Finance and business innovation are crucial in addressing sustainable investment, technology development, social entrepreneurship, and planning.

Gateway Academic Programs

Academic Programs

Penn State students can engage sustainability’s biggest challenges through their coursework, service, and applied experiences. In alignment with our Climate Consortium, the Sustainability Learning Gateway’s overarching themes provide pathways to learning about sustainability challenges, diving deep into the issues inside and outside of the classroom, and developing expertise that is personally, civically, and professionally meaningful. You can also search by your level, undergraduate or graduate. We have included these academic programs for one of three reasons. The program must:

  1. Require sustainability explicitly (Ex: Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems, Energy and Sustainability Policy, or Sustainability Leadership);
  2. Provides a track or pathway for students to easily incorporate sustainability into the program (Architecture, Public Policy, or Ethics)
  3. Affords creativity or innovation to students to integrate sustainability into their program (Ex: Art, Integrative Sciences, or Music Composition).

There is a lot of information on these pages. Even still, we know special topics come up, individual faculty create sustainability-focused sections of courses, research experiences might be hidden somewhere, and new opportunities can emerge. To make the most of the Gateway and your sustainability journey, don’t hesitate to set up an appointment with an academic adviser or a trusted mentor for assistance. If you have questions or feedback about the Gateway, please email: sustainability@psu.edu.

Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship (B.S.)
For students interested in starting and managing new businesses or innovating existing business with the intent of growing the economy and providing jobs for a diverse workforce, this major focuses on developing problem solving and creative thinking skills, along with the ability to recognize opportunities, spot trends, and develop a plan to capitalize on these ideas.

Finance (B.S.)
Immerse yourself in investment analysis, bank and other financial institution management, and corporate and business financial management.

Integrative Science (B.S.)
For those who have education goals relating to scientific theory and practice across disciplinary areas, and who seek a high degree of flexibility, become knowledgeable across many disciplines.

Management (B.S.)
For those interested in leadership in the world of business, learn key management skills such as conflict management, social entrepreneurship, and external consulting.

Marketing (B.S.)
Enter the business world through this creativity-supported discipline and learn about advertising, marketing research, retail, and public policy.

Supply Chain and Information Systems (B.S.)
For those interested in corporate work, become trained in critical project management aspects including procurement, distribution networks, and service operations.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Develop skills, knowledge, and values in problem solving, innovation, opportunity recognition, self-efficacy, leadership, ethics, communications, and learning from failure through a variety of concentrations.

Environmental and Renewable Resource Economics
An introduction to how fundamental economic principles can be used to explain and solve problems related to the degradation of the environment and the unsustainable use of natural resources.

Management
For those interested in leadership in the world of business, learn key management skills such as conflict management, social entrepreneurship, and external consulting.

Sustainability Leadership
Promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability in personal and professional lives through studying systems thinking, change agency, ethics, and more.

Meeting and Event Management
Combine the practice and theory of event management, planning, coordination, and design.

There are no graduate programs in this category.

ACCTG440: Advanced Management Accounting
This course provides an in-depth study of advanced management accounting techniques and decision models, emphasizing their application to organizational control, strategic cost management, and financial decision-making, with opportunities for application in resource accounting.

BA342: Socially Responsible, Sustainable and Ethical Business Practice
This course examines the impact of corporate actions on global citizenship, environmental sustainability, and economic stability, emphasizing ethical decision-making, stakeholder responsibility, and sustainable business practices across all business functions.

BA441: Strategies for Enterprise Sustainability
This course analyzes how environmental and sustainability issues influence business strategies and profitability, emphasizing the triple bottom line and the impact of internal and external forces on enterprise operations and decision-making.

BA442: Sustainable Behavior of Consumers, Firms, and Societies
This course equips students with theoretical and practical knowledge to understand, influence, and promote sustainable behaviors among consumers, firms, and society, preparing them to be effective decision-makers in sustainable business.

BA850: Sustainability Driven Innovation
This course explores sustainability as a business opportunity for developing innovative products and services, focusing on consumer needs related to sustainability, willingness to pay for these needs, and the innovative processes necessary to create sustainable solutions.

CED450: International Development, Renewable Resources, and the Environment
This course examines economic and agricultural development in developing countries, focusing on the interplay between development, renewable natural resources, and the environment, using both theoretical frameworks and real-world case studies.

