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Climate Literacy Certificate

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Whether you're an educator looking to enhance your curriculum with new climate research and information, a business professional incorporating sustainability into your business, or an advocate influencing public policy and community awareness, you'll find your place in this growing field with a certificate in climate literacy from Hamline.

Our Climate Literacy Certificate is rooted in climate justice, with a curriculum developed in close collaboration with Climate Generation. You'll gain the knowledge and skills to drive solutions to the climate crisis and apply real-world research in a variety of projects, including:

  • Designing a climate change curriculum for a local school
     
  • Investigating the effects of climate change on your local ecology
     
  • Testing strategies to create safer pedestrian and bike routes in urban neighborhoods
     
  • Proposing policies and co-authoring legislation to abate climate change
     

What will it take?

4-6
courses
10
credits
Cost per Credit
394
Time to Complete
12
months
Next Session Starts
January 27, 2025

Climate Literacy Certificate program details

Important Dates
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Format
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Time to Complete
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Courses
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Application Requirements
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Start dates and application deadlines

We review applications on a rolling basis, meaning you can apply and start your Climate Literacy Certificate at three separate times throughout the year. We recommend applying at least six weeks before the term you want to start to ensure your spot.

How to Apply

Spring 2025 term starts
Summer 2025 term starts

Climate Literacy Certificate program format

Hamline's Climate Literacy Certificate is offered entirely online. Some individual classes may meet synchronously online (at a set scheduled time) on a weekday evening. You can choose elective courses that meet entirely online or those that offer in-person field experience opportunities.

Time to complete your Climate Literacy Certificate

The typical time to complete the certificate is 12 months, though you can extend that time if you decide to take fewer courses each term.

Climate Literacy courses

You’ll finish your certificate in four to six courses. You must complete 10 credits with at least one course from each category.

Pedagogy

  • NSED 7230: Theories and Models in Climate Change Education (2 credits)
  • NSED 7750: Science Communication and Climate Change (2 credits)
  • COSP 6090: Summer Institute for Climate Change Education (2 credits)

Social, economic, and political systems

  • NSED 7205: Eco-Justice Education (2 credits)
  • NSED 7810: Global Climate Policy and Solutions (2 credits)
  • NSEE 8130: Environment and Society (2 credits)

Science and Earth Systems

  • NSED 7010: Sustainable Foods (2 credits)
  • NSED 7011: Clean Energy Solutions (2 credits)
  • NSED 7800: Climate Change Basics (2 credits)
  • NSEE 8120: Earth Systems: Biomes (4 credits)
  • Whale Research and Marine Ecology (study abroad course)

Synthesis

  • NSED 7995: Climate Literacy Leadership Project (2 credits)
     

climate literacy course descriptions 

Apply

Applying to the Climate Literacy program is simple and only required if this is the first certificate you’ve applied for at Hamline or if you are not enrolled in another Hamline School of Education degree or certificate program.

  • Online application (no fee)
  • Official transcript of a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of at least 2.5 from a regionally accredited college or university
    • Send directly from the institution to Graduate Admission or provided in a sealed, signed envelope, and official electronic transcripts should be emailed from the institution to gradprog@hamline.edu
    • You do not have to supply transcripts for courses taken at Hamline University

Create new account to apply        Login to complete your application 

Hamline has opened so many opportunities for me—I was accepted to the Master Naturalist Certification Program in Connecticut, and one of the main reasons was the research work I’ve done with Hamline and the Climate Literacy Certification program. My Hamline education is a source of pride for me because of the support I receivedand continue to receivefrom Hamline.

Tim Thayer '19, MA in Natural Science and Environmental Education Climate Literacy Certificate, Environmental Education Certificate; middle school science teacher in Norwich, Connecticut

Apply your certificate toward a master’s degree

Enrolling in a certificate program is a great way to experience what the master's programs at Hamline are like. With the Climate Literacy Certificate, you’ll earn credits that you can apply toward the following Hamline master's degrees:

Master’s in Education

Master’s in Natural Science and Environmental Education


*U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Demand for environmental specialists is growing. Climate-related job openings will increase by 6% by 2032.*

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