Community Environmental Studies

Community Environmental Studies Certificate
Environmentalists and concerned citizens alike face the challenge of keeping pace with politically and technically complex issues. The growing sophistication of the environmental movement brings new demands to link conservation and preservation, environmental justice, and safety and health in the workplace and community.

The certificate in Community Environmental Studies (CES), offered by the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, provides professional training for careers in today's evolving environmental field. The interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to clarify career goals for those who may be considering environmental work, as well as enhance the skills of professionals already in the field. Participants also have access to activities of the Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE), which supports an interdisciplinary network of initiatives including research, conferences, and speakers.

Who Should Apply?
The certificate in Community Environmental Studies is open to students with a bachelor's degree and is especially appropriate for:

• People in community and environmental organizations who want to increase their environmental expertise
• Mid-career professionals seeking to apply their skills to environmental work
• Business people working with communities on environmental issues

Students interested in earning a graduate degree often can apply the certificate courses toward a Tufts master's degree in urban and environmental policy and planning.

Visit the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning

For more information, email certificates@tufts.edu or contact the Faculty Certificate Program Advisor, Rebecca Shakespeare.

Summary of Consumer Information for Students

Application Deadline

Spring: September 15 (international applicants) and December 31 (domestic applicants)
Fall: June 1 (international applicants) and August 1 (domestic applicants)

Application Requirements

> Application Fee
> Resume/CV
> Personal Statement
> Official TOEFL or IELTS, if applicable
> Transcripts
> One Letter of Recommendation

Tuition

Certificate students pay a course rate for each required certificate course of $998 per credit (2019-2020). Students in a certificate program may be eligible for Stafford Loan assistance. Contact the Student Financial Services Office at (617) 627-2000 for more information. 

Curriculum

Twelve credits are required to obtain the CES certificate. Most courses are three credits, but the UEP department also offers one-credit modules as noted below. Students choose the courses from a combination of CES core courses and CES skills and environmental policy electives. Students must select at least one core course as part of their program of study.

CES Core Courses
Select at least one core course from the following:

• UEP 200 Land Use Planning I: Nonregulatory Tools and Techniques (Fall)
• UEP 201 Land Use Planning II (Spring)
• UEP 207 Environmental Law (Fall)
• UEP 221 Climate Change Policy and Planning (Spring)
• UEP 223 Fundamentals of U.S. Agriculture (Fall)
• UEP 279 Water Resources Policy, and Planning, and Watershed Management (Fall)

Course descriptions for these core courses can be found on the UEP website.

CES Course Electives
Select up to three skills and environmental policy electives from the following:

• UEP 161A Writing and Public Communication (Summer)
• UEP 173-01 Transportation Planning (Fall)
• UEP 174B Clean Air and Clean Water Policy (Summer)
• UEP 194AC Cities and Urban Design (Summer)
• UEP 206 Planning for Low-Impact Development (LID) (Spring)
• UEP 230 Negotiation, Mediation and Conflict Resolution (Spring and Summer)
• UEP 232 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (Fall and Spring)
• UEP 233 Regional Planning: Tools and Techniques (Spring)
• UEP 234 Qualitative Analysis for Planning and Public Policy (Fall)
• UEP 242 International Planning and Urban Policy (Spring)
• UEP 249-02 Communications and Media (one credit (second half) Spring)
• UEP 263 Natural Resources Policy and Planning (Spring)
• UEP 264 Green Urban Design (Fall)
• UEP 265 Corporate Management of Environmental Issues (Fall)
• UEP 278 Environmental Justice, Security, and Sustainability (Fall)
• UEP 281 Toxic Chemicals and Human Ecology (Spring)
• UEP 284 Developing Sustainable Communities (Spring)
• UEP 286 Environmental Ethics (Spring)
• UEP 293 Food Justice: Critical Approaches in Policy and Planning (Fall)
• UEP 293-03 Retrofitting Suburbs (one credit (Fall))
• UEP 294-04 Planning and Urban Design (one credit (first half) Spring)
• UEP 294-16 Public Health and the Built Environment (Spring)
• UEP 294-22 Advanced GIS (Fall)

Students may substitute other Tufts graduate courses, subject to the approval of the certificate advisor. Course offerings may vary from year to year.