Economics

Deadlines and Electives for the Sustainability Certificate

Deadlines

The Graduate Certificate in Sustainability students can join the program in Fall, Winter or Spring terms. The Department of Economics follows a rolling admission policy for all submitted applications, regardless of when they are submitted. However, the following deadlines are recommended to ensure students can start the certificate in the designated term.

  • Fall admission: June 30
  • Winter admission: October 26
  • Spring admission: February 4

We currently do not offer funding for certificate-only students. If you are a current student at PSU with a Graduate Assistantship, your funding may allow you to take the courses necessary for the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability. Please check with the Program Director for your main graduate program to verify if this is possible.

Elective Courses

Students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability must take two elective courses totaling at least 7 credits. Browse currently offered electives below.

Similar relevant courses may be substituted for the elective courses listed below. Please contact the Program Coordinator to request a substitute.

Department Course number Course Title Credits
Accounting ACTG 560 Professional Ethics and the Public Interest 2
Anthropology ANTH 561 Past Human-Environment Interactions 4
Architecture ARCH 521 Urban Design Methods 4
  ARCH 531 Contemporary Urban Design 4
  ARCH 533 Contemporary Issues Seminar 4
  ARCH 535 Topics in Modernism 4
  ARCH 562 Advanced Architectural Materials 4
Biology BI 529 Conservation Biology 4
Black Studies BST 510 TOP: Food Justice 4
  BST 514 Racism 4
  BST 550 Race and Sustainability 4
Civil Engineering CE 512 Sustainability in Civil and Environmental Engineering 1
  CE 514 Transportation Seminar 1
  CE 574 Unit Operations in Water and Wastewater 4
  CE 581 The Columbia River as a System 4
  CE 583 Estuarine Circulation 4
  CE 585 Environmental Cleanup and Restoration 4
  CE 586 Environmental Chemistry 4
  CE 588 Air Quality 4
Chemistry CH 586 Environmental Chemistry 4
Communication COMM 515 Problems in Intercultural Communication 4
  COMM 529 Health Communication Campaigns 4
Conflict Resolution CR 510 TOP: Peace, Conflict, and Globalization 4
  CR 510 Transitional justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Resolution 4
Economics EC 517 Women in the Economy 4
  EC 522 Economics of Sustainability 4
  EC 530 Resource and Environmental Economics 4
  EC 531 Urban Economics 4
  EC 537 Public Utility Economics 4
Education EC 620 Doctoral Studies Professional Seminar 1
Education Leadership and Policy ELP 506 LSE Comprehensive Exam 4
  ELP 508 Sense of Place 4
  ELP 510 TOP: Permaculture and Whole Systems Design 4
  ELP 510 Nonviolence and Sustainability: Gandhi's Philosophy in Practice 4
  ELP 510 TOP: Theory and Practice of Sustainability 4
  ELP 517 Ecological and Cultural Foundations of Education 4
  ELP 519 Sustainability Education 4
  ELP 524 Spiritual Leadership 4
  ELP 540 Urban Farm Education 4
  ELP 548 Advanced Global Political Ecology 4
  ELP 550 Advanced Leadership for Sustainability 4
  ELP 571 Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum 4
English     ENG 507 Postcolonial Ecology 4
  ENG 507 Queer Ecologies 4
  ENG 594 Biopolitics 4
Environmental Science and Management ESM 516 Ecosystem Restoration 4
  ESM 520 Ecological Toxicology 4
  ESM 524 Wetland Ecology and Regulations 4
  ESM 527 Watershed Biogeochemistry 4
  ESM 528 Urban Ecology 4
  ESM 529  Environmental Impact Assessment 4
  ESM 535 Natural Policy and Management 4
  ESM 557/ESR 657 Science, Media, and the Public 1
  ESM 560 Air Quality 4
  ESM 564 Managing Climate Risks/Vulnerabilities 4
  ESM 565 Investigating Ecological and Social Issues in Urban Parks and Natural Areas 4
  ESM 571 Atmospheric Physics 4
  ESM 574 Fish Ecology and Conservation 4
