Add a Certificate in Sustainability
The Department of Geographical and Sustainability Science offers an undergraduate certificate in Sustainability. Certificates enhance and enrich undergraduate academic programs and broaden students' opportunities for post-graduation employment or graduate studies. Certificates are interdisciplinary and draw on courses offered by multiple departments to craft a broad foundation on each subject.
Sustainability embraces many disciplines, methodologies, and institutional practices. Certificate students must have knowledge of the interdisciplinary nature of the field, which is represented by the program's breadth electives: dynamics of natural systems; dynamics of human systems; and communication, ethics, and interpretation. They also must have experience with analyzing real-life problems in and outside of the classroom and in working collaboratively to solve such problems.
Requirements
- Requires 24 semester hours of credit
- Students must maintain a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 in work for the certificate
- Certificate courses may not be taken pass/nonpass
- A maximum of 6 semester hours of approved transfer credit may be counted toward the certificate
- Students who major in sustainability science cannot earn the certificate
- Certificate students may count a maximum of three courses in a single department/program toward the certificate
- Students may be able to count some certificate courses toward requirements for other majors, minors, or other certificates
- A course may be used to satisfy only one certificate requirement
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| Both of these: | ||
| ENGL:1510 | Introduction to Environmental Literature | 3 |
| GEOG:2013/BUS:2013/URP:2013 | Introduction to Sustainability | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| EES:1080/ENVS:1080 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3-4 |
| EES:1085/ENVS:1085 | Fundamentals of Environmental Science | 4 |
| GEOG:1070 | Contemporary Environmental Issues | 3 |
Students complete at least 3 semester hours in each of the following three breadth areas.
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| BIOL:1260 | Plants and Human Affairs | 3 |
| BIOL:2374/GEOG:2374 | Biogeography | 3 |
| BIOL:2673/ENVS:2673 | Ecology | 3 |
| CBE:2040 | Environment, Energy, and Climate Change | 3 |
| CBE:2050/CEE:2050 | Severe and Unusual Weather | 3 |
| CBE:5405 | Green Chemical and Energy Technologies | 3 |
| CEE:4102 | Groundwater | 3 |
| CEE:4103 | Water Quality | 3 |
| CHEM:4873 | Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry | 3 |
| EES:1040 | Evolution and the History of Life | 3-4 |
| EES:1290 | Energy and the Environment | 3 |
| EES:1400 | Natural Disasters | 3 |
| EES:2310/GEOG:2310 | Introduction to Climatology | 3 |
| EES:3070 | Marine Ecosystems and Conservation | 3 |
| EES:3080 & ENVS:3000 | Introduction to Oceanography - Environmental Science Seminar | 3 |
| EES:4630 | Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEOG:1020 | The Global Environment | 3 |
| GEOG:2950 | Environmental Conservation | 3 |
| GEOG:3310 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
| GEOG:3340 | Ecosystem Services: Human Dependence on Natural Systems | 3 |
| IALL:3131 | Ecology | 4 |
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| AMST:1154 | Food in America | 3 |
| AMST:3047 | American Disasters | 3 |
| AMST:3063 | American Ruins | 3 |
| ANTH:1046/GEOG:1046/GWSS:1046 | Big Ideas: People and the Environment - Technology, Culture, and Social Justice | 3 |
| ANTH:2100 | Anthropology and Contemporary World Problems | 3 |
| ANTH:2261 | Human Impacts on the Environment | 3 |
| ANTH:3103 | Environment and Culture | 3 |
| ANTH:3240 | Cultural Resources Management Archeology: Practice and Practicalities | 3 |
| ANTH:3260 | Pleistocene Peopling of the Americas | 3 |
| ANTH:4130/RELS:4730 | Religion and Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| ARTH:1090 | Earthly Paradises: A Global History of Gardens | 3 |
| ARTH:3090 | Contemporary Architecture | 3 |
| CBE:2030 | Energy and Society | 3 |
| CBE:4459/CEE:4159/IGPI:4159 | Air Pollution Control Technology | 3 |
| CEE:3790 | Resilient Infrastructure and Emergency Response | 3 |
| CEE:4158/OEH:4920 | Solid and Hazardous Wastes | 3 |
| CEE:4788/GHS:4126/PHAR:8788/THTR:4265 | International Perspectives: Xicotepec | 2 |
| CHEM:1050 | Technology and Society | 3 |
| CPH:2200 | Climageddon: Understanding Climate Change and Associated Impacts on Health | 2 |
| CPH:3500/GHS:3500 | Global Public Health | 3 |
| ECE:5630 | Sustainable Energy Conversion | 3 |
| ECON:3625/URP:3135 | Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| ECON:3770/URP:3360 | Urban Transportation | 3 |
| EES:1115/ENVS:1115/GEOG:1115/HIST:1115 | The History and Science of Oil | 3 |
| EES:4790 | Engineering Geology | 3 |
| GEOG:1090 | Globalization and Geographic Diversity | 3 |
