MBA in Sustainability, Antioch University New England
Posted on Monday, November 14th, 2011
The most compelling aspect of the MBA in Sustainability program at Antioch University New England is that it is integrated. The directors seek to weave people, planet and profit throughout the curriculum. AUNE is intentional about making this an integrated degree with strong business foundations and long fingers of inclusion, social justice and social responsibility.
While the description is enticing, the real-world application of what students learn while studying is the real draw of the program. Students find themselves in complex systems that are emerging into the dynamic field of sustainability following completion of the program. Students develop communication skills for working with diverse stakeholder groups during their studies. In addition, they learn strategies for navigating adaptive challenges, technological skills and systems thinking methods. They apply what they learn to their workplaces by being leaders, champions of thoughtful change, and strategic thinkers.
Students interested in the program come because they want to use business as a lever for making social, environmental and economic change. At AUNE, they learn the skills that more traditional MBA students gain in finance, marketing, operations and strategy and they learn how to apply these skills to systems. Students learn to be leaders but also to work in a group and understand the consumer perspective of business. The most unique factor of the program is that students gain foundational knowledge on the challenges facing our planet and learn how to communicate about these topics so that organizations make operational, strategic, and financial challenges to lessen impact on the earth.
In the MBA in Sustainability program at AUNE, students are given multiple opportunities to meet leaders, interview change agents and work on projects to develop leading change skills and strategies. Graduates leave with skills to lead change, facilitate collaborative decision making, and champion inclusive change through the lens of the triple bottom line.
Antioch University New England believes that if we want to do business differently, then we must change the skill set of MBA graduates.
(Top picture) Sam Boduch, MBA in Sustainability ’11 in the Regnskog (Rainforest) section of the Aquaria Vattenmuseum (Aquatic Museum), Stockholm, Sweden. One of many stops on the AUNE, MBA in Sustainability-hosted study abroad trip. Students learned about the importance of aquatic resources through the aquarium’s River of Life.
(Second picture) AUNE and AULA students in Stockholm, Sweden during the AUNE, MBA in Sustainability-hosted study abroad trip.
