Diminishing natural resources and the environment have become topics of major concern in recent years.

Conservatives and liberals alike have started to place an emphasis on environmental issues.

Southern Methodist University is jumping on the bandwagon with the launch of its masters program in sustainability and development.

The program is being offered as a Master of Arts, instead of a Master of Science, in order to allow engineers and non-engineers to analyze non-science issues, which are critical to the future of the environment.

The director of the program, Dr. Andrew Quicksall, says that the program has had a lot of support from SMU faculty and others from outside the SMU community.

While the opportunity to enroll in the masters degree program did not begin until fall of this year, the courses have been around for approximately three years for students to take as a certificate program.

About five years ago, Betsey del Monte, architect and director of Sustainability for The Beck Group, helped start the program.

She wrote curriculums for nine of the courses and has taught approximately seven of them to SMU students.

According to Quicksall, acceptance into the program starts with the standard Lyle School application that is reviewed by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

Once accepted, students start by taking five core courses, which are broad engineering classes.

After the five core classes are completed, students choose the track they want to pursue green architecture to urban design.

At the end of the program, students take a final capstone course, which is typically a seminar or thesis-styled class, to finish out their degree.

Quicksall thinks that the creation of this novel program will appeal to a wide variety of students.

“I think we are seeing different kinds of students coming in to this program than we would in our traditional programs, and that diversity is a pro for us,” Quicksall said.

By allowing for a Master of Arts, non-engineers can earn the degree and apply it to their own field of expertise.

Del Monte knows lawyers and artists have showed interest in the program, proving that this degree can be used in a multitude of ways.

This view is help by many SMU alumni and members of the community.

Elle Carter, an engineering management graduate, believes sustainable engineering is important in preparing for the future and making sure that society has the necessary resources needed for years to come.

“[It is] hugely important to the world that people understand how we use resources and [that] the way we use resources impacts every issue of how society moves forward,” del Monte said.