Sustainability Certificate
An education that goes beyond the classroom
What is the Sustainability Certificate?
Through an interdisciplinary curriculum and thoughtful place-bound experiences, the Sustainability Certificate provides students with an integrated, contemporary mastery of sustainability that is needed now more than ever across professions and fields of interest.
Open to 夜色视频 undergraduate students.
An experience of a lifetime
Lake Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountain range provide unending opportunities to explore the natural environment, inspiring your studies in sustainability and environmental stewardship. Experience it all –from world-class skiing and snowboarding to miles of hiking and biking trails, destination-worthy rock climbing, scenic camping, awe-inspiring beaches and a thriving local community.
Who should apply?
Undergraduate students interested in the Semester at Tahoe program are invited to apply. Certificate courses meet several core and elective requirements for 夜色视频 students. Continue progress toward your degree while earning a highly marketable certificate.
Program structure
Students will take three required courses in interdisciplinary sustainability theory. A required colloquium course invites leaders in the sustainability movement to speak to students throughout the semester. Part of the three-credit colloquium course includes experiential and project-based learning related to the seminars. Electives in sustainable topics and/or other available units toward their degree will fill the remainder of the student's schedule.
Live at Lake Tahoe
Each semester's cohort of students will live in the residence halls at the Lake Tahoe campus. Students who enroll can receive a full discount on housing. Build lifelong connections with your classmates — all committed to building a sustainable future — while exploring one of the most stunning natural settings in the world. Events and activities throughout the semester encourage a deep sense of community while inspiring environmental stewardship of the Lake Tahoe Basin and all our planet's most precious natural resources.
Sustainability is rooted in meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of the future, and in a more contemporary context, goes beyond efforts to reduce human-induced impacts by actively promoting restoration, revitalization and regeneration across ecological, social, cultural, economic and political systems.
Brennan Lagasse
Assistant Professor and professional backcountry ski guide
Courses
Coursework is modeled after the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Required (9 credits)
Sustainability I: Introduction to Sociology of Climate Change SOC 235 (CO6, CO9)
Explore the complex social causes of climate change, the impact of climate change on society, and how society has and can respond to mitigate climate change.
Sustainability II: Sustainable Climate Solutions: Local to Global Perspectives GEOG 422 (CO9, CO13)
In a broad geographic overview of climate change, this course emphasizes the challenge of identifying and implementing appropriate societal responses. Includes surveys of mitigation, adaptation and Earth system engineering responses.
Sustainability III: Literature of Environmental Justice ENG 342 (CO12, CO13)
In this course, students will survey important environmental authors such as Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson and Octavia Butler and explore how such literature changes consciousness and influences policy.
Colloquium (3 credits)
The three-credit required colloquium course brings regional and global leaders in the fields of climate change, climate justice, sustainability practice, science, technology and art to the Lake Tahoe Campus to share their knowledge with our students. The intimate meeting-style setting makes this a unique experience for students to network with leaders in the field. The colloquium is open to members of the Lake Tahoe community, many of whom have impressive professional histories of impact and advancement in their fields.
Part of the three-credit colloquium course includes experiential and project-based learning related to the seminars.
Enrollment process
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested students should begin the process early as space in the program each semester is limited.
1. Plan
Fill out the Sustainability Certificate interest form. This will get you connected with our Lake Tahoe advisor who can look at your schedule, answer your questions, and help you fit the semester-long experience into your program of study.
2. Enroll
Once you decide to spend a semester at Lake Tahoe, our Lake Tahoe advisor will enroll you in the 12-credit certificate program (with courses that meet several core requirements!) and help you pick one or two electives to fill out your schedule. The credits are offered at the same price as your classes in Reno!
3. Live!
Once you are officially enrolled in the program, you will be prompted to secure your Lake Tahoe dorm room. You can select a roommate or be placed with another participating student. Housing assignments will be generated the month prior to the start of classes, and you will move in the Friday before.
Frequently asked questions
The program is open to current undergraduate students at the 夜色视频. Students should have at least 12 credits completed. The program is built to enhance any major and all students are invited to enroll. The program of study pairs especially well with Liberal Arts, social sciences, journalism, geography and environmental sciences majors, though all students can incorporate the program into their schedule with proper planning.
If interested, take the first step by reaching out to our Lake Tahoe advisor early to determine when and how to best fit the program into your course of study.
Not a current student?
The program may be opened to non-students, recent graduates or students from other institutions. Students and community members interested in the Sustainability Certificate program are invited to fill out the interest form, noting that they are interested in participating as a non-student. Our Lake Tahoe advisor will reach out to share the process for enrolling in the program.
