The graduate certificate in sustainability provides students with the opportunity to customize their graduate experience, adding sustainability training to any graduate degree program offered at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Graduate students can complete the sustainability certificate by selecting courses that meet both their degree and Sustainability requirements. As such, most students can add the sustainability certificate on to a degree without any additional time or cost. PhD students may use the sustainability certificate to fulfill their doctoral breadth requirement, though in this case courses may not be double-counted for major requirements.
The certificate’s interdisciplinary curriculum considers environmental, economic, and social factors of sustainability. Through coursework and co-curricular activities focused on solving sustainability challenges across the state, students deepen their understanding of the complexities and solutions involved in addressing today’s most pressing challenges. Students may wish to add this certificate as they prepare for a sustainability-related career pathway in industry, academia, NGOs, government agencies, or consulting. The certificate includes coursework across three thematic areas:
- Economics & Development (Economy)
- Systems Analysis, Planning & Engineering (Systems)
- Environmental Policy, Health & Social Studies (Environment, Culture and Society)
Admissions
The Sustainability certificate welcomes applications from students in any graduate degree program at UW-Madison that allows students to pursue a certificate. Students may apply to the certificate program concurrently with their graduate school application or once they have matriculated at UW-Madison. Acceptance into the certificate program is contingent on enrollment in a graduate degree program.
How to Apply
All Graduate School students must utilize the Graduate Student Portal in MyUW to add, change, or discontinue any graduate/professional certificate. To apply to this certificate, log in to MyUW, click on Graduate Student Portal, and then click on Add/Change Programs. Select the information for the certificate for which you are applying. Professional students in the careers of Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary cannot add the certificate in the Graduate Student Portal, and should contact the program for more information.
Complete the online Certificate in Sustainability application form, which includes the following elements:
- Information on prior educational attainment
- Information on degree program being pursued
- A brief statement of interest in the Sustainability certificate
Deadlines
Applications may be submitted at any time, but applicants are encouraged to apply before the end of their first year in graduate school to ensure timely completion of certificate requirements.
Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVIR ST 900 | Seminar (Topic: Sustainability Capstone) | 3 |
| Economics Development (Economy) | 3 | |
| Systems Analysis, Planning Engineering (Systems) | 3 | |
| Environmental Policy, Health Social Studies (Environment, Culture and Society) | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 12 | |
Economics & Development (Economy)
Students must select one course from the list below.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 557 | Development and Environment in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/A A E/ECON/URB R PL 671 | Energy Economics | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 534 | Environmental Governance: Markets, States and Nature | 3 |
| A A E 643 | Foundations of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| R M I 650 | Sustainability, Environmental and Social Risk Management | 2-3 |
| REAL EST 651 | Green - Sustainable Development | 3 |
| A A E/ECON/F&W ECOL 531 | Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| OTM 770 | Sustainable Approaches to System Improvement | 4 |
| ENVIR ST 977 | Sustainable Development - Integral Perspective | 3 |
Systems Analysis, Planning & Engineering (Systems)
Students must select one course from the list below.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CIV ENGR 494 | Civil and Environmental Engineering Decision Making | 3 |
| E P D 660 | Core Competencies of Sustainability | 3 |
| CIV ENGR/G L E 421 | Environmental Sustainability Engineering | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 900 | Seminar (Topic: Infrastructure Indigenous Water Resources) | 1-3 |
| ENVIR ST/BSE 367 | Renewable Energy Systems | 3 |
| URB R PL 841 | Urban Functions, Spatial Organization and Environmental Form | 2-3 |
| GEOG 507 | Waste Geographies: Politics, People, and Infrastructures | 3 |
| BSE 473 | Water Management Systems | 3 |
| CIV ENGR 629 | Special Topics in Environmental Engineering (Topic: Infrastructure: Case Studies Exploring Sustainability and Climate Change in Engineered Works) | 1-3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/LAND ARC/URB R PL 532 | Applications of Geographic Information Systems in Planning | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/LAND ARC/SOIL SCI 695 | Applications of Geographic Information Systems in Natural Resources | 3 |
| LAND ARC 511 | Geodesign Methods and Applications | 3 |
Environmental Policy, Health & Social Studies (Environment, Culture and Society)
Students must select one course from the list below.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGRONOMY/AGROECOL/ENVIR ST 724 | Agroecosystems and Global Change | 3 |
| PUB AFFR/ENVIR ST/POLI SCI 866 | Global Environmental Governance | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ECON/POLI SCI/URB R PL 449 | Government and Natural Resources | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/CURRIC 932 | Foundations of Environmental and Sustainability Education | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/URB R PL 843 | Land Use Policy and Planning | 3 |
| HISTORY/ENVIR ST/LEGAL ST 430 | Law and Environment: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives | 3 |
| LSC/ENVIR ST/JOURN 823 | Science and Environment Communication | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 439 | US Environmental Policy and Regulation | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/URB R PL 865 | Water Resources Institutions and Policies | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 537 | Culture and Environment | 4 |
| GEN&WS/INTL ST 535 | Women's Global Health and Human Rights | 3 |
| ANTHRO 917 | Globalization and Transnational Cultures | 3 |
Limitations
Students also pursuing the Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility can overlap a maximum of 6 credits between the two certificates.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an awareness of the three paradigms (environment, economy, and society) of sustainability, in a systems context.
- Apply the three paradigms of sustainability to an interdisciplinary real world project.
- Prepare for a sustainability-related career pathway in industry, academia, NGO's, agencies, and consulting.