The Master of Arts in Sustainable Communities

The M.A. program in Sustainable Communities (SUS) at NAU integrates many areas of study, including anthropology, the arts, business, humanities, economics, education, environmental science, history, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, women’s studies, and technology. Students gain both depth and breadth in understanding issues important to sustaining community life by choosing from among our own courses and those from across the university. This is a 36-credit-hour program that culminates in a thesis or final project and encourages you to pursue social and environmental sustainability issues.

Our guiding principles are:

• Inter-disciplinary inquiry
• Linking theory and practice
• Issue-based research
• Learner-based curriculum
• Working with community
• Flexible pedagogy

Recent theses and final projects

Students in the Sustainable Communities program at NAU choose coursework that provides them with the unique perspectives and skills they need to complete a thesis or final project. They work closely with a committee, often made up of faculty from across the university.

• Phenious Chuma: Recommendations for Climate Change Adaptation Policies in Malawi
• Andee Lister: Bioaccumulation of Uranium in Sheep Heart and Kidney, and Impact on Traditional Food Sources
• Kelsey Morales: Community Renewable Energy: A Case Study of Democratic Relationships and Just Practices
• Nina Porter: Tending the Fire: Emotional Labor and the Reproduction of Social Movements
• Robert Teuton: Discovering Supportive Legal Frameworks and Policies for Worker-Owned Cooperatives
• Colleen Trout: Climate Change in Ski Country: Can Telluride Ski Resort and Communities Adapt?