Growing interest in sustainability has taken a new turn, as the field is one of four concentrations available to students pursuing a new business degree program launched this semester.
The W.P Carey School of Business’ new Bachelor of Arts in Business degree allows students in to choose one of four concentrations: sustainability, communication, tourism management and urban policy, said Tim Desch, the assistant dean for undergraduate admissions at the business school.
Students will take their business classes at the Carey School but will attend another school at the University in order to complete the courses required for their concentrations, Desch said.
He added there are no special requirements to enroll in this new program.
“There is a demand for graduates who have expertise in all these fields, particularly as it relates to business,” Desch said. “There is a demand in sustainability, as an example, just because there is so much attention and focus on applying sustainability within the business world.”
Currently, there are 1,217 students enrolled in the new degree program, Desch said.
“We’re excited at the potential of these programs and it kind of strays outside of the norm of what is expected of what most business schools do,” he said. “We’re pioneering something here many other universities will probably follow suit on when they see how successful it is.”
Susan Ledlow, the curriculum and faculty development specialist at the School of Sustainability, agreed the program will be something for people to keep their eyes on, particularly the employers who call her asking for graduates.
“There is something really powerful about the need for these degrees and how lucky we are at ASU to be able to start providing them to our students,” she said.
Ledlow said the approximately 125 students enrolled in the sustainability concentration will find businesses seek them out for jobs in making companies more environmentally friendly.
“Greener practices are more efficient practices,” Ledlow added.
She said these opportunities could be in places such as government, higher education, regulation agencies and utilities.
Business sustainability freshman Gagandeep Singh agreed the new types of degrees would give these students a greater advantage in a workplace.
“It gives you a bit more of a wide scope of knowledge than just the basic thing everyone else does,” Singh said. “It gives you an edge over other people.”
Reach the reporter at allison.gatlin@asu.edu.
