Hello, and welcome to the Master of Arts in Sustainability and Transformation (MAST)!
Nearly four decades ago, the Brundtland Report gave the world a clear wake-up call: build sustainable systems that meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. Yet here we are today, watching climate change accelerate, inequality deepen, and environmental systems falter. These aren’t isolated challenges; they are interconnected symptoms of a global system that often prioritizes short-term gain over the health of the planet and of its inhabitants.
Why MAST?
At Franklin, we believe organizational and systemic transformation is urgently required. And we also believe it is possible. But to reach the goals of a more just and sustainable world, we need to rethink the systems we’ve inherited and to imagine the ones we want to build. How do we think disciplines together to understand what kinds of knowledge are key to changing societal structures? How do we apply such transformational skills so that care for one another and for the planet are at the heart of our institutions? How can we help you carve out the roles you want to play in creating changes in sustainability?
Think like a forest
We have had the privilege of working with ecologist and environmental photographer Alison Pouliot in creating our webpage. Her stunning images of forests and fungi remind us that nature itself can often serve as an inspiration for our own behavior.
Alison Pouliot is an ecologist and professional environmental photographer with a focus on fungi. She is actively involved in teaching, research, and conservation, lecturing across a range of photographic and environmental themes. Alison is the author of The Allure of Fungi, Wild Mushrooming, Underground Lovers, Meetings with Remarkable Mushrooms, Funga Obscura, and Mushroom Day.
Visit her website: www.alisonpouliot.com
A forest for instance can be thought of as similar to a human community: both rely on complex networks of relationships for their stability, success, and survival. Trees interact through vast underground networks of fungi that live in symbiosis with their roots, connecting them to one another; fungi in turn act like an insurance policy, kickstarting recovery after disturbances, making the forest more resilient and adaptable.
This is why we invite you to think like a forest: dynamic, cooperative, and interconnected.
What do liberal arts have to do with sustainability?
The forest analogy helps us expand our collective imagination, which is essential when rethinking what it means to live among other living things. This kind of reimagining is a foundation of the liberal arts, and of effective transformation.
The MAST curriculum blends the best of the liberal arts with real-world engagement. We draw on a wide range of disciplines, from the environmental humanities, economics, communication, and environmental studies to politics, governance, and design, to help you think critically, design effectively, and lead collaboratively.
Why the liberal arts, you might wonder, when so many brilliant scientists, economists, and policy experts are already doing this work? Because sustainability isn’t just a technical, environmental, or policy issue. It’s a human issue. It raises questions about meaning, values, responsibility, politics, and vision, and about how people are affected in everyday life. Those are questions the liberal arts help us explore.
With their broad, interdisciplinary, reflective, and nuanced approach, the liberal arts cultivate essential skills: critical and creative thinking, systems analysis, and ethical reasoning. In the MAST program, this means equipping you to understand complexity of intertwined systems, to be able to map what sort of change is effective in the systems that surround us and to engage in its human dimensions.
We believe that we all have something to bring to the table, and much to learn from one another. This is why MAST welcomes students from all disciplinary backgrounds.
Your academic journey with MAST
MAST sets up pedagogical structures and engages pioneers in sustainability who will share their own challenges and challenge you in turn to ask your own questions. We offer space for discussions and reflections so you can find your own answers; and we grant you access to organizations who have successfully built their own sustainability programs helping you to build international networks that will be invaluable as you go out into your chosen field.
You will move beyond the walls of the classroom, in immersive retreats in cities like Zurich and Geneva, through collaborative fieldwork, and in continuous dialogue with practitioners and changemakers.
- In Semester One you will develop a strong foundation in sustainability issues and debates across four key areas--economics, the humanities, environmental studies, and social thought--anchored by a methodology course in interdisciplinarity, using SDG-based case studies. As you approach these shared case studies through various disciplinary lenses, you will understand how different types of knowledge are produced, and how to integrate them.
- Semester Two focuses on transformation: the skills and strategies you need to analyze organizational contexts and drive change. A second methodology course introduces you to transdisciplinarity, the bridge between academia and society, using the inner development goals (IDGs) that build on the SDGs. A lecture series with practitioners across different sectors gives you the opportunity to engage directly with people leading change.
- Semester Three supports you in applying what you have learned through hands-on, collaborative projects with partner organizations that address sustainability issues at the local, regional, and global level. It culminates in a collaborative, practice-based master’s thesis of 45 credits or 90 ECTS.
- An optional fourth semester supports advanced, research‑based work, culminating in a thesis that can serve as a foundation for doctoral-level work. Completing the fourth semester earns a full 60‑credit / 120‑ECTS degree.
Where MAST can take you
Sustainability is a defining challenge for our time, and MAST graduates are prepared to work across sectors and scales. Potential career paths include:
Policy & governance
Shape public policy, lead sustainability initiatives in governments or NGOs, or engage in international climate and human rights diplomacy. Work on developing and implementing local, national, or global policies that promote environmental justice, decarbonization, or circular economies. Contribute to multilateral frameworks, regional resilience plans, or interdisciplinary task forces working at the intersection of science, law, and ethics.
Creative, cultural & communication roles
Craft compelling narratives through media, film, art, or public campaigns. Work in museums or cultural organizations exploring the human dimensions of sustainability. Use storytelling, journalism, and visual media to influence public opinion and mobilize communities. Curate exhibitions or digital content that highlight climate injustice, Indigenous knowledge systems, or the ethical aspects of planetary stewardship.
Corporate & consulting
Serve as ESG strategists or sustainability officers. Join mission‑driven enterprises or launch your own initiative focused on systems change. Support organizations in building ethical, low-impact business models or assessing their environmental and social impact. Work in consulting, innovation hubs, or green startups to align strategy with climate goals and social equity.
Academia & research
Take the path to doctoral‑level research or teach in sustainability‑related fields. Engage in policy development or interdisciplinary scholarship. Lead research in areas like climate adaptation, biodiversity, sustainable design, communication or food systems. Translate academic insight into actionable strategies that inform institutions, governments, and civil society.
Community & education
Facilitate participatory processes around land use, education, and social innovation. Work in community resilience, urban planning, or regenerative development. Design educational programs that integrate systems thinking and sustainability literacy for learners of all ages. Collaborate with grassroots organizations to co-create local solutions rooted in justice, equity, and long-term resilience.
What sets MAST apart
With MAST, you will gain a broad understanding of key issues and debates in sustainability studies, real-world experience in different kinds of organizations, an international professional network, a global perspective, a degree fully accredited in both Switzerland and the US, and the confidence to map out change wherever you go.
Here’s what makes the program distinct:
- Learn from experts and practitioners in Switzerland, one of the world’s most sustainability‑forward countries
- Gain interdisciplinary insight into environmental, social, and economic issues in their broader political and cultural contexts;
- Work closely with faculty and partners thanks to small cohorts and personalized mentorship
- Engage in immersive, project‑based learning rooted in critical thinking and open inquiry
- Build an international professional network and apply your knowledge in diverse settings
- Graduate fluent in systems thinking, ready to lead with both strategic insight and human understanding
- Earn a degree fully accredited in both the U.S. and Switzerland, unlocking global opportunities
Let’s start a conversation
If this sounds like the kind of challenge you’re ready to take on, I would be delighted to meet with you to discuss the program further and answer any questions you may have. Write to me to set up a Zoom meeting: cwiedmer@fus.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.
With warm wishes,
Caroline Wiedmer
Academic Director, Master of Arts in Sustainability and Transformation