Northern Arizona University
AC-4: Graduate Program

The mission of the Master of Arts in Sustainable Communities is to provide interdisciplinary face-to-face graduate education on the complex issues of sustainability and social justice, encouraging students to pursue important social and environmental issues concurrently. The program seeks to educate students as critical thinkers for community leadership and to enable its graduates to contribute to the well-being of communities. At the same time, the program aims to push students intellectually, looking to produce thoughtful and critical graduates who can think theoretically. The curriculum is student-centered; students bring their intellectual, ethical, and practical concerns to bear on their particular academic inquiry. These skills are sharpened in collaborations between students and different communities through praxis.

The Climate Science & Solutions (CSS) Professional Science Master’s program combines a foundation of climate science and sustainable systems studies with professional training and organizational skills to help graduates succeed in the growing climate industry.

Understand and explain the physical nature of global climate change
Apply national and international standards to conduct professional greenhouse gas inventories
Evaluate the social and economic externalities of climate change
Describe the ethical, scientific, and policy strengths and weaknesses of current and proposed mitigation and adaptation strategies
Identify, analyze, synthesize, and communicate scientific information and uncertainties for public and professional audiences
Participate in a professional internship and develop the professional skills needed to establish your career in the growing climate industry
Degree requirements
This is a 36-credit program that includes five core courses (18 credits) focused on the following:

1) Science of climate change;
2) The economics of natural resources and climate change;
3) The science and management of greenhouse gases;
4) The principles of sustainable systems;
5) Environmental discourse around climate change mitigation and adaptation.

You will select electives to tailor your degree toward biological, engineering, social, policy, or economic approaches to climate solutions. In addition to 12 credits of electives, students participate in a 6-credit career development program, including a professional summer internship. Both the electives and the internship allow students to personalize their degree. For more details about specific courses and requirements, see the program of study and the academic catalog.

The Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Policy (MS ES&P) is an interdisciplinary degree program that combines natural and social science core courses with a breadth of specialized courses from across the University. Lasting solutions to most environmental problems are likely to be found at the nexus of the natural and social sciences. The MS ES&P program provides applied, cross-disciplinary training to prepare students to solve environmental problems using the scientific method combined with an in-depth knowledge of relevant socio-political systems. Students gain this knowledge through their individual thesis research and coursework in quantitative research methods, natural sciences, and social sciences.

This two-year degree program has two distinct emphasis areas: Environmental Sciences and Policy, and Paleoenvironmental Sciences. The core courses for both emphases include 1) The Environmental Science-Policy Interface (ENV 555), 2) two research methods seminars (ESS 605, 606), 3) one current research seminar, 4) one or more quantitative data analysis courses, 5) thesis credits. All ES&P students work closely with a faculty advisor to design and implement individual thesis research. Students in the Environmental Sciences and Policy emphasis generally focus their coursework and research on the science-policy interface and may examine a wide range of environmental problems such as issues related to food security, pollution, or resource management. Students in Paleoenvironmental Sciences emphasis generally analyze ancient environments to gain insights to help predict future environmental dynamics, particularly those related to climate change.

https://catalog.nau.edu/Catalog/results?cat=ALLMASTERS&catalogYear=2324

Sustainable Communities
Forestry
Pub Health - Health Prom
Applied Geospatial Sciences
Biology
Climate Sci & Solutions
Enviro Science & Policy
Environmental Engineering
Geology
Parks & Recreation Management
Forestry
Biology
Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustain
Forest Science

Currently, there are over 40 developed and developing countries that have mandatory emission reporting programs, with many others voluntarily reporting their emissions. Regardless of the nature of these reporting practices, entities and nations are increasingly moving towards quantifying and reporting their GHG emissions as a step towards proactive risk management, improving their energy efficiency, and/or demonstrating their commitment to environmental issues. This online certificate program will provide students and professionals with a means to gain the technical skills required to quantify, report, analyze, and verify GHG emissions associated with individual products or commodities, business/corporation operations, and communities, including cities and Universities. It will also train individuals in how to use reported GHG emissions to design effective emission reduction and mitigation strategies. Given the scale and challenges of climate change and the associated impacts, there is a strong need for professionals with a robust skillset to track, report, and manage GHG emissions. This certificate will provide that training.

The Conservation Ecology Graduate Certificate program at NAU provides a means for early- and mid-career professionals to gain exposure and competence in the theory and practice of conservation ecology. The program is designed for environmental professionals who wish to briefly return to academia to upgrade or refine their skills in interdisciplinary conservation sciences. These skills may then be put to use through work for government agencies, tribal governments, or non-profit and for-profit stewardship organizations.

Students will understand the social and biophysical drivers of species declines and their consequences at a global scale, understand the methods to collect practice the collection and analysis of data to support monitoring and adaptive management of threatened species and ecosystems and learn the scientific principles underlying species and habitat conservation strategies including restoration, protected area establishment, conservation planning, and endangered species recovery.

The purpose of this 15-credit Graduate Certificate in Wind Energy is to prepare students for professional, technical careers in the wind industry and in wind energy research and development. Students will learn in-depth how to analyze and design wind turbine mechanical, electrical, and control systems, including wind turbine electrical generator topologies; wind turbine aerodynamics and rotor blade design; wind energy resources and wind resource assessment; interconnection and integration of wind power plants to the grid; power converters for wind turbines, fixed- and variable-speed induction generator based wind energy systems, design and control of wind energy conversion systems, transient and steady-state analysis of wind energy systems, including issues specific to on-shore and off-shore applications. Beyond these technical topics, students will also become conversant in the broader societal, environmental, regulatory, and economic aspects of wind energy necessary for professional practice. Recipients of a graduate certificate will have the depth of knowledge in their discipline applied to wind energy, and a broad understanding of the multi-disciplinary nature of wind energy. Courses are taught by faculty with experience and expertise in wind energy applications and research.

Graduate certificates that are sustainability not sustainability-focused but address themes or major challenges of sustainability:
•Building Science: https://nau.edu/construction-management/building-science-graduate-certificate/
•Community Planning: https://nau.edu/gpr/community-planning-graduate-certificate/
•Data Science: http://catalog.nau.edu/Catalog/details?plan=INFDSCT&catalogYear=1920
•Ethnic Studies: https://catalog.nau.edu/Catalog/details?plan=ETHSTCT&catalogYear=1819
•Geographic Information Systems: https://nau.edu/gpr/gis-certificate/
•Indigenous and Tribal Nation-Building: https://nau.edu/online/graduate-certificates-indigenous-and-tribal-nation-building/
•Science Communication: https://nau.edu/communication/scicomm/
•Women’s and Gender Studies: http://catalog.nau.edu/Catalog/details?plan=WSTCT&catalogYear=1718