Cal State Long Beach Offers Innovative Saturday Sustainability MBA
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) offers an innovative Saturday MBA program featuring a specialty in sustainability (SMBA). A cohort-based program, the CSULB sustainability MBA is offered every fall and is tailored for students with at least three years’ work experience. The program takes place over 23 months.
The campus is ideally situated in the heart of the Port of Long Beach, which makes it a perfect location for candidates to hone their skills and obtain immersive experience in how to apply economic, environmental and social sustainability practices to change the business landscape.
One student described a recent visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Port of Long Beach:
“I had no idea that the “Port” was actually two ports—the Port of Long Beach (POLB) and the Port of Los Angeles… the Port Complex brings in over 40 percent of imported goods that come into the United States each year. We took a private boat tour of the POLB where we learned about all the efforts and investments that they have undertaken and are taking to become a ‘green port’… The POLB is the nation’s greenest port with billions of dollars invested in providing the port with electric recharging stations for the ships (cold ironing) and transporting the cargo using electric vehicles, thus reducing the carbon emissions.”
Also included in the SMBA is a week abroad, during which students gain exposure to methods in which global businesses are operating within sustainable guidelines and how these guidelines serve to enhance the well-being of not only economies but also individuals and communities.
About the Author
Maggie Boccella
Maggie Boccella, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, is a freelance writer, artist and photographer. She has consulted on various film and multimedia projects, and she also serves as a juror for the city's annual LGBTQIA Film Festival.
