Sustainable Transportation and Logistics graduate program continues to advance despite current challenges
Dr. Stephen Still lecturing for students in the STL Master’s Program
Published March 30, 2026
By CSEE staff
At the November 2025 External Advisory Board (EAB) meeting, stakeholders from academia, industry and government discussed the current state of the Sustainable Transportation and Logistics (STL) graduate program. The STL program is a flagship graduate academic offering provided by the Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics (SS ISTL) at the University at Buffalo.
The discussion was led by Jamie Kang, associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and co-director of the Sustainable Transportation and Logistics (STL) Master of Science Program at the University at Buffalo.
During the 2024-2025 academic year, the STL program enrolled 15 students, including nine continuing students and six new students. In 2025-2026, enrollment declined to six students, with five continuing and one new student. These numbers remain lower than pre-COVID enrollment, likely due to ongoing challenges for international students.
To address these concerns, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is implementing a recruitment strategy that includes an SS ISTL-branded graduate flyer, virtual information sessions and campus events to engage prospective students and their families.
Additional efforts are being made to promote continuing education opportunities related to the SS ISTL and its associated STL course offerings. One initiative is a proposed four-course certificate program, which would require enrollment in existing core or approved elective STL courses.
Three focus areas are being considered:
- Transportation, led by the Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering
- Logistics, led by the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Supply chains, led by the School of Management.
Instruction for the proposed certificate program may be offered in both in-person and online formats for selected course topics.
STL stakeholders are also considering an online, webinar-style lecture series focused on transportation and data sciences. The tentative plan is to offer a series of lectures delivered by multiple instructors, each presenting a specialized topic. Priority topics suggested by the EAB include safety engineering, autonomous vehicle engineering, and Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO). TSMO, a Department of Transportation initiative, emphasizes improving the performance of existing transportation systems before expanding capacity. Potential challenges for the proposed webinar series include the resources required to coordinate, produce, and deliver specialized instructional content.
Updates on these initiatives will be discussed at the Spring 2026 EAB meeting, scheduled for May 13-14, 2026. Questions about the STL program may be directed to Jamie Kang (jeeeunka@buffalo.edu).
A new promotional video highlighting the STL program is available to be viewed here.
