

  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
  • 2.75 GPA with three years relevant experience or 3.0 GPA

MBA with a Concentration in Corporate Sustainability Online Admission Requirements

  • Applicants with a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and transcripts verifying a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale are granted full admission status into the MBA with a Concentration in Corporate Sustainability online degree program.
    • Applicants with a minimum GPA of 2.75 qualify for full admission status by verifying three or more years of relevant work experience within the application.
    • Provisional admission status is available for applicants with an undergraduate GPA lower than 2.75 who have three years of relevant work experience. Students admitted on a provisional basis must earn a B or better in courses taken during their first term in order to continue in the program.
  • Applicants must submit transcripts from all previous educational institutions attended.
  • International student applicants interested in enrolling in the SOU online Master of Business Administration program should contact the Office of International Programs for information related to international admissions and visa restrictions. Contact the Office of International Programs by emailing [email protected].

Southern Oregon University considers you an international student if you are NOT a:

  • U.S. citizen or national;
  • U.S. permanent resident or other eligible noncitizen.

Graduate Admission Requirements for International Students:

  • Applicants must have a bachelor's degree equivalent to a four-year U.S. bachelor's degree from a recognized university in that country.
  • Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended; documents must be official and include an English translation. Applicants are required to have documents mailed to SOU in a sealed envelope from the school, which has not been opened.
    • SOU will not accept scans, faxes, photocopies, or already opened documents.
  • TOEFL or IELTS score
    • If English is not your native language, you will need to submit a TOEFL or IELTS score.
  • You do not need to submit a score if you earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a U.S. college/university or completed your education in a native English-speaking country.

If you need to submit official documents by mail, send them to:

SOU Admissions Department
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520

Have a question? Call us at 800-490-7974.

Courses

Let’s get specific about the online corporate sustainability MBA courses

In order to earn the Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Corporate Sustainability online, you must complete 13 courses (45 credit hours), covering 33 credit hours of core courses (including a capstone course) and 12 credit hours of concentration courses.

You must take the following courses.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Students learn how to plan and implement effective marketing strategies through case analysis and research in strategic applications. Emphasizes best practices to successfully address marketing challenges faced by actual businesses.

Course learning objectives:

  • Write clear and concise summaries of topical information
  • Demonstrate knowledge of triple bottom line and corporate responsibility trends
  • Evaluate alternative marketing strategies and make recommendations for change based on research
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
Students apply contemporary operations management techniques and tools to realistic business situations. Case studies and computer-based models are utilized as decision-making tools. MBA 514 must be taken during the final two terms. The MBA ETS Major Field Test will be administered via this course. The Field Test is part of the program's accreditation and assessment process. An $80 course fee will be assessed for this test.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Examines the role of information systems (IS) in contemporary business organizations. Provides an overview of key information systems and technologies. Emphasizes the management behavior, knowledge, and skills necessary to participate in making decisions about information systems. Also introduces current trends and drivers, including emerging technologies that affect the present and future of information systems.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
Explores the accounting function of an organization from a managerial perspective. Students gain an understanding of cost characteristics, cash flows, and reporting; the appropriate application of costs in decision-making; and the behavioral ramifications and interdependency of accounting within the organization as a whole.

Course learning objectives:

  • Correctly apply concepts and vocabulary of the cost environment
  • Organize accounting information properly for planning and control, decision-making, performance, evaluation, and reporting purposes
  • Employ management accounting techniques and concepts to enhance organizational strategies
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Focuses on the roles and techniques of research in retail, service, community, and industry settings. Research methods and procedures such as design, data collection, analysis, and recommendations are applied to an actual organizational situation.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
Explores fundamental concepts of microeconomics (market equilibrium, firm and consumer behavior, and industry structure and competition) as a means of understanding and analyzing business problems. Basic macroeconomic models are developed to help explain long-run trends and short-run fluctuations in key macroeconomic variables: GDP, inflation, interest rates, wage and profit rates, and budget deficits. Applies the basic principles of finance theory to decisions facing the corporate manager.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Acquaints students with fundamental legal concepts affecting organizations through case studies and guest speakers. Concepts are discussed within a general managerial framework with distinctions made for private, nonprofit, and governmental entities. Major topics covered include tort liability, contracts and legal agreements, intellectual property rights, administrative law, individual liability, and legal economics/ADR applications. Management law covered includes employment issues such as wrongful non-hiring and termination, discrimination, ADA (disabilities), sexual harassment, and similar issues. Introduces contemporary issues of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) facing the business community.

Course learning objectives:

  • Develop understanding and appreciation of current ethical and legal concepts/issues in business/management
  • Effectively discuss the importance of ethics in the organizational decision-making process
  • Become familiar with business law concepts/issues and be able to develop a proactive and preventive organizational culture and strategy
  • Effectively express and support a socially responsible and ethical organizational structure
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Explores individual behavior, group behavior, and organizational systems. Topics covered (from theoretical and practical perspectives) include understanding people, motivation, group dynamics, communication, leadership, power, politics, conflict, diversity, culture, decision making, change, and organizational structure.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Explores essential financial theory and develops applications in the areas of valuation of assets, financing decisions, risk assessment, and short-term asset and liability management. Develops the abilities to compare and value uncertain cash flows; evaluate the costs and risks of financing from stocks, bonds, and entrepreneurial sources; and manage short-term capital.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The capstone course is intended to provide an experience that integrates the MBA coursework using intensive business cases and analysis. Prerequisite: Successful completion of all core courses. MBA 590 must be taken during the final two terms.
You must take the following courses.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
Explores the concept of sustainability in business through examining numerous case studies in corporate sustainability from various perspectives - renewable energy, fair trade, alternative transportation, waste reduction, green building, localization, community finance, and other emerging sustainable business practices. The class explores how companies integrate sustainability into their strategies, operations, organizational culture, leadership, and branding. Companies include pioneering, large multinational, and local companies.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
Examines systems used for the accumulation, classification, processing, analysis, and reporting of accounting data, including the controls necessary for information security, data integrity, and system auditability. Extensive use of computer applications.

Course learning objectives:

  • Become familiar with the knowledge and skills needed within multiple accounting information systems and computer applications
  • Learn how to be proactive and improve the analysis and design of the Accounting Information Systems (AIS) to:
    • Add real value to business organizations
    • Protect business information and its net worth
    • Advise businesses about security risks which affect the business internal control systems over financial documentation, record keeping, and reporting

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 4
Examines the analytical tools necessary to understand and interpret corporate financial statements and their related footnotes. Students evaluate the financial strengths and weaknesses of companies from a decision-maker’s perspective. Prerequisite: MBA 516.

Course learning objectives:

  • Apply analytical tools necessary to understand and interpret corporate financial statements and their related footnotes
  • Understand vertical and horizontal analysis, ratio analysis, strategic analysis, and prospective analysis
  • Effectively evaluate quality of financial information
Pavlina McGrady,
Associate Professor
"Corporate sustainability is still a relatively new management paradigm, a kind of alternative to the typical model of more profit and more growth. This MBA program allows students to really be those sustainability leaders who have the skills to grasp those complex problems, critically analyze, address some of those big problems of today and lead for the future."

*Tuition and fees are subject to change.

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