Sustainability and Development Program - M.A.

Build a career making a real impact.

Application fee waived through October 15

Apply by October 15 to qualify for an application fee waiver for graduate programs. Offer valid for new graduate applicants only. Applying by the priority November 1 deadline can put you in a stronger position for admissions consideration through an early review. 

The sustainability and development master's program at SMU Lyle prepares you to solve today's environmental, economic and social challenges through a program tailored for you with interdisciplinary learning and hands-on experience.

Designed for working professionals, this flexible program offers evening, hybrid and online courses so you can earn your degree while advancing your career.

Ready to make an impact? Fill out the form to get more information.

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Student experience

Students stand around a table and observe a man draw a map of an area in Colombia

Specialized expertise

Gain the interdisciplinary knowledge employers value to solve complex environmental and social challenges.
Graduate students sit around a table and discuss urban planning

Customizable program

Tailor this boutique program to fit your career goals with personalized degree planning. Evening, hybrid, and online course options are designed for working professionals.
Students observe a man panning a river in Colombia

Hands-on learning

Solve real challenges through project-based coursework, community partnerships, and an independent capstone. Graduate with practical experience and a portfolio of work that demonstrates impact. 
A woman discusses a project with colleagues in an office

Career opportunities

Graduates are prepared for leadership roles across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, including:

  • Leadership roles in Eco NGOs
  • Urban Planner
  • Sustainability Strategy Consultant
  • Environmental Consultant
  • ESG and Sustainability Manager
  • Community Development Manager

Build the skills employers are looking for, or start and support your own business.

Specializations

Along with the core courses, students follow one of 4 specialty pathways. Each provides a different focus and approach to sustainability, from which students construct a personal degree plan.

  1. Climate-smart inclusive economic development

    An understanding of climate-smart inclusive economic development through the lens of global resource utilization, its four pillars: economic, social, environmental and governance, and the key stakeholders and their roles and incentives.

  2. Sustainable global development and design

    The complex interlocking of urban systems; infrastructural, social, spatial and political invite creative design solutions for new ways in which global cities can serve as resilient ecological structures, and within which the economic and social lives of its citizens can be framed.

  3. Environmental justice

    Focused on the environmental impact of infrastructure and pollution, and ways that it has, globally, had a disproportionate effect on minorities and communities in poverty, leading to increasing inequality, and the leadership role of activist engineers in countering this trend.

  4. Sustainable management

    Integrating sustainable approaches to strategic management and policy, and building skills to lead companies, non-profits and citizens in pursuit of environmentally responsible, economically sustainable outcomes for a climate-challenged future.

Local

Using the Dallas -Fort Worth metroplex as our site lab encourages countless projects both inside and outside the classroom. We encourage collaboration between colleagues in order to pursue research they’re passionate about and make a difference.

Global

With students participating from around the world, and hosting a summer course/internship opportunity in Rwanda, the program opens the doors to expand research internationally and partner with organizations and educational institutions overseas.

Human

With the human centered throughout the program, our multidisciplinary approach embeds environmental science and design within the context of global development, urban planning, energy, transportation, infrastructure and sustainable construction.

A view of the entrance to SMU with a landscape of tress and flowers and a stone sign reading Southern Methodist University on a lush spring day

Contact us

Still deciding which graduate program is right for you? Our graduate admissions team can help you identify the master’s degree that best aligns with your academic background, professional experience, and career goals.

Have questions? Email us: Lylegrad@smu.edu