| GEOG:2110/GHS:2110 | Eight Billion and Counting: Introduction to Population Dynamics | 3 |
| GEOG:2410 | Environment and Development | 3 |
| GEOG:2910 | The Global Economy | 3 |
| GEOG:3070/GHS:3070 | Hungry Planet: Global Geographies of Food | 3 |
| GEOG:3210/CPH:3400 | Health, Work, and the Environment | 3 |
| GEOG:3420 | Sustainable Development and Green Building Concepts | 3 |
| GEOG:3750 | Environmental Quality: Science, Technology, and Policy | 3 |
| GEOG:3780/GHS:3780/HIST:3240 | U.S. Energy Policy in Global Context | 3 |
| GEOG:3800 | Environmental Economics and Policy | 3 |
| GEOG:3920/URP:3001 | Planning Livable Cities | 3 |
| GEOG:4150/GHS:4150/IGPI:4150 | Health and Environment: GIS Applications | 3 |
| GEOG:4750/URP:4750 | Environmental Impact Analysis | 4 |
| GHS:3560 | Global Garbage and Global Health | 3 |
| GHS:4162/HIST:4162 | History of Global Health | 3 |
| GHS:4605/HIST:4605 | Disease, Politics, and Health in South Asia | 2-4 |
| IE:4550 | Wind Power Management | 3 |
| IS:3200 | Sustainable Development | 3 |
| ME:4048 | Energy Systems Design | 4 |
| MSCI:3030 | Business Process Analysis | 3 |
| NAIS:1290/AMST:1290/GHS:1290/HIST:1290 | Native American Foods and Foodways | 3 |
| NAIS:3276/RELS:3976 | American Indian Environmentalism | 3 |
| OEH:4240 | Global Environmental Health | 3 |
| POLI:1400 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLI:1500 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| POLI:2417 | Comparative Environmental Policy | 3 |
| POLI:3424 | Global Development | 3 |
| TDSN:3200 | Product Design | 4 |
| TDSN:3210 | Furniture Design I | 4 |
| URP:6253 | Designing Sustainable and Healthy Cities | 3 |
| URP:6257 | Environmental Management | 3 |
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| ANTH:4130/RELS:4730 | Religion and Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| CNW:2740 | The Art and Craft of Writing about the Environment | 3 |
| CW:3210/INTD:3210 | Creative Writing and the Natural World | 3 |
| ENGL:2329 | Topics in Modern British Literature Before 1900 (when topic is British literature and environmental history) | 3 |
| ENGL:3105 | Topics in Popular Culture (when topic is food studies) | 3 |
| ENGL:3510 | Topics in Transnational Literature (when topic is rivers and rivals) | 3 |
| ENGL:3570/CL:3570/GWSS:3570 | Transnational and Postcolonial Writing by Women (when topic is women gone wild) | 3 |
| ENGL:4003 | Honors Seminar: Literary Theory and Interdisciplinary Studies, 20th/21st Century (when topic is becoming human: literature, culture, environment) | 3 |
| ENGL:4195 | Interdisciplinary Studies (when topic is animal stories) | 3 |
| ENTR:3500 | Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| FREN:1007 | Nature/Ecology French Philosophy and Fiction | 3 |
| GEOG:4770/GHS:4770 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| HIST:3230 | American Environmental History | 3 |
| JMC:3185 | Topics in Mass Communication (when topic is risk communication) | 3 |
| LAW:8622 | International Environmental Law | 3 |
| RHET:3700 | Advocacy and Sustainability: Crafting Stories of People, Place, and Resilience | 3 |
| SCLP:3895 | Topics in Sculpture (when topic is art at the edge of the landfill) | 4 |
| URP:6273 | Community Development in the Upper Midwest | 3 |
Students select an additional 3 semester hours from one of the three breadth areas above: dynamics of natural systems; dynamics of human systems; or communication, ethics, and interpretation.
| Course number | Course name | Semester hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARBD:3445 | India Winterim (when topic is approved) | arr. |
| ANTH:2261 | Human Impacts on the Environment | 3 |
| CBE:4410/CEE:4107 | Sustainable Systems | 3 |
| CNW:3660 | Multimedia Writing (when topic is environmental writing and filmmaking) | 3 |
| EES:3150 | Sustainability Project | arr. |
| ENGL:4000 | English Honors Seminar (when topic is becoming human: literature, culture, environment) | 3 |
| ENGL:4195 | Interdisciplinary Studies (when topic is animal stories) | 3 |
| ENTR:3700 | Sustainable Product Innovation and Management | 3 |
| GEOG:2930 | Water Resources | 3 |
| GEOG:3001 | Special Topics (when topic is sustainability) | 3 |
| GEOG:3400 | Iowa Environmental Policy in Practice | 3 |
| GEOG:3760/GHS:3760 | Hazards and Society | 3 |
| GHS:4100 | Topics in Global Health (when topic is sustainability) | 1-3 |
| GHS:4180 | Climate Change and Health | 3 |
| INTM:3750 | Art and Ecology | 4 |
| MKTG:4250 | Marketing and Sustainability | 3 |
| TDSN:6295 | Design for Production and Business (when topic is special issues and topics in design) | 4 |
| URP:4752 | Eighth Generational Planning: Envisioning Cities for Year 2228 | 3 |
| URP:6256 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
| URP:6273 | Community Development in Upper Midwest | 3 |
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Questions?
Hannah Whitcomb
Title/Position
Senior Academic Advisor