Welcome

Fostering community-driven development & social change

We are a critical development studies department that is committed to preparing students for both thoughtful analysis of the processes of human development and applied practice in the pursuit of transformative, community-driven development and social change. Sustainable development aims to enrich human well-being, protect and conserve healthy and productive natural systems, support shared economic prosperity, and advance an ecological worldview.

We examine the interdependent complexities and challenges of the world’s most pressing environmental, economic, and social problems and envision and enact creative and innovative solutions to these challenges. We examine key theoretical concepts and analytical tools in order to assess what development means and how it is experienced in different places and cultures in all parts of the world, including how current development and livelihood challenges are shaped by globalization and environmental change. 

Join us as we engage in understanding and advancing the social, economic, and environmental transformations necessary to create thriving, equitable, and sustainable communities within an ecologically healthy world!

News

Frog in Costa Rica

Sustainable Development Students Study Abroad in Costa Rica

Embarking on an unforgettable adventure, the Sustainable Development (SD) Department has just kicked off the Tropical Forest Ecology and Development s...

SD Department Hosts Environmental Justice Movement Legends

The Goodnight Family Sustainable Development (SD) Department recently co-hosted (with Appalachian State's Office of Sustainability and Energy Manageme...

Professors Dinesh Paudel and Gyan Nyaupane at NACA Conference

SD Department Hosts NACA Conference

The Goodnight Family Sustainable Development (SD) Department recently hosted the 2025 Nepali Academics in America (NACA) Biennial Conference at Appala...

What Our Alumni Are Saying

"The most valuable things about my degree: I came out of college with a knowledge base that few people have had the opportunity to build by that point. I am so glad that I had time to develop that foundation while I was at ASU, and now I feel like I have a head start for taking it in new directions."