Certificate in Environmental Resource Policy

The environmental resource policy certificate requires four courses, with options including Policy Analysis, Introduction to Environmental Law and Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources. This overview of central concepts in environmental resource policy provides a focused experience to prepare students for careers in the field or help advance their current career paths.

 

Certificate Benefits

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Expand Your Knowledge

Some students use the graduate certificate in environmental resource policy to delve into environmental resource policy without committing to a master's degree program. Others use the program as an entrance point into an MA in environmental resource policy or an MPP with an environmental policy concentration. Whatever path they choose, all students will leave the program with a thorough understanding of environmental sciences and resources, as well as the policies and laws that govern them.

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Four Classes, Several Possibilities

In the core Policy Analysis course and three electives, students learn to:

  • Design, analyze, implement and evaluate environmental policy
  • Understand relevant international, federal, state and local environmental policies, processes and tools
  • Identify basic aspects of environmental science and how scientific principles govern the natural behavior of the Earth’s environment;
  • Identify the economic factors that drive the decisions of firms and consumers when it comes to environmentally-relevant behavior. 

 

 

Admissions Requirements

Applicants for the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Resource Policy must hold a bachelors degree with a Grade Point Average of 3.0 or better.  In addition, applicants must submit two letters of recommendation. GRE scores are not required.

The deadline for students who wish to begin courses in the Fall semester is July 1 while those wishing to begin in the Spring semester must apply by October 1st of the prior year.

Relation to the Master's Programs

If you begin the certificate and decide to apply to the MA-ENRP or MPP degree program, you must apply by the posted deadline and meet the admissions requirements of the program. Up to nine credits of your certificate coursework taken prior to admission to a degree program will be accepted in the master’s program within two years of completing the course and if a grade of B or better has been earned in the course. If you’d like to have all 12 credits apply toward a degree, you need to apply and gain admission to the degree before registering for your fourth course. 

 

Course Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled: 12 credits in required courses.

Required
ENRP 6101Environmental Sciences I: Physical Sciences
or ENRP 6102 Environmental Sciences II: Life Sciences
PPPA 6006Policy Analysis
PPPA 6007Microeconomics for Public Policy I
or ECON 6237 Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources
PPPA 6066U.S. Environmental Policy
or PPPA 6140 Introduction to Environmental Law

If, by virtue of prior coursework, a student can demonstrate competency in all topics covered in a required course, another graduate course relevant to environmental policy may be substituted for that course. Permission of the Environmental Resource Policy Program Director or Director of Graduate Studies is required.