Sustainability and Climate Action, Certificate
(Code 488-601)
Advisors: J. Boulter (Public Health and Environmental Studies), C. Pierce (Public Health and Environmental Studies), B. Rockler (Public Health and Environmental Studies), L. Suppes (Public Health and Environmental Studies).
This certificate is for students who are concerned about the escalating climate crisis and who seek the foundational understanding and skills to lead societal and technological transitions necessary to achieve a sustainable world. It is designed to complement students’ primary field(s) of study so that they can apply their learning from these five courses to whatever future academic studies and/or career paths they follow. All enrolled students will gain curricular breadth, essential to developing their interdisciplinary thinking to address this 21st century problem.
Minimum of 15 credits with at least 9 credits at the 300-level or above.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Climate science fundamentals – take 1 of the following | ||
| Environmental Biology and Conservation | ||
| Chemistry and Climate | ||
| Environmental Chemistry | ||
| Climatology | ||
| Global Environmental Change | ||
| Climate policies and systems – take 1 of the following | ||
| Environmental Economics | ||
| U.S. Environmental and Sustainability Policy | ||
| Geography of Food | ||
| International Environmental Problems and Policy | ||
| Global Health | ||
| Environmental Sociology | ||
| Scientific/technical solutions – take 1 of the following | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| Taking the Measure of Sustainability | ||
| Remote Sensing of the Environment | ||
| The Future of Global Energy | ||
| Earth Resources and Sustainability | ||
| Living in a Materials World | ||
| Societal transitions – take 2 of the following | ||
| Contemporary American Indian Communities | ||
| Topics in Communication and Social Advocacy (when offered as Environmental Communication) | ||
| Sustainability Basics and Beyond | ||
| Sustainable Cities | ||
| Waste & Society: Energy, Food, and Efficiency | ||
| Sustainable Placemaking and Community | ||
| Introduction to Public Health | ||
| Sociology of Food and Agriculture | ||
Note: A minimum of 48 unique credits must be earned between the student’s major and this certificate for purposes of meeting graduation requirements for first- and second-degree programs.
Program Learning Outcomes
Students completing this program will be expected to meet the following learning outcomes:
- Explain in an easily accessible manner the fundamental basis of climate change from a scientific viewpoint and exclude false narratives.
- Identify connections between physical changes in climate systems and changes in social systems: this includes how climate threatens human social systems in addition to how policy decisions affect climate change.
- Illustrate how both technological advances and changes to policy and behavior can either mitigate the severity of climate change and/or improve adaptation of human and natural systems in a changing climate.