  ESM 585 Ecology and Management of Bio-Invasions 4
  ESM 588 Environmental Sustainability 4
  ESM 590/690 Ecosystem Services & Sustainability: Toolbox 1
  ESR 692 Foundations of Ecosystem Services 4
Engineering and Technology Management ETM 530/630 Decision Making in Engineering and Technology Management 4
  ETM 568/668 Energy Technology Innovations 4
Geography GEOG 512 Climate Change Science and Impact 4
  GEOG 542 Sustainable Cities 4
  GEOG 545 Resource Management Topics 4
  GEOG 546 Water Resource Management 4
  GEOG 548 Urban Forest 4
  GEOG 607 Seminar: Community Resilience II 1
  GEOG 694 Methods and Models in Ecosystem Services 4
Information Systems ISQA 511 Sustainable Operations Management 4
  ISQA 558S Food Industry Supply and Logistics 4
Mechanical Engineering ME 522 Building Energy Use Modeling 4
  ME 525 Advanced Topics in Building Science 4
Management MGMT 521S Design Thinking for Social Innovation 4
  MGMT 522S Money Matters for Social Innovation 4
  MGMT 523S Storytelling for Social innovation 4
Native American Studies NAS 507 SEM: Indigenous Ecological Healing Practices 4
Public Administration PA 510 Social Sustainability of Energy 3
  PA 510 Sustainable Systems and Organizational Resilience 3
  PA 513 Administrative Ethics and Values 3
  PA 514 Global Leadership and Management 3
  PA 516 Current Issues in Public Management 3
  PA 517 Leadership Development/Public Organizations 3
  PA 541 Social Entrepreneurship 3
  PA 542 Sustainable Development Implementation 3
  PA 553 Sustainable Development: Policy and Governance 3
  PA 558 Managing Public Projects 3
  PA 563 Citizens and Administration 3
  PA 564 Current Issues in Environmental Policy and Administration 3
  PA 565 Natural Resource Policy and Administration 3
  PA 567 Energy Resources Policy and Administration 3
  PA 568 Forest Policy and Administration 3
  PA 573 Designing the Smart Grid for Sustainable Communities 3
  PA 574 Food and Agriculture Policy 3
Physics PH 571 Climate Change Science 4
  PH 573 Alternative Energies 4
Public Health Education PHE 510 TOP: Food System Sustainability 3
  PHE 522/622 Health and Social Inequalities 3
  PHE 580 CNCPT Environmental Health 3
Philosophy PHL 549 Philosophy of Sustainability 4
Political Science PS 530 Seminar in International Relations 4
  PS 549 International Environmental Politics and Law 4
Psychology PSY 510 Ecopsychology 4
Sociology SOC 526 Gender and Mental Health 4
  SOC 527 Gender and Work 4
  SOC 541 Population and Society 4
  SOC 565/665 Environmental Sociology 4
  SOC 579/679 Food, Justice, and Social Movements 4
  SOC 584/684 Social Inequality 4
  SOC 585/685 Medical Sociology 4
Social Work SW 520 Social Work and Social Welfare Policy 3
  SW 539 Social Justice in Social Work  3
Systems Science SYSC 511 Systems Theory 4
  SYSC 513 Holistic Strategies for Problem Solving 4
  SYSC 518 Sustainable Systems and Organizational Resilience 4
  SYSC 523 Systems Ideas and Sustainability 4
Urban Studies and Planning USP 510 Climate Resiliency Planning 3
  USP 510 Transit Planning 3
  USP 510/569 Sustainable Cities and Regions 3
  USP 510/610 Theorizing Urban Ecologies 3
  USP 512 Environmental Planning Methods 3
  USP 518 Energy and Society 3
  USP 519 Population and Society 3
  USP 524 Site Planning 3
  USP 529 Green Buildings I 3
  USP 544 Urban Transportation Planning 3
  USP 545 Cities and Third World Development 3
  USP 551 Community Economic Development 3
  USP 556 Urban Transportation: Problems and Policy 3
  USP 565 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning 3
  USP 572 Regional Economic Development 3
  USP 588 Sustainable Development Practices 3
  USP 590 Green Economics and Sustainable Development 3
  USP 593 Public Participation GIS 3
  USP 595 Reshaping the Metropolis 3
  USP 597 Regional Economic Analysis 2
  USP 616 Cities in the Global Political Economy 3
Women's Studies WS 517 Women in the Economy 4
  WS 526 Gender and Mental Health 4
  WS 551 Interrupting Oppression 4