John A. Dutton Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence

Prepare for addressing environmental issues through the environmental inquiry major. In this minor, you can gain the multiple perspectives necessary for understanding environmental issues as well as increase your skills in collaborating with those from very different disciplinary backgrounds to find acceptable solutions.  

Students will be challenged to move beyond the channels of thinking characteristic of their own discipline to new ways of knowing, new sensitivities, and new analytical approaches. The program will engage students actively in learning experiences outside their major course of study. 

Specializations Available

The minor offers seven specializations:

• Biodiversity and Ecosystems
• Energy Resources
• Environment and Society
• Environmental Explorations
• Human Settlements
• Ideas about the Environment
• Water Resources

This certificate, which can be completed online through Penn State World Campus, is designed to provide students with the knowledge needed to make environmentally sustainable decisions. It increases geoscience literacy and addresses key sustainability issues, including the impact of climate change on Earth and its inhabitants, access to clean drinking water, sustainable energy, and the hazards posed by our overpopulated coastal regions.

The Earth Sustainability undergraduate certificate can help prepare you to become a steward of the green movement in education, politics, business, or law. You may also use this credential to jump-start a career in geosciences, emergency preparedness, environmental health and sustainability, land management and conservation, or natural resource management program.

This certificate was designed to provide you with a foundation in remote sensing, terrain mapping, and image analysis, which is critical as the need for GIS professionals who can work with remotely sensed imagery and terrain models is increasingly rapidly. Completing this certificate can empower you to leverage data gathered from sources such as satellites, drones, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR).

Careers

The Remote Sensing and Earth Observation graduate certificate can help start or advance your career as a geospatial professional, imagery analyst, or remote sensing technician, or help prepare you for certification exams.