The Certificate in Public Interest Design is offered to both graduate students and professionals in Portland and beyond. The certificate consists of 18 credit hours of course options from several disciplines, with a focus on the “triple bottom line” of sustainability (social, environmental and economic), ranging from Social Entrepreneurship to Environmental Sustainability to Creating Collaborative Communities . The coursework is anchored by a seminar in public interest design and culminates in fieldwork or practicum on a real-world public interest design project.
COURSEWORK (minimum of 14 credits)
Seminar (Required Course)
ARCH 533 Contemporary Issues Seminar: Public Interest Design in Practice (4)
Social (Choose 1)*
ARCH 585. Design Thesis (w/ PID focus; Master of Architecture students only) (6)
MGMT 521 Design Thinking for Social Innovation (online) (4)
PA 543 Creating Collaborative Communities (3)
USP 550 Participatory Planning (3)
USP 552 Urban Poverty in Critical Perspective (3)
Environmental (Choose 1)*
ARCH 563 Building Science Research Topics (w/ PID focus) (4)
ESM 588 Environmental Sustainability (4)
ESM 528 Urban Ecology (4)
GEOG 532 Urban Landscapes (4)
USP 588 Sustainable Development Practices (3)
Economic (Choose 1)*
ARCH 543 Topics in Professional Practice (w/ PID focus) (4)
PA 525 Grantwriting for Nonprofit Organizations (3)
PA 541 Social Entrepreneurship (3)
MGMT 522 Money Matters for Social Innovation (online) (4)
USP 580 Political Economy of Nonprofit Organizations (3)
USP 590 Green Economics and Sustainable Development (3)
Minimum coursework total (made up of courses from the above 4 categories): 14 credits
Fieldwork (Required Course)
ARCH 541 Fieldwork/Practicum (4)
Minimum fieldwork total: 4 credits
GRAND TOTAL REQUIRED**: Minimum of 18 credits
* Terms when courses are offered are subject to change. Students are responsible for checking course prerequisites and availability. Elective course may be substituted for equivalent course with advance approval.
** A minimum of five (5) courses, one from each category (Public Interest Design [ARCH 533], Social, Environmental, Economic, and Fieldwork [ARCH 541]), is required for completion of certificate.