Sustainable Organizational Leadership

The Certificate in Sustainable Organizational Leadership is an interdisciplinary program open to all WSU students.  This certificate helps students develop cross-functional skills and expertise in financial, environmental, and social areas, with an emphasis on taking action to achieve an organization’s environmental and resource sustainability goals.

Environmental and resource sustainability is an important social problem and an increasingly common issue across for-profit, not-for-profit, and governmental workplaces. Achieving sustainability requires attention to the intersections of three key domains – financial, environmental, and social. This certificate will develop student expertise and skills in these three arenas and the intersections between them, producing leaders who can act to achieve sustainability goals across a diversity of organizational settings.

Students pursuing the sustainable organizational leadership certificate are required to take 15 credits of sociology and business coursework and must maintain a C average.

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Program of Study—15 semester credits

The 15-credit certificate includes three required courses and two electives.

Required Courses

9 semester credits

  • MGMT 301 – Principles of Management and Organization (offered online in Fall)
    • Pre-req: Must be a Junior
  • SOC 332 [SSCI] – Sustainability and Society (offered online in Spring)
  • SOC 340 [EQJS] – Social Inequality (offered online in Spring)

Elective Courses

6 semester credits

Choose 2 courses:

  • HBM 381 [M] – Hospitality Leadership and Organizational Behavior (offered online in Spring)
    • Pre-req: MGMT 301; Must be a Business minor

OR

  • MGMT 401 – Leading People and Organizations (offered online in Fall)
    • Pre-req: MGMT 301; Must be a Business minor
  • MGMT 483 [M] – Management of Innovation and Change (offered online in Spring)
    • Pre-req: Must be a Junior; Must be a business major/minor
  • SOC 230 – Society and Technology (formerly 430) – (offered online in Fall)

Other electives not offered currently online:

  • MGMT 487 – Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility
  • SOC 335 – Shopping and Society
  • SOC 336 – Sociology of Food
  • SOC 474 – Social Movements

Awarding of the Certificate

At the beginning of the student’s final semester of coursework, the student should apply for the certificate through myWSU. This will notify the Registrar’s Office to confer the certificate. Here’s how: From the myWSU Student Homepage, select Academic Advising, then Apply to Graduate. The certificate should display as an option to select to Apply for Graduation. Certificates require a separate graduation application and are mailed separately from diplomas.