Arizona State University

Many of my fellow classmates are engineers and chemists. I do not recommend this degree program, unless you are already in a technical trade. Without that, you will not get in. I just barely made it in myself. ASU is a leader in sustainability. The material can get very challenging at times. However, I am hanging in there and should have my degree soon. This program has helped me change my career. I've gone from working in a dead end industry to a field of work with lots of promise for advancement.

I recently finished my MSc. in Technology in this program and was surprised by the previous review of the program. It took me approximately 4 years to complete the program working full time and taking a mix of online and in-person classes. I could have done it faster (maybe 2.5 years) but there was a lack of motivation on my part to choose a thesis topic and write. The instructors are very knowledgeable and gave me a good mix of "real life" and academic experience. The online system of classes worked well for me. Although toward the end of my degree I lived and worked in Europe - when there was problems with the system it was usually previously announced down time that I hadn't noticed, or the problem was fixed by the next day. The program has a wide variety of electives, many of which didn't interest me. The program is designed for giving you a variety of classes to use in environmental management or consulting work and not detailed technical skills. In my opinion this is a good program for people with a technical degree (chemistry, physics, engineering, geology, biology, IT) or with another professional degree looking to expand their knowledge of environmental management (law or business). I also believe it is useful for people with some previous environmental work experience and are moving up into a management position. Work experience use to be a requirement to get into the program, I'm not sure if it still is. As with any degree - don't expect the piece of paper awarded to you by the University to get you a job. That may go for this program more than others. Although management is a skill - environmental management without some sort of previous technical experience is not something highly desired in the work place (as far as I know). Sure you can go through this program and get 2 semesters of practical industrial hygiene knowledge or take a semester of the chemical properties of industrial waste - but if that is your main focus there are other degrees for that. This program gives you a good mix that helps to build on previous knowledge/experience.

ASU is one of these univeristies that behaives like a for-porfit and hides behind a non-profit status. They have made up mixed degrees like a BS in healthy life styles coaching and exercise and welllness that will not get you a job in the real world post graduation. Their online program called balckboard is pathetic. It kept crashing at the start of the semester and the excues we got was "we weren't anticipating this much traffic on blackboard". The reality of was that they had a new version of it and didn't have adiquate support to handle new technology. I took for ever to get going on my classes and the teachers kept on going expecting work to be turned in with out adjusting the sylabus. Yes ASU is cheap, but the truth is you have to pick the right degree if you go there engieneering, nursing, chemistry, biology or business. DO NOT GO FOR THEIR OTHER SO CALLED MIXED DEGREES THEY ARE WORTHLESS.