Duquesne sustainability MBA doubles enrollment

The Aspen Institute has ranked Duquesne University‘s MBA program in sustainability among the top ten programs in the field nationwide. The Pittsburgh school received the seventh-place ranking for both top schools and for curricula that best integrate social, environmental and ethical issues into the classroom experience.

Since launching in 2006, the program has doubled its enrollment. Thirty-five students from the U.S., China, France and Korea started the course this semester, says program director Ken Saban. The increased enrollment accents the growing acceptance of sustainability issues in corporate planning,

The Master’s of Business Administration-Sustainability (SMBA) program mixes financial, social and environmental responsibility into the hard-skills classes of more typical MBA degrees. Students participate in three semester-long projects with nonprofits and for-profit organizations, such as estimating market potential for water treatment systems in developing countries to developing tactics to eliminate plastic water bottles on college campuses.

“Our next biggest challenge is to find students opportunities to use their knowledge and skills, both internships and long term permanent positions,” says associate professor and program director Kenneth A. Saban. “We’re establishing an executive advisory board to connect students with the applied world–commercial, NGOs, and government.”

The Duquesne program received the first-ever Page Prize for the best U.S. submission of an Environmental Sustainability Curriculum, and the business school was included in the 2009 edition of The Princeton Review’s Best 296 Business Schools.

Source: Kenneth A. Saban, Duquesne University
Writer: Chris O’Toole