Overview

University College offers a twelve-credit, four-course interdisciplinary Certificate in Sustainability. This undergraduate certificate provides an opportunity for students to advance their knowledge of sustainability from the orientation of different disciplines, to introduce them to concepts of systems thinking to make them more competitive in a job market that increasingly is requiring sustainability expertise and skills.

Students will select from an existing array of courses in various disciplines. A faculty committee will regularly review new courses proposed by the schools and colleges to be included in available offerings for the certificate.

The certificate is available to all undergraduate degree-seeking students to complete as part of their studies. Consult a school academic advisor about how the required classes fit into academic and career plans.

This certificate may be conferred upon a student upon satisfactory completion of the required credits with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.

Program Code: UC-SUST-CERT

Contact Information

For questions about the Certificate in Sustainability contact sustainabilitycertificate@temple.edu.

Certificate Requirements

  1. The undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability will require four (4) courses and a minimum of twelve (12) credit hours.
  2. The four courses will be selected as follows:
    1. One course (or 3 credits) from the Sustainable Environment category (SE).
    2. One course (or 3 credits) from the Sustainable Social and Culture category (SS).
    3. One course (or 3 credits) from the Sustainable Economics and Politics category (SP).
    4. The final course taken will be Sustainability in Action (UC 3101).
  3. One course may be from the student's major department if it is not fulfilling a requirement within that major.
  4. General Education courses can be included in the array of courses, but can constitute no more than one of the four courses toward the certificate. 
  5. The certificate courses in sustainability can satisfy other minors and/or certificates.

Approved Courses

Students will select from an existing array of courses in various disciplines (see course list below). The three categories (Sustainable Environment (SE), Sustainable Social and Culture (SS), and Sustainable Economics and Politics (SP)) within the Certificate of Sustainability have a list of courses that satisfy the requirements for that area. To find courses offered in a specific term, see the “Finding Courses” instructions below. The codes (SE, SS, and SP) indicate which categories the course will fulfill. Please note that some courses may be offered only once a year.

Finding Courses 

To find the Certificate in Sustainability courses offered in a semester within each area, students may locate the information in two primary ways:

