Water, Energy, & Materials Circularity Graduate Certificate

This graduate certificate program provides interdisciplinary training to prepare students to address global issues related to water, energy, and material use and reuse. The program combines training in policy, science, and engineering with different perspectives, such as community, government, entrepreneur, and business. Students who complete the program will be able to create policies, products, or processes that ensure the circular and sustainable use of energy, material resources (metals, minerals), and water while meeting humanity’s needs. Two required courses (6 credits total) plus a series of electives will equip students with the appropriate background and fundamental skills needed to work in industry, non-profits, and government (e.g., green engineering, life cycle assessment, economic and policy tools, qualitative interviewing, and the co-creation of solutions with attention to different cultural viewpoints). 

The Water, Energy, and Materials Circularity Graduate Certificate is designed to be completed in two semesters, but students are welcome to pursue the program on a part-time basis. If a student has already completed any of the required or elective courses included in the degree plan for this graduate certificate, visit this page to understand the policies about applying credits towards this post-baccalaureate certificate.

Required Coursework: 

• CEGE5524 A Circularity Revolution: Working to Close the Loop on Global Issues, 3 credits in the fall. Note: this course was formerly listed as GCC5044 under the same title or CEGE5180 Introduction to Circularity Systems.

• ME8243 Research and Methods for Sustainability Impact, 3 credits in the spring.

Elective Coursework: 

Students must complete one elective from each of the following two lists of courses to earn a total of 6 credits.

Choose one course from the Food/Water/Energy Technology themed courses to earn 3 credits total:

1. BBE 4733 - Renewable Energy Technologies (3 cr.) OR CEGE 5513 - Energy Conversion from Wind, Hydro, and Solar Resources (3 cr.)
2. CHEM 4601 - Green Chemistry (3 cr.)
3. ESCI 5402 - Science and Politics of Global Warming (3 cr.)
4. ESPM 5251 - Natural Resources in Sustainable International Development (3 cr.)
5. ESPM 5603 - Environmental Life Cycle Analysis (3 cr.)
6. GCC 5008 - Policy and Science of Global Environmental Change (3 cr.)
7. ME 5312 - Solar Thermal Technologies (4 cr.)
8. SSM 5407 - Sustainable Manufacturing Principles and Practice (3 cr.)

Choose one course from the Policy and Systems themed courses to earn 3 credits total:

1. ESCI 5105 - Environmental Justice in the 21st Century (3 cr.)
2. ESPM 5202 - Environmental Conflict Management, Leadership, and Planning (3 cr.)
3. MGMT 6402 - Integrative Leadership: Leading Across Sectors to Address Grand Challenges (3 cr.)
4. PA 5243 - Environmental Justice in Urban Planning and Public Policy (3 cr.)
5. PA 5711 - Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (3 cr.)
6. PA 5723 - Water Policy (3 cr.)
7. PA 5761 - Environmental Systems Analysis at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (3 cr.)
8. PA 5771 - Change Leadership for Environmental, Social, and Governance Action (3 cr.)
9. STEP 5715 Various Topics: Deliberating Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (1.5 cr. - note: this course can be taken twice to earn 3 credits total)
10. PA 5751 - Addressing Climate and Energy Challenges at the Local Scale (3 cr.)

As the world’s population pushes towards an expected 9.7 billion people by 2050, we are pushing up against our planet’s resource limits in multiple domains - soil, water, raw materials, and energy resources, among others. In order to care for and support our planet, wise stewardship of these resources will be essential. This program equips an interdisciplinary range of students with the skills needed to accomplish this task.

Employment data shows that sustainability jobs are booming in the U.S. and globally as corporate ESG efforts accelerate. Locally, Waste Wise, a non profit that aims to reduce waste, has grown from 3 employees working on material stewardship in 2012 to over 10 employees in 2024. Large corporations in the area have strong sustainability programs, such as Target, Andersen Windows, Pentair, Medtronic, Ecolab, and 3M that will require a trained workforce. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded nearly $3 million to universities to train students in circularity education using interdisciplinary approaches.

Prerequisites include a bachelor's degree and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants must submit a resume or CV and a statement of interest.

Students are admitted two times per year according to the following deadlines:

• Fall term: August 1
• Spring term: December 1

Click here to apply