2023-2024 Course Catalog
Environmental Social Work Certificate
Curriculum
-
+Required
-
6 courses (18 credits): Five courses are required plus an additional elective
SWK102 Introduction to Social Work, Social Justice and Social Issues This course examines selected social issues as well as related social welfare policies and programs. It introduces the profession of social work, key aspects of the professional knowledge base, fields of practice, and populations served by social workers. This course is appropriate for students who are considering social work as a profession and as well as for those with an interest in related fields such as psychology, counseling, and public policy.
3 SUS102 Sustainability and Society Students examine core concepts of sustainability, and explore its origins, history, and achievements across the globe at multiple scales. Students gain a foundation for more in-depth study of sustainability. Students also focus on their personal conception of sustainability and engage in a sustainability group project linked to community partners.
3 FST315 Food Access and Policy If food is a basic human right, how do societies create universal access to food? This course explores the ethical basis for making citizens food secure despite global inequality. Major topics include private vs. public solutions and the relationship between food access, gender, cultural appropriateness, nutrition, sustainability, and justice.
3 SWK355 Working with Organizations and Communities The focus of this course is generalist social work practice as applied to macro practice activities. It introduces students to generalist social work practice intended to bring changes to organizations, communities, and institutions with the goal of advancing the achievement of individual and collective social and economic justice.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - SWK102 Introduction to Social Work, Social Justice and Social Issues
3 SUS203W Global Environmental Health This course addresses the connection between health and environment. Topics include: environmental epidemiology, toxicology, policy, radiation and energy disease, and water, air, soil qualities. The work of scientists and public health specialists to discover, assess, and reduce risk to environment health problems are explored. Case studies provide context and background for environmental health issues past and present.
Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: - SUS100 Sustainable Systems
- SUS100 Sustainability Science
- SUS201 Integrative Biology
- BIO144 The Organism
3 -
+Electives
-
One from a list of 15 courses
EDU340 Education for Sustainability Students will learn how to promote collective problem-solving skills in K12 classrooms to address critical environmental, economic, and social issues. Connections between sustainability, poverty, and equity issues will be highlighted. This course will include a multi-week field experience in Costa Rica plus on the ground meetings before and after.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - EDU104 Perspectives on Education
3 FST215W Global Foodways Course is focused on the global history and nature of food traditions, cuisines, and cultures, from the Columbian Exchange to globalization, with a depth analysis of one region, country, or time frame. Emphasis on the division of labor, colonialism, conquest, power, and continuity and change in social and economic systems.
3 FST302 Nutrition and Community This course focuses on North American community-based nutrition research, programs and policies. Students become familiar with community-based research, programs, and policies where nutrition plays a role. Using public health nutrition and community asset building, it includes an introduction to grant writing, evaluation, and assessment to support community health programs.
3 FST307W Community and Food Through experiential learning and field work, this course explores the intersections between food and community. Global and regional food systems are "felt" at the level of community and communities often create the organization of agriculture and food. Students will practice applied work with community, government, nonprofit, activist, and business groups.
3 SUS210 Sustainability and Technology This course discusses opportunities and challenges for using technology for sustainability. We will discuss innovation for sustainability and societal adoption, and will explore ways to use renewable energy and other technologies for homes and workplaces, the internet of Things, closed loops and new materials, sustainable transportation, and smart water systems.
3 SUS335 Renewable Energy and Society This course explores the relationship of energy production and consumption with sustainability. Non-renewable and renewable energy resources and their environmental and social impacts will be discussed. We will explore the Eden Hall energy systems and investigate in more detail how solar energy could be used on a larger scale.
3 SUS380 Economics in a Changing World An interdisciplinary approach to economics including concepts from sociology, politics, behavioral and evolutionary economics. It explores the limits of conventional economics in explaining and predicting economic phenomena. It situates economics as a behavioral science and looks at economic sustainability at the local, to global scale, incorporating social and political issues.
Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: - SUS102 Foundations of Sustainability
- SUS102 Sustainability and Society
3 SUS401 Sustainability Policy and Decision Making This course examines contrasting rationales supporting environmental values and human interests that compete against those values; the enactment and mechanics of regulations and statutes; environmental economics and politics. The socio-economic, legal and political implications will be scrutinized through case studies of local and/or global environmental and ecological concern.
3 SUS416 Sustainable Decision Analysis The class contributes to a foundation for sustainability management by exploring different quantitative approaches to sustainable decision-making including: Life Cycle Analysis, Ecosystem Services Valuation, Carbon and Water Foot printing, and DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts and Responses) Society-Environment interaction framework. Finally, the class explores how quantitative decision-making is shaped by various stakeholders.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - SUS352 GIS Software - Skills and Applications
3 SUS435 Green and Social Innovation Students will develop skills for managing innovation to positively impact the environment and society. Students work with actual ideas and/or entrepreneurs using Eden Hall to test products. The class focuses on helping students to develop product management skills which use innovation to solve major social and environmental problems.
3 SUS470 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) This course helps students to understand the roles and responsibilities of organizations beyond just making an economic profit. Students are exposed to approaches to managing CSR. CSR is explored as a way for organizations to create value, thus, CSR is seen as crucial for business success in the 21st century.
3 SWK201W Human Behavior in the Social Environment I This course examines the development of individuals, couples, and families from birth to death within the framework of relevant biological, psychological, sociological, and social work research and theory.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - PSY101 General Psychology
3 SWK321 Social Welfare and Social Justice This course examines the history, development, context, and current status of the American social welfare system. The American system is compared with policies and programs in other countries. The specifics of major welfare programs such as Social Security and Temporary Aid to Needy Families are explored.
3 SWK322W Social Welfare: Women and Policy This course is designed to examine current issues and policies that impact the lives of women and to explore methods of creating or modifying policies. This course will utilize a comparative policy framework to explore the strengths and weaknesses of current interventions regarding their promotion of social and economic justice.
3 WGS322W Social Welfare: Women and Policy This course is designed to examine current issues and policies that impact the lives of women and to explore methods of creating or modifying policies. This course will utilize a comparative policy framework to explore the strengths and weaknesses of current interventions regarding their promotion of social and economic justice.
3 Internship or field placement that meets social work and sustainability goals