A full housing discount is available. This discount will cover the cost of occupancy in a double room in Prim-Shultz Hall. Discounts are provided on a first-come first-served basis. Students are encouraged to fill out an interest form to get connected with our Lake Tahoe advisor now to secure their spot
Students participating in the Sustainability Certificate program are required to stay in the Lake Tahoe residence halls and purchase a meal plan with the Patterson Hall dining room.
The total cost of the program would be your course credit/enrollment fees (which will be the same whether you take classes in Reno or at Lake Tahoe) plus the housing and dining fees outlined below.
The Lake Tahoe residnece halls are comparable and in many cases cheaper than housing in Reno.
For example, the 2024-2025 rates for a double room with a shared bathroom in Argenta, Nevada LLC, Peavine or Great Basin would cost $4,350 for a semester – living in Reno would cost about $650 more than a comparable residence hall at Lake Tahoe.
Students must take all of courses at the 夜色视频 at Lake Tahoe, including their chosen elective(s). Students may opt to take an online course as their elective to apply to their program of study. Many electives across disciplines are offered at Lake Tahoe in addition to the four required courses for the Sustainability Certificate. Meeting with our Lake Tahoe advisor will help you to determine a class schedule that best fits your major.
Upon completion of the program, you will have earned your Certificate in Sustainability from the 夜色视频, a nationally ranked, Carnegie R1® classified institution. This formal, professional certification can be included on your resume along with your degree. It will also be helpful for competitive internships or jobs. Sustainability is a relatively new field and competition for these highly sought-after positions is fierce.
Having your Sustainability Certificate will give you the edge needed in a competitive job market. Below are a few examples of majors that, when paired with the Sustainability Certificate, would make you a stand-out applicant for specific jobs upon graduating.
- Journalism + Sustainability Certificate: science/environment writer or reporter, marketing/communication professional for an environmental organization, environmental filmmaker, environmental nonprofit communications officer
- Political Science + Sustainability Certificate: environmental policy analyst, environmental law student and lawyer, sustainably-minded politician, sustainability programs manager, executive director of an environmental policy agency
- Geography + Sustainability Certificate: city manager/planner, environmental restoration planner, social and environmental policy analyst
- Environmental Sciences + Sustainability Certificate: Chief scientist for an environmental nonprofit, executive director of an environmental agency, environment journal editor, etc.
- English/Literature + Sustainability Certificate: science writer, grant writer, science or environment journal editor, science writing program director, marketing and communications for environmental nonprofits or agencies
- History + Sustainability Certificate: pre-law/environmental justice lawyer, professor of environmental history, environmental lobbyist, environmental consultant for a large organization/corporation
- Psychology/Social Sciences + Sustainability Certificate: climate change public speaker/ambassador, climate resilience specialist, disaster response specialist, executive director of an environmental policy agency
- Medical Fields/Public Health + Sustainability Certificate: environmental health and safety specialist, environmental health professional, public education outreach specialist, epidemiologist
- Art + Sustainability Certificate: creative director at an environmental agency, environmental communications specialist, climate advocate, sustainable brand designer, freelance climate artist, environmental agency outreach coordinator, science and environment museum curator, land artist
- Engineering + Sustainability Certificate: Environmental engineer, sustainable products developer, sustainable transportation engineer, LEED Certification Specialist, sustainability director, environmental restoration planner, sustainable engineering consultant, sustainable development director.
While we recommend the Sustainability Certificate to students who want to live and study at Lake Tahoe, students may choose to live at Lake Tahoe and take courses that do not meet the Sustainability Certificate requirements. We have a full list of electives and core courses available across disciplines including art, marketing, business, the sciences and more.
We recommend you meet with our Lake Tahoe advisor and/or your major advisor as soon as possible if you have any interest in living at Lake Tahoe for a semester and taking classes. By talking to your advisor early, you will be able to better plan for the semester with minimal or no impact in your progress toward your degree. T
alking to an advisor early will make planning for the semester much easier. You can plan in a way that save the the offered Core Curriculum Requirements for the semester you spend at Lake Tahoe.
How the program will change each semester
Each semester we adjust the required courses in the Sustainability Certificate to align with one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. That means the focus will change slightly each semester, but the structure and interdisciplinary nature will remain the same. Required courses will always meet core requirements to make the experience align with students' academic careers.
Request more information
Fill out our interest form and one of our advisors will reach out to you to discuss the program and your participation in more detail.