Students pursuing MBAs are looking for courses able to provide them with environmental perspective. And while the average business student seems to be interested in working for socially responsible employers, there is also an element of practicality involved.

Just a few years ago, corporations weren't specifically worried about greening business practices. There has been a rapid transition in the consumer psyche, and greener companies have had a marketing edge. Now, running a business in a sustainable manner has become essential rather than a marketing gimmick. Students have paid attention to this change and have realized that they have a lot to learn to join capitalize fully on the sustainability revolution.

Students have made a push for including environmental classes into business school curricula. No longer do they have to head off for special programs to learn environmental stewardship. The Aspen Institute has even started ranking schools on the basis on their environmental curricula — Stanford University holds the first spot on the institute's 'Beyond Grey Pinstripes' list.

According to a poll by Experience Inc., 81 percent of students say that it is important to work for a green company and 79 percent say that they would be more likely to accept a job offer from a green company over other options, assuming the offers were similar. Up until now, the real question has been whether those students -- with brand new MBAs in hand -- would be able to find the sort of socially responsible jobs they hoped for.

These days, though, there are no questions. Corporations need to fill positions that didn't exist ten years ago — jobs like environmental consultant, corporate governance specialist and ethics officer — and they're turning to students to take on the challenge. In only the past four years, the number of CSR jobs has grown 37 percent, according to Net Impact. 

The number of educational opportunities available to students interested in the field could still use a little improvement, however. Because of the relative youth of the field, internships are often limited. Many schools are still working to implement green curricula, and quite a few are still in the absolute beginning stages of the process. Many students are looking for educational options with more depth than those offered on many campuses. They're looking for classes that cover environmental issues on a macro level: how alternative fuels might affect shipping options, the costs and benefits of carbon offsets and similar issues. These students want case studies, facts and figures, and even textbooks. MBA programs are still working on providing them.

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