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Graduate Certificate Programs
RELATED GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS
The Graduate Certificate Program in Astrobiology at the University of Washington features:
- specially designed courses, seminars and workshops
- rotations through research laboratories
- multidisciplinary dissertation committees
The Astrobiology Program is not a degree-granting unit or academic department. Our program is offered in cooperation with the Ph.D. programs of our participating departments, and the Certificate is earned through required coursework and activities in addition to the participating student's Ph.D. program requirements.
Admission to a participating Ph.D. program and to the Astrobiology Program is necessary to pursue the Certificate.
Environmental Management Graduate Certificate
Environmental managers face unprecedented challenges in decision making: advances in science and technology, businesses considering sustainability a core driver of strategy, and growing public awareness of the role of the environment in healthy communities and sustainable economies.
The University of Washington’s Environmental Management Program is based on the idea that managing the most important environmental problems and opportunities requires a systems approach which integrates knowledge that crosses disciplines. This requires a team of professionals from diverse fields with multidisciplinary problem solving skills. In the Environmental Management Program, graduate students from across the University collaborate to tackle real-world problems with profound policy, scientific, and business ramifications. The program consists of
•Three core courses in the areas of Environmental Policy, Business and the Environment, and Science Application
•Two-quarter-long Keystone Project with community partners that address contemporary problems in environmental management
•One elective course to further students' knowledge relevant to their academic and career goals
Interdisciplinary and Policy Dimensions of the Earth Sciences (IPDES)
•Apply earth sciences to issues of public policy
•Design graduate research that contributes to solving pressing problems confronting society
•Develop interdisciplinary thinking and problem-solving skills
•Experience the dilemma of crafting sensible policies in the face of ambiguous and often contradictory scientific findings
Humans both affect and are affected by planetary systems. At the turn of the 21st century, for the first time in the history of the planet, through population growth, human land use patterns, energy consumption, and a wide range of environmental pollutants, human actions have impacts on a planetary scale. Some have said that humans are now one of the most if not the most powerful geomorphic force on earth. Since humans are now changing the planet on every scale, and since the human population is expected to double by 2100, we need to think systematically and creatively about human-induced planetary changes that may “… alter the capacity of the earth system to sustain life.”
The Earth Sciences play an indispensable role in a safe and prosperous society, but too often scientific wisdom does not translate to wise decision-making. This innovative new program provides graduate students in the Earth sciences a forum to explore interdisciplinary and policy dimensions of their science, and extend their graduate research to encompass those dimensions. Students earn a graduate degree in the home department, with the collaborative component recognized by the Graduate School as a Certificate in “Interdisciplinary and Policy Dimensions of the Earth Sciences”.
PCC Outreach Training/ Certificate
The UW Program on Climate Change is an interdisciplinary program in climate science that strives to integrate education, research and outreach activities on campus. The goals are :
•To create a strong sense of community among faculty and students interested in climate change.
•To develop new courses that focus on the issues of climate change.
•To create an intellectual atmosphere (through seminars, research, and special topic institutes) that establishes the UW as a place where important questions about how climate and our physical and human world interact are formulated and addressed.
•To make the whole of the climate change effort at UW a powerful force in the training of future scientists and policy makers and in the understanding of past, present, and future climate.
IPOC - IGERT Program on Ocean Change
The IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) program was established by the National Science Foundation to enrich the Ph.D. educational experience of scientists and engineers through interdisciplinary training, research, and mentorship. Building on a foundation of deep disciplinary knowledge, the program emphasizes collaborative research that spans traditional disciplines, advances diversity, and serves society. More information about the national program can be found at NSF's IGERT site and IGERT.org.