COMM420: Research Methods in Advertising and Public Relations
This course introduces primary and secondary social science research methods and statistical techniques essential for solving advertising and public relations problems, with an emphasis on critical evaluation of research, ethical considerations, and the application of findings in dynamic marketing environments.

COMM473: Public Relations Campaigns
This capstone course engages students in developing a comprehensive public relations campaign plan through case studies, research, strategic planning, creative communication, and evaluation, culminating in a client presentation to apply real-world PR problem-solving skills with opportunities for sustainable applications.

EBF200: Introduction to Energy and Earth Sciences Economics
This course introduces economic analysis of energy and resource use decisions, exploring market advantages and failures, government interventions, and their impacts on local, national, and global development challenges.

EBF484: Energy Economics
This course uses intermediate microeconomics to analyze the role of energy in the economy, focusing on firm behavior, market manipulation, and regulation of the social and environmental impacts of energy systems.

ECON413/413W: Economic Growth and the Challenges of World Poverty
This course explores persistent world poverty by examining economic factors (which have an environmental impact), growth, health, education, microfinance, globalization, and foreign aid to understand and address poverty alleviation.

ECON415/415W: The Economics of Global Climate Change
This course explores evidence on climate change, economic models of the environment and market failure, cost-benefit analysis of policy options, and carbon markets.

ECON428: Environmental Economics
This course examines environmental pollution, the market economy, and optimal resource allocation, with a focus on alternative control procedures, levels of environmental protection, and public policy.

EME444: Global Energy Enterprise
This course explores the influence of public and private nonmarket actors on energy markets through case studies and guided analysis, and provides an overview of technical, environmental, economic, and sociopolitical aspects of modern energy and international policy.

ERM151: Careers and Issues in Environmental Resource Management
This course introduces students to environmental sciences and resource management through guest lectures, writing assignments, and career exploration, while helping them develop critical thinking skills, effective communication, and a personalized academic and professional development plan.

ERM402: Foundations of Sustainable Business
This course explores how environmental and sustainability challenges influence business strategies, stakeholder relationships, and profitability, with a focus on making a business case for sustainability, understanding the triple bottom line, and analyzing how organizations adapt operations to meet environmental expectations.

FOR440: Forest and Conservation Economics
This course focuses on economic and financial concepts and tools used in managing forests and natural resources.

GEOG436: Ecology, Economy, and Society
This course explores the complex relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability by examining key concepts like equity, poverty, fairness, and community empowerment, using case studies to analyze natural resource management and sustainable development at a macroeconomic level.

GEOG469: Energy Industry Applications of GIS
This course examines the application of geographic information systems (GIS) in energy infrastructure siting, particularly for electric transmission lines, through hands-on projects that develop students’ analytical skills and deepen their understanding of industry challenges.

HM384: Introduction to Meeting and Event Planning
This course provides an overview of the meeting and event industry, teaching students the essential skills and processes for planning, coordinating, and evaluating successful and sustainable events across various venues and industries.

HM432: Contemporary Issues in Restaurant Management
This course explores current trends, challenges, and economic factors affecting the global restaurant and foodservice industry, with a focus on marketing, new product development, and consumer behavior with implications for agriculture and the environment.

HM485: Advanced Meeting and Event Planning
This hands-on course builds on event planning fundamentals by engaging students in all aspects of planning and executing meetings and events, emphasizing key business skills such as communication, budgeting, sustainability, risk management, and inclusivity for a career in hospitality event management.

IB404: Contemporary Issues in International Business
This course examines contemporary international business issues, analyzing how environmental laws, social norms, and economic factors influence global finance, organizational practices, and product strategies, while developing students’ research and analytical skills.

MGMT365: Social Entrepreneurship
This course exposes students to the power of solving social problems through market-based solutions while exploring the latest regulatory, legal and macroenvironmental policies and issues related to social entrepreneurship.

MGMT451: Business, Ethics, and Society
This advanced course equips business leaders with the knowledge and skills to navigate ethical, social, legal, and economic responsibilities, emphasizing frameworks for ethical decision-making and strategies to foster and sustain ethical cultures in complex business environments.

RM450: Contemporary issues in Real Estate Markets
This course covers historical performance, land use issues, market valuation, real estate development, and public policy issues.

SUST200: Foundations of Leadership in Sustainability
This course will introduce the fundamental concepts of social, environmental, and economic sustainability, as well as the interrelationships between these metrics and human behavior.