Online Resilient Sustainable Communities Degree :: Accredited Universities

The latest graduate program from Green Mountain College is the nation’s first online Master of Science degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities (MRSC). This two-year program, accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), begins in February 2015 with a residency featuring Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and climate-change activist.

"If we have one need on this planet, it's for resilient and sustainable communities,” said McKibben, “so it's good someone is thinking hard about how the heck to build them!"
This program adopts GMC’s groundbreaking bioregional approach to distance learning, in which students apply what they learn in each course to their local communities. MRSC students will learn about land-use planning, economic development, energy production, food systems, and resource management, while developing skills in leadership, group organization and conflict resolution.

As in the College’s other online graduate programs, students complete their coursework at times that best fit their personal and professional lives. Because class sizes are small, students experience meaningful interactions with their classmates and individual attention from instructors. The program will prepare students for a rapidly expanding range of careers in community development, energy production, municipal agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

“The MRSC program is comprehensive and well thought out,” said Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute and the author of eleven books on energy and climate change. “Rather than being just another generic sustainability program, it provides a systemic context for understanding the modern world's environmental crises, and offers practical skills--such as an elective in Emergency Management and Communication--to prepare students for the challenges we will face in an energy-constrained, climate-disrupted world. Anyone wanting to build a sustainable and resilient community would do well to start here.”

A national leader in sustainability education, Green Mountain College began offering online degrees in 2006. Over 260 graduate students are currently earning degrees in Sustainable Business, Environmental Studies, and Sustainable Food Systems.

From urban areas to small towns, citizens are rethinking traditional approaches to providing food, energy, transportation and governance in response to rapid environmental and economic changes. As we adapt to conditions brought about by a changing climate, depletion of fossil fuel supplies, and growing inequalities in wealth and access to vital resources, the MRSC program gives students the skills to develop, advocate, and implement fundamental changes in how communities function.

At the heart of this program is the understanding that sustainability depends on creating resilient communities, which can adapt to changing conditions in ways that allow them to evolve without losing their fundamental identities. In this program students will synthesize knowledge about land-use planning, economic development, energy production, food systems, and resource management, while developing skills in leadership, group organization, and conflict resolution.

Green Mountain College’s MRSC program is unique, designed to help students apply what they learn in each class to their own communities, wherever they may live, and to hear from classmates how the same concepts may take different forms in various settings. The applied emphasis of our online graduate programs is a natural expression of our college, which features a culture and curriculum deeply rooted in social, environmental and economic sustainability.
Here are some attributes that make Green Mountain College’s MRSC program so distinctive:

Leading Faculty

Place-based, Bioregional Approach

Integration with Other Graduate Programs

Flexibility

Proven Online Learning System and Small Classes

Recognized for Environmental Leadership

Entry Requirements

Admission to the MRSC program is based on a review of the following:

All undergraduate and graduate level transcripts. A bachelor's degree in a relevant field and a GPA of at least 3.0 are preferred.

Current résumé or curriculum vita.

Three letters of reference

A personal essay answering the following questions: (1) Why the prospective student wants to pursue an MS in Resilient and Sustainable Communities; (2) How the advanced degree aligns with career goals; (3) How the student will manage competing: personal, professional, and academic priorities during his/her advanced course of study.

Evidence of two or more years of work experience in the field of study is preferred.

GRE or GMAT scores (not required).

Other Fees

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The Bachelor of Emergency Management aims to develop a practical as well as theoretical base for those people who have responsibilities in the field of Emergency Risk Management.

The course is designed to meet the needs and interests of a variety of client groups ranging from public bodies concerned with the protection of life and property such as local government, the police, fire, ambulance, state emergency services and community and health services to a myriad of private sector groups (e.g. the insurance industry, manufacturing industry).

Research has shown that the amount of damage being caused to communities around the world from both natural and technological hazards is increasing steadily. The management of natural and technological disasters has been formalised through government legislation establishing emergency management organisations which must develop and maintain community counter-disaster preparedness and plans at all levels of the community.

To enable our communities to become more resilient and sustainable from an emergency management perspective, we must ensure that they continue to develop their emergency risk management capabilities. The development and conduct of emergency management activities (e.g. hazard and risk assessments, emergency management plan development, operations management strategy development, community recovery strategy development) will assist in reversing the hazard trend by minimising the risk of hazards occurring and the consequences when they do occur. Such activities are an essential aspect of comprehensive emergency management practice for communities.

Entry Requirements

To be admitted into the course, prospective students need to indicate their likelihood of success through: previous studies, and other attainments and experience.

Other Fees

Overseas examination fees ($100/course)

Textbooks

Student Services and Amenities Fee (Max. $281/year)

Incidental unit costs

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