The undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability requires 24 s.h. of credit. Students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.00 in work for the certificate.
The certificate may be earned by any student admitted to the University of Iowa who is not enrolled in a UI graduate or professional degree program. Undergraduate to Graduate (U2G) students may earn the certificate when the undergraduate classification is primary.
Work for the certificate includes four introductory core courses, three courses from preapproved breadth area electives, and one project/integrative systems course. Students may be able to count certificate courses toward requirements for other majors, minors, or other certificates. They may count a maximum of three courses in a single department or program toward the certificate. A maximum of 6 s.h. of approved transfer credit may be counted toward the certificate. Certificate courses may not be taken pass/nonpass. A course may be used to satisfy only one certificate requirement.
Individuals must declare their intent to earn the certificate; see the Certificate in Sustainability website for details.
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.
The Certificate in Sustainability requires the following coursework.
Introductory Core
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Both of these: | ||
| GEOG:1070 | Contemporary Environmental Issues | 3 |
| GEOG:2013/BUS:2013/SUST:2013/URP:2013 | Introduction to Sustainability | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| ENGL:1510 | Introduction to Environmental Literature | 3 |
| JMC:1800 | Twenty-first-Century Science: Environmental Communication in the Digital Age | 3 |
| One of these: | ||
| EES:1080/ENVS:1080 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3-4 |
| EES:1085/ENVS:1085 | Fundamentals of Environmental Science | 4 |
Breadth Electives
Students complete at least 3 s.h. in each of the following three breadth areas.
Dynamics of Natural Systems
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least 3 s.h. from 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:3405 | Green Chemical and Energy Technologies | 3 |
| CBE:5425/CEE:5115 | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics | 3 |
| CEE:4102 | Groundwater | 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:4630 | Hydrogeology | 4 |
| GEOG:1020 | The Global Environment | 3 |
| GEOG:2950 | Environmental Conservation | 4 |
| GEOG:3340 | Ecosystem Services | 3 |
| IALL:3131 | Ecology | 4 |
| Or both of these: | ||
| EES:2010/ENVS:2010/GEOG:2010 | Interdisciplinary Environmental Seminar | 1 |
| EES:3080 | Introduction to Oceanography | 2 |
Dynamics of Human Systems
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least 3 s.h. from these: | ||
| AMST:1154 | Food in America | 3 |
| ANTH:1046/GEOG:1046/GWSS:1046/SJUS:1046 | Environmental Politics in India | 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/NAIS:3240 | Cultural Resources Management Archaeology: Practice and Practicalities | 3 |
| ANTH:3260 | Pleistocene Peopling of the Americas | 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 |
| CHEM:1050 | Chemistry of Our World | 3 |
| CPH:2200 | Climageddon: Understanding Climate Change and Associated Impacts on Health | 3 |
| CPH:3500/GHS:3500 | Global Public Health | 3 |
| CPH:4200 | Agriculture, Food Systems, and Sustainability | 3 |
| ECE:5630 | Sustainable Energy Conversion | 3 |
| ECON:3625/URP:3135 | Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| ECON:3650 | Policy Analysis | 3 |
| EES:1115/ENVS:1115/GEOG:1115/HIST:1115 | The History of Oil | 3 |
| EES:4790 | Applied Environmental Geology | 3 |
| GEOG:1090 | Globalization and Geographic Diversity | 3 |
| GEOG:2110/GHS:2110 | Eight Billion and Counting: Introduction to Population Dynamics | 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:3300/GHS:3300 | Envisioning Future Worlds: Sustainable Development and Its Alternatives | 3 |
| GEOG:3420 | Sustainable and Green Building Concepts | 3 |
| GEOG:3780/GHS:3780/HIST:3240/POLI:3431 | U.S. Energy Policy in Global Context | 3 |
| GEOG:3800 | Environmental 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 | 3 |
| GHS:3560 | Global Garbage and Global Health | 3 |
| IS:3200 | Sustainable Development | 3 |
| ME:4048 | Energy Systems Design | 4 |
| NAIS:1290/AMST:1290/GHS:1290/HIST:1290 | Native American Foods and Foodways | 3 |
| PBAF:2020/URP:2020 | Environment and Society: Sustainability, Policy, and Politics | 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 |
| SOC:1040 | Energy, Sustainability, and Society | 3 |
| TDSN:3200 | Product Design | 4 |
| TDSN:4010 | Furniture Design I | 4 |
| URP:6253/PBAF:6253 | Designing Sustainable and Healthy Cities | 1-3 |
| URP:6256/PBAF:6256 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
Communication, Ethics, and Interpretation
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least 3 s.h. from these: | ||
| AFAM:2770/GHS:2770/SOC:2770 | Black and White Community Politics | 3 |
| CNW:2740 | The Art and Craft of Writing about the Environment | 3 |
| ENGL:2329 | Topics in Modern British Literature Before 1900 (when topic is British literature and environmental history) | 3 |
| ENGL:3565 | Literature and the Environment | 3 |
| ENTR:3500 | Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| FREN:1007 | Nature/Ecology French Philosophy and Fiction | 3 |
| GEOG:4770/AFAM:4770/GHS:4770 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| HIST:3230 | American Environmental History | 3 |
| JMC:3185 | Topics in Understanding Media (when topic is risk communication) | 3 |
| LAW:8622 | International Environmental Law | 3 |
| MGMT:2000 | Introduction to 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/PBAF:6273 | Community Development Through Creative Placemaking | 3 |
Project/Integrative Systems
All students complete coursework from the following.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least 3 s.h. from these: | ||
| ABRD:3049 | Sustainable Chemistry | arr. |
| ABRD:3445 | India Winterim (when topic is water poverty or sustainable development) | 3 |
| ANTH:2261 | Human Impacts on the Environment | 3 |
| CBE:4410/CEE:4107 | Sustainable Systems | 3 |
| CNW:3660/ENGL:3760 | Multimedia Writing (when topic is environmental writing and filmmaking) | 3 |
| EES:3150 | Sustainability Project | 2 |
| ENTR:3700 | Sustainable Innovation and Management | 3 |
| ENTR:4100 | International Entrepreneurship, Culture, and Social Impact | 3 |
| ENVS:3230 | Special Topics (when topic is prairie restoration) | 3 |
| EVNT:3180 | Sustainable Events | 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) | 3 |
| MKTG:4250 | Marketing and Sustainability | 3 |
| TDSN:3260 | Design for Production (when topic is special issues and topics in design) | 4 |
| URP:4170 | Megacities Seminar | 3 |
| URP:6256/PBAF:6256 | Environmental Policy | 3 |
| URP:6273/PBAF:6273 | Community Development Through Creative Placemaking | 3 |
Sample Plan of Study
Sample plans represent one way to complete a program of study. Actual course selection and sequence will vary and should be discussed with an academic advisor. For additional sample plans, see MyUI.
Sustainability, Certificate
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| GEOG:1070 | Contemporary Environmental Issues | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| JMC:1800 or ENGL:1510 |
Twenty-first-Century Science: Environmental Communication in the Digital Age or Introduction to Environmental Literature |
3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| EES:1080 or EES:1085 |
Introduction to Environmental Science or Fundamentals of Environmental Science |
3 - 4 |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Spring | ||
| SUST:2013 | Introduction to Sustainability | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Certificate: dynamics of natural systems breadth area course a | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| Certificate: communication, ethics, and interpretation breadth area course a | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Certificate: dynamics of human systems breadth area course a | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| Certificate: project/integrative systems area course a | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 24-25 | |
- a
- Refer to General Catalog for a list of approved course options.