Community Resilience and the Environment Bridging Disciplines Program Certificate*
- *
This program is pending approval at time of publication.
This program focuses on the intersection of environmental impacts and sociocultural factors in local, national, and global contexts. Students learn about the key principles of community resilience and about the legal, institutional, and social contexts for efforts to promote resilience. At the same time, the program will cultivate skills needed to engage effectively in community resilience work, and students learn about the importance of shared decision-making that includes the communities most impacted by environmental hazards. Through hands-on research and internship experiences that allow them to apply what they learn in the classroom, students will combine scientific and social scientific research-based approaches to address environmental challenges in communities, build resilience, and improve outcomes. Designed to complement a range of majors, the program prepares students for a variety of career paths, whether working as researchers investigating how different communities are affected by exposure to environmental hazards, as policymakers designing solutions, or in intersecting fields such as education or journalism.
Total Required Hours: 20
Requirements
Requirements are listed in the table below. Additional requirements may follow the table, so be sure to read the entire page. Some required courses listed below may also satisfy General Education requirements, including Core Curriculum. Students should also review the University's Undergraduate Minor and Certificate Requirements and Policies.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Hours chosen from: Forum Seminars | 2 | |
| Environmental Change and Sustainability | ||
Approved hours | ||
| Hours chosen from: Skills Foundation | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Outside major (see advisor) | ||
| Communicating Sustainability | ||
| Sustainable Systems Engineering | ||
Hours chosen from: Approved list | ||
| Additopinal approved Hours chosen from: At least one course from each of the following categories | 9 | |
| Environment | ||
| Environmental Anthropology | ||
| Vulnerability to Natural Hazards | ||
| Humans and a Changing Ocean | ||
Hours chosen from: Approved list | ||
| Communities | ||
| Smart, Green, and Just | ||
| Topics in Political Science | ||
| Building America: Engineering, Society, and Culture, 1868-1980 | ||
| Environmental Inequality and Health | ||
Hours chosen from: Approved list | ||
| Approved Hours chosen from: Two different research or internship Connecting Experiences (see advisor) | 6 | |
| Connecting Research Experience | ||
| Connecting Research Experience | ||
| Connecting Internship Experience | ||
| Undergraduate Minor and Certificate Requirements and Policies | ||
| Total Hours | 20 | |
Additional Requirements and Policy
- A three to four page essay in which students reflect on what they have learned and accomplished through their experience is required. The essay is reviewed and must be approved by a member of the faculty panel in order to complete the certificate requirements
- To create an interdisciplinary experience, students must choose courses from a variety of disciplines. Only one of the strand courses may come from the student's major department(s) or from same as with the student's major department(s). The certificate as a whole must represent a variety of disciplines; the advisor can help ensure that the coursework will meet the certificate requirements for interdisciplinarity.
- In courses taken for a letter grade, the student must obtain a grade of at least C- .
- A cumulative certificate GPA of at least 2.0 is required.
- Only one BDP course, including connecting experience, may be taken pass/fail. Any exceptions will be considered by the faculty panel on an individual basis.
- The student may be able to count courses toward the certificate that are not listed, if enough of the course content relates to the BDP topic. Consult with the advisor to petition a course to count towards the certificate.