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Certificate Programme in Integrative Sustainability Management (SuM-HSG)

In the Integrative Sustainability Management (SuM-HSG) certificate programme, bachelor students learn to build partnerships, make decisions, develop solutions, and implement initiatives essential to driving progress towards a sustainable future.

Why SuM?

Why SuM?

The SuM-HSG certificate equips you with the skills you need to build partnerships, make decisions, find solutions, and implement initiatives that will contribute to a sustainable future within planetary boundaries. Align your studies and career with purpose – and with the future of business.

Curriculum

Curriculum

The programme curriculum consists of:

  • two compulsory courses: the Base Camp course takes place prior to the semester start (calendar week 37), and the Introduction to Sustainability Management course is delivered over the semester; 
  • a set of electives in social, environmental, and systemic sustainability from across various disciplines taught at the University of St.Gallen;  
  • a mandatory collaborative final project, in which you will work directly with businesses and other organisations to make a systemic impact on sustainability, either with a stronger social and/or environmental focus.

Important Information for Your Study Planning

Autumn Semester 2024

The certificate programme starts with the mandatory Base Camp course, which runs from 9 to 13 September 2024 (one week prior to the semester start) in an off-site location.

To complete the certificate programme in Integrative Sustainability Management (SuM-HSG), a total of 24 ECTS credits must be earned.

Of these, 16 ECTS credits must be earned in courses that are open and compulsory for SuM students only (Base Camp, 4 ECTS; Introduction to Sustainability Management, 4 ECTS; Final Project, 8 ECTS).

Elective courses worth 8 ECTS credits can be taken simultaneously in the major and in the SuM. However, this is only possible for courses that can be counted as electives in the SuM.

Participants starting the certificate programme in Integrative Sustainability Management  in Fall 2024 can choose courses offered in the same semester and later at their BA-level. For the elective courses of the certificate programme in Integrative Sustainability Management, you can choose from the courses listed below:

Course No Event Bachelor Business Administration Lectures
5,102 Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement und -marketing Petra Schoele / Frank M. Belz
5,121 Social Entrepreneurship He Vivianna Fang
5,126 Climate.Now Anna Stünzi/Pascal Vuichard
5,141 Smart Mobility Marketing Torsten Tomczak /Andreas Herrmann
5,148 International Diversity Management - What Works? Gudrun Sander
5,150             Be the Change: Exploring Systems Leadership for Sustainability Monica Barroso / Tobias Fehr-Bosshard
Course No Event Bachelor Economics Lectures
5,258 Introduction to Environmental Economics                 Sabrina Eisenbarth
5,260 Climate and Income Differences Christian Keuschnigg
5,267 Ökonomie des Glücks Martin Kolmar
Course No Event Bachelor International Affairs Lectures
3,316 Global Water Governance Vanessa Boanada Fuchs
3,318 Intergenerational Fairness Giovanni Paolo Piacquadio
3,319 Peacekeeping Without Helmets: The Civilian Dimension of Peace Missions World-Wide Hannah Smidt
3,320 Development Economics Roland Hodler
Course No Event Contextual Studies Lectures
3,600 Geschichte/History: Geschichte der Zukunft des Verkehrs Regine Buschauer
3,670 Kulturen/Cultures: Ethics of Soil, Farming, and Consumption Jovana Dikovic
3,740 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Social Innovation for Impact Rachel Brooks/Justus von Grone
3,741 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Sustainable Minds - Personality Insights for Effective Climate Action Tobias Ebert
3,742 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Soziales Engagement in Praxis und Theorie Anna-Katharina Klöckner
3,743 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Corporate Responsibility In Sub-Saharan Africa - Health Care, Technology and Human Rights Mathieu Thierry Ngosso
3,744 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Konsum, Verantwortung, Nachhaltigkeit Bernd Wagner
3,745 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Green New Deal for Europe Rafal Jozef Riedel
3,746 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Be the Change - Discovering Consulting and Sustainability Jost Hamschmidt/ Johannes Tschiderer
3,749 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Whistleblowing und Kritik - die ethischen Anforderungen an Hinweisgebersysteme Verena Rauen
3,750 Verantwortung/Responsibility: Pathways Towards a Sustainable Food System Tabea Bereuther
3,754 Verantwortung/Responsibility: "Controversial Industries" und Unternehmensethik Christoph Schank
3,722 Technologien/Technologies: Queer Technology - Gender and Sexuality Today Benjamin Trott
Course No Event ECOL Dozierende
B3EL114 Organisations & Social Movements Online
TBC3 Fundaments of Sustainability and Circular Economy in a Holistic Context Online

You can submit your application via Compass from mid-March until 30 June 2024.

All compulsory courses in the SuM are taught in English only. Electives can be taken either in English or German.

The certificate programme is open for students of all bachelor programmes (majors) after successful completion of the Assessment Year. 

To apply for the SuM certificate, submit your one-page personal essay, your one-page CV, and your current grade transcript (at least first semester of the assessment year) via Compass by 30 June 2024.

Please hand in one PDF file with the required documents in the following order: "Personal Essay – Curriculum Vitae – Grade Transcript." Name your file according to the following format: LastName_FirstName_SuM.pdf. All documents need to be submitted in English.

Your essay must be no longer than one page and needs to address one of the following questions:

  • What aspects of your life experiences and character enable you to make a contribution to the peer community fostered in the SuM?
  • The SuM establishes a community of learners who are open and curious – and want to leverage that to make an impact on sustainability. When was a time in your life (academic or personal) you recall being deeply excited to learn? What excites you most thinking about the SuM?
  • Collaboration is a key tenet of the SuM learning journey, and requires getting to know our collaboration partners as people. Write a letter to a future SuM classmate that will help that person get to know you.

Please note that your essay will be treated confidentially within the selection team and will only be used for the purpose of this application process.

Please note that SuM is limited to a maximum of 50 participants.

Your SuM application provides us with a holistic view of you as an applicant: from your CV we gain an understanding of your experiences, interests, and activities; your transcript shows us your academic achievements; your essay helps us gain insight into your ideas and what’s important to you. We aim to accept a cohort of students from across HSG’s bachelor programmes with diverse backgrounds, interests, and worldviews. We want to learn how the SuM could support you in your journey, and in turn what you would bring to the SuM.

There are no additional costs for students regularly enroled in one of the HSG's bachelor programmes.

About the Certificate Programme

About the Certificate Programme

Leaders and managers across sectors are facing growing demands to drive social and environmental sustainability forward in their organisations and respond decisively to a growing global crisis – but how can we do this? We live in an increasingly complex world. The sustainability challenges we face exist at a nexus of interconnected stakeholders, systems, and perspectives. How can we develop and drive solutions for the biggest challenges of today and tomorrow in a context of rapid change and uncertainty?

The SuM-HSG enables students to accompany their bachelor studies at the University of St.Gallen with a certificate programme that provides the tools and skills to understand and effectively tackle complex sustainability challenges. Through coursework and applied projects, students will gain hands-on experience making decisions, collaborating across sectors and generations, and building practical interventions to drive progress on sustainability from a systemic perspective.

Contact

Certificate Programme Integrative Sustainability Management (SuM-HSG) 
Institute for Economy and the Environment (IWOe-HSG)
University of St.Gallen (HSG)
Müller-Friedberg-Strasse 6/8
CH-9000 St.Gallen

Prof. Dr. Judith Walls, Academic Director
Dr. Rachel Brooks, Programme Director
Dr. Annette M. Baertschi, Executive Director
Zsuzsa Borsa, Programme Manager

Please feel free to contact us by email at any time: sumunisg.ch

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