  • Go directly to the Class Schedule Search page on the university's web site. Select a semester, click Continue and click Advanced Search. Use the Attribute filter to find courses that are available in any of the following areas: Sustainable Environment (SE), Sustainable Social and Culture (SS), and/or Sustainable Economics and Politics (SP).
  • Go to the TUportal. Students must log into TUportal with their username and password. Select the Student tab. Select Browse Class Schedule in the Registration channel. Select a semester and click Advanced Search. Use the Attribute filter to find courses that are available in either Sustainable Environment (SE), Sustainable Social and Culture (SS), and/or Sustainable Economics and Politics (SP).
Art and Architecture, Tyler School of
ARCH 1001Introduction to Design and the Environment (SE, SS)3
ARCH 2124Facility Management Foundation II (SE, SP)3
ARCH 2151Architecture, Technology, and the Environment (SE, SS)3
ARCH 3111Introduction to Historic Preservation (SS, SP)3
ARCH 3354Sustainability and Architecture (SE, SP)3
ARTH 2005Cultural Heritage Preservation (SE, SS)4
ARTH 2753Art and Environment in American Culture (SS)4
BOT 1112Plant Ecology (SE)3
CDEV 1113Introduction to Community Development (SE, SS, SP)3
CDEV 2255Environmental Justice in Communities (SS)3
CDEV 2354Cooperatives (SS, SP)3
CDEV 3155Healthy Community Design and Development (SE, SS)3
CDEV 3334Community Economic Development (SS, SP)3
CDEV 3455Community Engagement and Empowerment (SS)3
CTRP 0807People, Places, and Environment (SE, SP)3
CTRP 2114Urban Form and Design (SS)3
CTRP 2166Land Use Planning (SE, SS, SP)3
CTRP 2213Environmental Planning (SE)3
CTRP 2251Sustainable Food Systems Planning (SE, SS, SP)3
CTRP 3155Ecological Planning and Development (SE, SP)3
CTRP 3255Sustainability in Suburban Communities (SE, SS, SP)3
CTRP 3256Sustainable Community Design and Development (SS, SP)3
CTRP 3655Transportation Planning (SE, SS, SP)3
HORT 2221Herbaceous Plants I (SE)3
HORT 2222Herbaceous Plants II (SE)3
HORT 2334Food Crops I (SE)3
HORT 2353Food Crops II (SE, SS)3
HORT 2552Trees in the Urban Landscape (SE, SS, SP)2
HORT 2556Introduction to Beekeeping (SE)3
HORT 3514Landscape Restoration (SE)3
LARC 0841Sustainable Design (SE)3
LARC 0852Green vs. Gray: Improving and Sustaining Urban Ecosystems (SE, SS, SP)3
LARC 1013Natural and the Built Environment (SE)3
LARC 1111Introduction to Green Careers in Landscape Architecture (SE)1
LARC 2243Landscape Engineering II (SE)3
LARC 2754Water Design in the City (SE)2
LARC 2758Summer Field Ecology (SE)3
Business and Management, Fox School of
BA 3531Sustainability on the Ground (SS)3
HRM 2511Corporate Sustainability: People, Profits & Planet (SE, SS, SP)3
HRM 3505Sustainable Organizational Leadership (SE, SS, SP)3
LGLS 3511Environmental Law and Sustainability (SE, SS, SP)3
MKTG 2511 (SE, SS)3
SGM 3511Doing Well by Doing Good: Where Innovation and Entrepreneurship Meet Social Impact (SE, SS, SP)3
Education and Human Development, College of
AOD 3319Skill Building for Social Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement (SS, SP)3
Media and Communication, Lew Klein College of
CSI 3401Social Activism and Community Organizing (SS)3
JRN 3253Health and Environmental Writing (SS)3
MSP 3473Media and the Environment (SS)3
Engineering, College of
CEE 0845The Environment (SE)3
or CEE 0945 Honors: The Environment
or ENVT 0845 The Environment
or ENVT 0945 Honors: The Environment
CEE 1051Introduction to the Environment (SE, SS)3
CEE 2711Environmental Chemistry & Microbiology (SE)3
CEE 2712Introduction to Environmental Engineering (SE)3
CEE 2715Principles of Sustainable Engineering (SE, SS)3
CEE 3711Environmental Engineering (SE)3
CEE 3712Environmental Fluids and Contaminant Dynamics (SE)3
CEE 3715Microbiological Principles of Environmental Engineering (SE)3
CEE 3725Water Quality and Analysis Lab (SE)1
CEE 3727Environmental Hydrology and Stormwater Management (SE)3
CEE 4531Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprinting (SP)3
CEE 4631Environmental Hydrology (SE)3
CEE 4641Urban Streams and Stormwater Management (SE)3
