Graduate Certificate

Typical Length 15 months

Delivery Hybrid

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Stipends Available

“In the end we will conserve only what we love, and we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” – Baba Dioum, Senegalese environmentalist, 1968

The Sustainability & Resilience Education (SRE) Graduate Certificate is a 15-credit program that prepares formal (school-based) and informal (community-based) educators and graduates from any field to integrate place-based, local, global, indigenous knowledge and 21st Century sustainability research and literacies into their curriculum and instruction. It accomplishes this by providing a coherent set of education and content area courses spanning various disciplines–e.g., science, new literacies in particular eco-literacies, and cultural diversity. The program is based on research related to place-based, culturally sustaining professional development that provides real world interdisciplinary curricula. It integrates teaching and learning about natural and social systems towards the goal of actions oriented to more sustainable, resilient social ecosystems.  The SRE Graduate Certificate is aligned with the University of Hawai‘iʻs mission to “be a global leader in the integration of sustainability in its teaching, research, operations and service… embrac[ing] both indigenous practitioners and global experts to advance Hawaiʻi’s stewardship and use of energy, food, water, land and sea for the well-being of the state and the world.”

The certificate may be earned with the MEd-CS or any other degree program, or as a certificate-only program.

Who should consider this program

PK-20 formal and informal educators and graduates from any field interested in developing place-based, interdisciplinary, culturally sustaining curricula oriented to sustainable, resilient communities and ecosystems.

Common Careers

Graduates are prepared to be educational leaders in school and community settings. They gain community and curricular mapping strategies that identify community-based issues and educational resources and develop partnerships supporting high context curriculum development. Finally, their research skills support ongoing planning, evaluation and refining of programs that reflect changes in their educational ecosystem.

Admission Requirements

Must have graduated from an accredited, four-year institution of higher education recognized by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), prior to beginning the Sustainability & Resilience, Graduate Certificate program.

An Undergraduate Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

A transcript from each post-secondary institution attended.

A written statement of objectives as part of your application.

Your resumé or CV.

Two (2) letters of recommendation


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Application Deadlines
STARTING SEMESTER GENERAL ADMISSION INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ADMISSION
Fall March 31 *
Spring October 31 N/A
Summer N/A N/A

Applications for Fall 2023 semester will be reviewed upon receipt on a rolling basis beginning March 31. Review will continue until a cohort fills (20 people) on or before the April 15 deadline.

International applicants not residing in the U.S., and with no plans of entering the U.S. are ineligible to apply. If you are an international applicant, please contact the program director below to verify eligibility before you begin preparing your application.


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Tuition & Funding

Courses are offered through Outreach College and regular day school. Depending on how the course is offered, participants pay either the UHM regular or Outreach College per-credit course rate and fees.

For the most current information, always refer to the Graduate Division website, UHM regular Tuition & Fees or UHM Outreach College Tuition & Fees.

Financial assistance may be found at:

Department

  • Department of Curriculum Studies Merit-based Giving Tree Scholarship (Notices come out in March)

College of Education

University of Hawaiʻi

Community/State

Federal

Delivery & Format

The program is primarily in person, including visits to community sites with mixed hybrid and online delivery course options.

 

Coursework

The Sustainability and Resilience Education Graduate Certificate is a 15-credit graduate program consisting of the following courses:

  • EDCS 640P: Seminar in Place-based Education (SUST)
  • EDCS 623: Science & Science Curriculum (SUST)
  • EDCS 608: Literacy Across the Disciplines (S): (SUST) or EDCS 645 Seminar in Multicultural Literacy
  • Content course: Students select a course inside or outside the College of Education with advisor consent to build content expertise in an area related to sustainability and resilience (Elective)
  • EDCS 696: Graduate Certificate Capstone (3)

Note: EDCS 640P, EDCS 623, EDCS 608 are designated SUST courses by the UH Mānoa Institute for Sustainability and Resilience Education (ISR) and underwent rigorous review by an interdisciplinary committee of faculty currently representing six units across the UHM campus. SUST courses are “multidisciplinary and designed to ground students in understanding natural systems in relationship to society.”

International Students

General Information

Please see Graduate Division website for International Students regarding enrollment regulations, admission requirements and English proficiency.

Support Services

The International Student Services (ISS) provides assistance to international students and their dependents. See enrollment requirements regarding full-time/part-time enrollment and online class and program restrictions, concurrent degrees and health insurance requirements.

Most applicants whose native language is not English are required to take an English Language Proficiency test. Applicants must score a minimum TOEFL score of 61 iBT and IELTS of 6.0 for overall band score. See Graduate Division English proficiency and minimum required score.

All students who have English as their second language must clear the English Language Institute (ELI) unless they meet the exemption criteria. Students must score 100 to waive English placement test. Please see ELI website for ELI requirements, placement tests and courses.

Sample Schedule (pending approval)

The sample schedules will show the sequence of courses you would be taking for Sustainability and Resilience graduate certificate if you take ELI courses or not.

Advising & Faculty

Our faculty and staff will provide you with guidance and resources to support your success from beginning to end. You will receive a dedicated faculty advisor to partner with you on your journey.

Program Coordinator