Sustainability and Environment Department

Department Chairperson: Meghann Jarchow, Ph.D.
Graduate Program Director: Brennan Jordan, Ph.D.

Department of Sustainability and Environment
Akeley-Lawrence Science Center, Room 201
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-6122
sustainability@usd.edu
www.usd.edu/arts-and-sciences/sustainability

FACULTY

Professor:

Brennan Jordan, Ph.D., Oregon State University. Specialization: Geodiversity, Geoheritage, Sustainable Tourism, Volcanology
Mark Sweeney, Ph.D., Washington State University, Specialization: Geomorphology, Environmental Science, Climate Change

Associate Professor:

Meghann Jarchow, Ph.D., Iowa State University. Specialization: Prairie Ecology, Ecosystem Services, Sustainability Pedagogy

Assistant Professors:

Ranjeet John, Ph.D., University of Toledo. Specializations: Landscape and Ecosystem Ecology, Biogeography, Ecological Modeling, Remote Sensing
Joseph Kantenbacher, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. Specializations: Sustainable Behavior, Energy

DEGREES

Master of Science
Accelerated Master of Science
Doctor of Philosophy

CERTIFICATE

Geospatial Analysis

Program Description

Sustainability seeks to address many of society’s complex and interdisciplinary issues. The University of South Dakota is the second university in the United States to offer sustainability degrees at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. levels. A focus of the graduate program in sustainability is on conducting research that is interdisciplinary and solutions oriented. The research expertise of the faculty in the Sustainability and Environment Department and other faculty affiliated with the graduate program in sustainability span the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities. The sustainability program also supports students wishing to earn concurrent graduate degrees at USD, and several concurrent degree combinations have been coordinated. For information about the department, the faculty, and graduate degrees, please consult www.usd.edu/arts-and-sciences/sustainability/graduate.

The Geospatial Analysis certificate offers an additional credential to students who are looking to work in a wide range of fields including environmental sciences, community planning, and archeology. Geospatial analysis is the collection, analysis and visualization of spatial data. Doing geospatial analysis requires the ability to use software including geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing programs and may require the ability to use equipment and hardware that integrate with the software including sensors and drones.

WICHE Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) eligible program.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Completed Graduate Application form found at: https://www.usd.edu/graduate-school/apply-now and a non-refundable application fee of $35.
Official transcripts verifying receipt of an undergraduate degree and previous graduate credit (in English or with translation) must accompany an application. Official transcripts of all academic work at the undergraduate and graduate levels are required for all applicants. The USD Graduate School and/or academic units retain the right to require credential evaluations from organizations, such as an Educational Credential Evaluators/World Education Services (ECE/WES), for a student if such an evaluation is deemed necessary.
Baccalaureate degree or an equivalent degree from an institution with institutional accreditation for that degree. A minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 2.7 on conferred degree and/or graduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, based on a 4.0 scale, on all graduate coursework is required for full admission.
Applicants with degrees from countries other than the United States who have obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from an institutionally accredited American college or university or from an accredited institution in the following English-speaking countries: United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada (Excluding Quebec), Australia, and New Zealand are not required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score. For all other applicants, a minimum score of 79 on the Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT), 550 on the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), 8.5 on the TOEFL Essentials, 6.0 on the IELTS Academic, or 53 on the PTE is required for graduate admission.
Applicants are required to submit a statement of purpose.

Additional Program Admission Requirements:

The GRE General test is required for those seeking the M.S. or Ph.D. GRE scores are not required for the following:
1. Current USD students pursuing at least a bachelor’s degree in a related area and those who have graduated from USD with at least a bachelor’s degree within the last 5 years OR
2. Applicants with an earned master’s or doctoral degree from an institutionally accredited college or university in the United States.
  *GRE General Test at Home will be accepted through spring 2023.
Three (3) professional letters of recommendation are required for the M.S. and Ph.D. programs and one (1) letter of recommendation is required for the certificate.

Subject to faculty approval, those who do not meet all of the criteria above may be admitted on a provisional basis.

In order to be admitted Ph.D. applicants must have communicated with a prospective advisor and assured faculty research compatibility and capacity.

Application Deadline

M.S. and Ph.D.
- Summer start
  - Two weeks before the start of the semester
- Fall start
  - Priority Deadline: February 1
  - Final Deadline: Two weeks before the start of the semester
- Spring start
  - Two weeks before the start of the semester
Certificate
- Fall, Spring and Summer starts
  - Two weeks before the start of the semester

Student Learning Outcomes for Sustainability (M.S.)

Students will schematize the interrelationships among social, economic, environmental, and technical aspects of systems.
Students will model systems across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of worldviews, values, and perspectives other than their own.
Students will create and evaluate futures scenarios.
Students will critically assess quantitative information using statistical, econometric, or bioinformatic methods.
Students will design interventions to enhance the sustainability of systems.
Students will participate in interdisciplinary groups to accomplish shared goals.
Students will create new sustainability knowledge drawn from more than one discipline (Plan A only).

Student Learning Outcomes for Sustainability (Ph.D.)

Students will schematize the interrelationships among social, economic, environmental, and technical aspects of systems.
Students will model systems across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of worldviews, values, and perspectives other than their own.
Students will create and evaluate futures scenarios.
Students will critically assess quantitative information using statistical, econometric, or bioinformatic methods.
Students will design interventions to enhance the sustainability of systems.
Students will participate in interdisciplinary groups to accomplish shared goals.
Students will create new sustainability knowledge drawn from more than one discipline.
Students will propose and/or implement interventions to enhance the sustainability of systems.
Students will lead interdisciplinary groups to accomplish shared goals.