Why Choose a Sustainability Certificate?
Perhaps the best reason for pursuing a sustainability certificate is a personal interest in learning practical skills to make a difference in the world — in your life, in your job, and in your community. Working toward a certificate offers students the opportunity to pursue interests that complement their major(s). For example, the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability encourages students to consider multiple perspectives. In doing so, this certificate provides a breadth of perspective highly applicable to complex problems, such as those we face in our communities, in our workplaces, and in our personal lives.
The Nelson Institute also offers a major and another certificate:
Environmental Studies Major
Environmental Studies Certificate
How to Get in
How to Declare
Students interested in declaring the sustainability certificate can email undergrad@nelson.wisc.edu or request a declaration appointment. Information about declaring the certificate can be found at undergraduate advising.
Students who earn a sustainability certificate may not earn the environmental studies certificate or the certificate in engineering for energy sustainability.
Requirements
The certificate requires 15 credits of coursework:
- at least 2 credits from each of the four main categories:
- Environmental Dimension
- Social Dimension
- Economic Dimension
- Systems Dimension
- Completion of a sustainability-related community service project or seminar:
- ENVIR ST 398 Independent Study: Sustainability Community Engagement (1 cr)
- 2 credits in ENVIR ST 317 Community Environmental Scholars Program Seminar
- ED POL 120 Environmental and Sustainability Education in Wisconsin Policy and Practice (3 cr)
- Additional credits from any of the course lists to meet the 15 credit minimum.
Environmental Dimension
Complete a minimum of 2 credits from this list.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN/GEOSCI 102 | Climate and Climate Change | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOSCI 106 | Environmental Geology | 3 |
| LAND ARC/AMER IND 106 | Earth Partnership Indigenous Arts and Sciences | 3 |
| PHYSICS 115 | Energy and Climate | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 120 | Introduction to the Earth System | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ILS 126 | Principles of Environmental Science | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 127 | Physical Systems of the Environment | 4 |
| SOIL SCI/ATM OCN/BSE 132 | Water and People | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN 171 | Global Change: Atmospheric Issues and Problems | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ILS 255 | Introduction to Sustainability Science | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 260 | Introductory Ecology | 3 |
| AGROECOL 303 | Agroecological Systems: Working Towards Sustainability | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 309 | People, Land and Food: Comparative Study of Agriculture Systems | 3 |
| CIV ENGR 311 | Hydroscience | 3 |
| SOIL SCI 327 | Environmental Monitoring and Soil Characterization | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN/GEOG 332 | Global Warming: Science and Impacts | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ATM OCN 355 | Introduction to Air Quality | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/F&W ECOL/ZOOLOGY 360 | Extinction of Species | 3 |
Social Dimension
Complete a minimum of 2 credits from this list.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVIR ST 112 | Environmental Studies: Social Science Perspectives | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 139 | Global Environmental Issues | 3 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 140 | Introduction to Community and Environmental Sociology | 4 |
| ED POL 197 | Listening to the Land | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/ENTOM 205 | Our Planet, Our Health | 3 |
| GNS/ENVIR ST 210 | Cultures of Sustainability: Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe | 3 |
| URB R PL 215 | Welcome to Your Urban Future | 3 |
| C&E SOC/F&W ECOL/SOC 248 | Environment, Natural Resources, and Society | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/AMER IND 306 | Indigenous Peoples and the Environment | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 337 | Nature, Power and Society | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 339 | Conservation and Climate Change - Local to International Strategies | 4 |
| ENVIR ST/AMER IND/GEOG 345 | Caring for Nature in Native North America | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 349 | Climate Change Governance | 3 |
| A A E/NUTR SCI 350 | World Hunger and Malnutrition | 3 |
| CNSR SCI 360 | Sustainable and Socially Just Consumption | 3 |
| PUB AFFR 366 | U.S. Environmental Politics and Public Policy | 3 |
| ECON 370 | Economics of Poverty and Inequality | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 439 | US Environmental Policy and Regulation | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/PHILOS 441 | Environmental Ethics | 3-4 |
