New Graduate Programs Approved at USD

Contacts: Mike Rush, Executive Director and CEO

mike.rush@sdbor.edu

Janelle Toman, Director of Communications

Janelle.toman@sdbor.edu

 

Telephone: (605) 773-3455

Fax: (605) 773-5320

www.sdbor.edu

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Wednesday, March 28, 2018

 

New Graduate Programs Approved at USD

 

SPEARFISH, S.D. – The first doctoral program in sustainability in this region has been approved at the University of South Dakota. The South Dakota Board of Regents this week granted USD’s request to offer both the master of science degree and the Ph.D. degree in sustainability.

 

USD is one of only 16 schools nationally with an undergraduate degree in sustainability. It would now offer the first such doctoral program available in the central United States. Sustainability is an emerging field that seeks to address complex and interdisciplinary issues, focusing on systems that are environmentally sound and economically profitable now and into the future.

 

USD’s graduate programming in sustainability emphasizes research and will be offered through face-to-face instruction. Campus officials noted that companies employing full-time sustainability professionals have increased 400 percent since 2000 across North America.

 

In other action, the regents approved a master of science degree in business analytics at USD. It will prepare graduates to implement data science solutions to business problems by using applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, and computing technology.

 

In support of the business analytics degree, USD officials cited labor force data showing that management analyst and market research analyst positions are expected to grow between 8 percent and 20 percent in South Dakota through 2024. More than 25 businesses along the Interstate 29 corridor in South Dakota have expressed support for the program.