Sustainability Design & Engineering Certificate Program
The Certificate in Sustainability Design & Engineering provides a foundation of knowledge and skills in design and engineering for sustainability to solve real-world problems and increase our climate resilience. It is intended to compliment the student’s graduate education and training in Penn Engineering’s and Weitzman Design’s PhD and Master’s degree programs. It will nurture a community and offer professional development and networking activities in line with the goals of the CLIMATE-CARE training program. Upon completion, it will appear on the trainee's academic transcript. The Certificate is open to graduate students who are currently enrolled in any of Penn Engineering’s or Weitzman’s graduate degree programs.
Interested applicants should add themselves to the Certificate mailing list as soon as possible. Certificate activities will be communicated through this list. WSOD students: you will need a Google account to sign up for the mailing list. You can associate your WSOD school email with a Google account by following the instructions here and choosing “Use an existing email address” during account creation.
Program questions should be directed to the Program Coordinator, Keith Rosenbaum (climate-care@seas.upenn.edu).
Course requirements:
3 CUs from the course list linked below. SEAS students: At least one CU must be outside of the student’s home department. Non-SEAS courses are highly encouraged. WSOD students: at least one CU must be outside WSOD.
The latest updated approved courses can be found here.
Other requirements:
All non-course requirements must be completed prior to the student’s final semester at Penn. Course requirements may be completed through the last semester. Applications must be submitted at the beginning of the student’s last semester before graduation. Direct any questions to the Program Coordinator.
- Completion of EAS 9000, offered in the fall semester ONLY
- Registration must be finalized one week prior to the start of the fall semester. Late applications will not be accepted. Students requiring permits should contact the CLIMATE-CARE program coordinator directly to receive permission before this deadline.
- Recorded attendance at 16 SEAS or WSOD seminars related to Sustainability Design & Engineering. At least half must be outside of the student’s home School. A sign-off sheet (printable version here) must be completed for each attended seminar. It is suggested that you keep a scanned digital record as well as a paper copy of your sign-off sheet.
- Links to seminar schedules can be found on the CLIMATE-CARE website. Additional seminars will be communicated via the Certificate email list (see above) as they become available.
- SEAS PhD students only: Registration in the SEAS seminar course (e.g. MSE6990, etc.) fulfills the requirement for the 8 seminars in your home School. You must still satisfy the Design School seminar requirement.
- WSOD PhD student only: Registration in the ARCH Seminar Series (ARCH 8201 and 8202) fulfills the requirement for the 8 seminars in your home School. You must still satisfy the SEAS seminar requirement.
- Completion of at least two co-curricular activities related to CLIMATE-CARE topics e.g. other relevant symposiums, workshops, Water Center forums, school organized visits to industry settings, PICS symposium, etc.
- Students are required to submit a 2-paragraph reflection of what they learned at each activity and how it may connect to their research and/or career aspirations.
- Full-day attendance at the CLIMATE-CARE Symposium held in late spring. Encouraged presentation of research at the Symposium (required for CLIMATE-CARE supported trainees). Non-fellows should contact the Program Coordinator if interested in presenting.