| ENVIR ST/SPANISH 445 | Culture and the Environment in the Luso-Hispanic World | 3 |
| GEN&WS 472 | Food for Thought: An Intersectional Approach | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 537 | Culture and Environment | 4 |
| SOC/C&E SOC/ENVIR ST 540 | Sociology of International Development, Environment, and Sustainability | 3 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 541 | Environmental Stewardship and Social Justice | 3 |
Economic Dimension
Complete a minimum of 2 credits from this list.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A A E/ENVIR ST 244 | The Environment and the Global Economy | 4 |
| A A E 246 | Climate Change Economics and Policy | 3 |
| GEN BUS 250 | Sustainable Capitalism | 2 |
| M H R 310 | Challenges & Solutions in Business Sustainability | 3 |
| A A E/ECON/ENVIR ST 343 | Environmental Economics | 3-4 |
| A A E 352 | Global Health: Economics, Natural Systems, and Policy | 4 |
| ECON 370 | Economics of Poverty and Inequality | 3 |
| OTM 370 | Sustainable Approaches to System Improvement | 3 |
| A A E/INTL ST 373 | Globalization, Poverty and Development | 3 |
| CIV ENGR/G L E 421 | Environmental Sustainability Engineering | 3 |
| A A E/ECON 474 | Economic Problems of Developing Areas | 3 |
| A A E/ECON/F&W ECOL 531 | Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| R M I 650 | Sustainability, Environmental and Social Risk Management | 3 |
| REAL EST 651 | Green - Sustainable Development | 3 |
Systems Dimension
Complete a minimum of 2 credits from this list.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CIV ENGR 121 | Sustainability Engineering for Non-Engineers | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 326 | Sustainability Tools: Systems Thinking & Life Cycle Assessment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 365 | Systems Thinking | 3 |
| M E 478 | Engineering Sustainability: Linking Technology, Policy, Health, and Economics | 3 |
| CIV ENGR 494 | Civil and Environmental Engineering Decision Making | 3 |
Multidimensional and Cross-topics Courses
Courses from this list may be completed to meet the minimum credits required to complete the certificate, but are not required.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVIR ST/SOIL SCI 101 | Forum on the Environment | 1-2 |
| INTER-AG 117 | GreenHouse Roots Seminar | 1 |
| ED POL 120 | Environmental and Sustainability Education in Wisconsin Policy and Practice | 3 |
| AN SCI 210 | You and Your Food: Farm to Table | 2 |
| LAND ARC 211 | Shaping the Built Environment | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 215 | Sustainability | 3 |
| PLANTSCI/PL PATH 261 | Sustainable Turfgrass Use and Management | 2 |
| ED POL 320 | Climate Change, Sustainability, and Education | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/GEOG 333 | Green Urbanism | 3 |
| PUB AFFR 340 | Intermediate Evidence-Based Policymaking and Communication | 3 |
| CHICLA/CURRIC 354 | Race and Language in STEM and Environmental Education | 3 |
| A A E/PL PATH/PLANTSCI 367 | Introduction to Organic Agriculture: Production, Markets, and Policy | 3 |
| ENVIR ST/BSE 367 | Renewable Energy Systems | 3 |
| LAND ARC 373 | Mindfulness in Restorative Environments | 3 |
| AGROECOL 377 | Global Food Production and Health | 3 |
| PLANTSCI 380 | Indigenous Foodways: Food and Seed Sovereignty | 2 |
| CURRIC/C&E SOC/ENVIR ST 405 | Education for Sustainable Communities | 3 |
| ENVIR ST 417 | Sustainability Science, Technology and Policy | 1 |
| DY SCI 471 | Food Production Systems and Sustainability | 3 |
| DY SCI/AN SCI/FOOD SCI/SOIL SCI 472 | Animal Agriculture and Global Sustainable Development | 1 |
| CIV ENGR 495 | Sustainable Building and Materials | 3 |
| CIV ENGR 525 | Case Studies Exploring Infrastructure Sustainability and Climate Change | 3 |
| URB R PL 551 | Climate Action Planning: Sustainable Transportation | 3 |
| DS 555 | Sustainable Fashion Practices - Unraveled & Redesigned | 3 |
| LAND ARC 563 | Designing Sustainable and Resilient Regions | 4 |
Residence and Quality of Work
- A 2.00 GPA in all coursework that counts toward the certificate
- Courses taken on a pass/fail basis will not count toward the certificate.
- A minimum of 8 credits must be taken in residence.
Certificate Completion Requirement
This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student’s undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify, critically analyze, and propose solutions to the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability.
- Engage in systems thinking and practice so as to address the interrelationships among the three dimensions of sustainability.
- Develop the capacity for an engaged life in which theory, practice, and reflection are integrated in the pursuit of a more sustainable world.
Advising and Careers
Nelson Institute students are represented in majors across campus and in most undergraduate schools and colleges. Sustainability certificate students should utilize the career office for their home school as appropriate. All students, not just Letters & Science students, can also benefit from SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science.