CEE 4711Air Pollution Control System (SE)3
CEE 4725Environmental Systems Design (SE)3
CEE 4773Sustainability Aspects of Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment (SE, SS, SP)3
CMT 3341Environmental and Safety Aspects of Construction (SE, SS)2
ENGR 4577Nanotechnology Solutions for a Sustainable Urban Environment (SE)3
ENVT 4741Environmental Modeling (SE)3
MEE 4506Energy Conversion Laboratory (SE)1
MEE 4575Renewable and Alternative Energy (SE)3
MEE 4577Power Generation and Storage Technologies (SE)3
Public Health, College of
ENVH 1103International Health (SS)3
or ENVH 1903 Honors International Health
ENVH 2102Environmental Health (SE, SS)3
HRPR 1001Public Health: The Way We Live, Work and Play (SS)3
SBS 2301Contemporary Slavery and Public Health (SS)3
Liberal Arts, College of
ANTH 0814Human Ecology (SE, SS)3
or GUS 0814
ANTH 2001Evolution and Human Environments (SE, SS)3
ASST 3001Earth Ethics (SS)3
or ENST 3001 Earth Ethics
or ENST 3904 Honors Earth Ethics
or REL 3001 Earth Ethics
or REL 3904 Honors Earth Ethics
ASST 3052Environmental Problems in Asia (SE, SS, SP)3
or ENST 3052 Environmental Problems in Asia
or GUS 3052 Environmental Problems in Asia
ECON 3596Energy, Ecology, and Economy (SE, SP)3
or ENST 3596 Energy, Ecology, and Economy
ENST 0842Sustainable Environments (SE, SS, SP)3
or ENST 0942 Honors Sustainable Environments
or GUS 0842 Sustainable Environments
or GUS 0942 Honors Sustainable Environments
ENST 2002Physical Geography (SE, SS)4
ENST 2025Environmental Law and Regulation (SS, SP)3
ENST 2051The Urban Environment (SE, SS, SP)3
or GUS 2051 Urban Environment
ENST 2157Environmental Ethics (SS)3
or ENST 2957 Honors Environmental Ethics
or PHIL 2157 Environmental Ethics
or PHIL 2957 Honors Environmental Ethics
ENST 3004Geography of Natural Resources (SE, SS, SP)3
ENST 3023Police, Prisons, and Pollution (SE, SS)3
or GUS 3023 Police, Prisons, and Pollution
ENST 3051Environmental Policy Issues (SS)3
or GUS 3051 Environmental Policy Issues
ENST 3053Climatology (SE)3
or GUS 3053 Climatology
ENST 3054Energy, Resources and Society (SE)3
ENST 3056Political Ecology (SE, SS)3
or GUS 3056 Political Ecology
ENST 3057Sustainable Cities (SE, SS)3
or GUS 3057 Sustainable Cities
ENST 3058Environment and Development (SE, SP)3
or GUS 3058 Environment and Development
ENST 3152U.S. Environmental Policy (SS)3
or POLS 3152 U.S. Environmental Policy
ENST 3214North American Environmental History (SS)3
or HIST 3214 North American Environmental History
ENST 3265International Environmental Policy (SE, SS)3
or POLS 3265 International Environmental Policy
ENST 3314Food Studies: A Geographical Perspective (SS)3
or GUS 3314 Food Studies: A Geographical Perspective
ENST 4017Health and Environment Seminar (SE, SS)3
or ENST 4917 Honors Health and Environment Seminar
or GUS 4017 Health and Environment Seminar
or GUS 4917 Honors: Health and Environment Seminar
ENST 4066Environmental GIS (SE)3
GUS 3016Contemporary Issues in City Planning (SE, SS)3
GUS 3307Transportation & Culture (SS)3
or ENST 3307 Transportation and Culture
SOC 3511Environmental Sociology: The End of the World as We Know It? (SS)3
Science and Technology, College of
BIOL 2227Principles of Ecology (SE)3
BIOL 3275Ecology of Invasive Species (SE, SP)3
BIOL 3307Conservation Biology (SE, SS, SP)3
BIOL 3316Tropical Marine Biology (SE)4
BIOL 3321Plant Community Ecology (SE, SS)3
BIOL 3323Global Change Science: Analytics with R (SE, SS)3
BIOL 3335Life at the Extremes - Polar Biology (SE)3
BIOL 3336Freshwater Ecology (SE)4
BIOL 3389Field Research in Community Ecology (SE)4
BIOL 4327Biological Impacts of Global Climate Change (SE, SS, SP)3
CHEM 0877The Chemistry of Global Environmental Issues (SE)3
EES 0837Evolution of Earth and Its Life (SE, SS)3
EES 0842Sustainable Environments (SE, SS, SP)3
EES 0854Geology of the National Parks (SE, SS, SP)3
or EES 0954 Honors Geology of the National Parks
EES 0874Environmental Life Cycle Analysis: Does Buying "Green" Matter? (SE, SS, SP)4
EES 2002Energy and Environment (SE, SS)3
EES 2096Climate Change: Oceans To Atmosphere (SE)4
PHYS 0839Powering the Future (SE, SP)3
or PHYS 0939 Honors Powering the Future