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Certificate in Climate Studies and Action

This certificate is a direct response to the climate emergency (at UBC and beyond). It is delivered as an interdisciplinary collaboration between the UBC’s Department of Geography (Faculty of Arts) and the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (Faculty of Science), and offered on the traditional and unceded territory of the Musqueam First Nation. The program is open to and designed for all undergraduate students across UBC, providing students with an opportunity to integrate an interdisciplinary climate change credential into their undergraduate program.

Increasing capacity for climate action is the focus of the certificate. Early classes cover climate science, the crises that led to declaring an “emergency” and the various strategies that already exist to address it. Upper level classes take a deeper look at climate justice, the social, economic, political and cultural processes that underlie climate change and include an elective class for students to deepen knowledge in a specific area. Community-engaged learning, with a climate action focus, is embedded throughout the program, culminating in a capstone project.

For more information see the certificate website.

Admissions information

To apply, complete the form on the certificate website.

Students from all undergraduate programs can apply. Students are encouraged to apply at the end of their first year, but there is flexibility for students coming to the certificate late (e.g. transfer students) to enrol in their 3rd year.

Program requirements

To complete the certificate, students must complete 18 credits across 5 categories:

  1. Climate Science (3)1,2
  • One of EOSC 112, GEOS 102 or EOSC 340
  • Climate Emergency (3)1,2,3
    • GEOG 202 or GEOG 312
  • Climate Justice (3)
    • GEOG 302
  • Elective (3)2
    • One of CONS 310, CONS 425, ENVR 410, EOSC 340, GEOG 312, GEOS 408, NURS 290 or POLI 351
  • Climate Action (6)
    • All of ENVR 201, ENVR 301 and ENVR 4014AND one of GEOG 402 or ENVR 4025

    1 300-level options are included to accommodate upper level students that need to meet upper level credit degree requirements. If 300-level courses are used see footnote 2.

    2 Credits can only be applied to one category. If EOSC 340 or GEOG 312 are used to fulfill either the Climate Science or the Climate Emergency categories, they cannot be used as Electives.

    3 Students in the Faculty of Forestry may also use CONS 210 to fill the Climate Emergency credit. Students using this option need to notify the Certificate Administrator.

    4 ENVR 201, ENVR 301 and ENVR 401 are intended to be taken as three 1-credit courses over three years. Students demonstrating need to complete the certificate in two years instead of three, can, with permission from the Certificate Administrator, register in ENVR 302, a 2-credit option combining elements from both ENVR 201 and ENVR 301. Students in ENVR 302 will fully participate with the Climate Action Labs (CAL) cohort.

    5 The ENVR and GEOG sections of the capstone course are course equivalents. Both sections are made available to create flexibility for students’ degree requirements.


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