Interdisciplinary Programs

Graduate Certificate in Sustainability

A host of critical ecological, economic and social challenges demand the urgent attention of professionals with integrated, practical and ethically informed training in fields as diverse as the sciences, public policy, humanities and business administration.

This certificate rises to the call to provide traditional students and mid-career professionals with the chance to advance their education, understand complex real-world problems and explore cutting-edge solutions, all with application to careers in research, government or the private sector.

Our certificate program has four components, including:

an interdisciplinary introductory sustainability course to understand the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
a course in ecology and the environment
a course in humanities and ethics
a course in government, policy and economics

Students can tailor their experience to their career pathway by selecting from a range of courses that fulfill each component.

Green Skills in Demand

Between 2018 and 2022, jobs in sustainability and the environment in the United States have grown by over 237%, per a World Economic Report.

“Environmental stewardship” joined the list of the top 10 fastest growing skills in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report.

The LinkedIn Green Skills Report 2025 notes, “from 2021-2025, green hiring grew twice as fast as the share of workers who have green skills.”

In 2022, Microsoft published the critical document, “Closing the Sustainability Skills Gap: Helping businesses move from pledges to progress.” The report emphasizes:

Employers must move quickly to upskill their workforce through learning initiatives focused on sustainability knowledge and skills.
The world must prepare the next generation of workers for the sustainability jobs of the future.

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Article by Adam Thomas | July 24, 2026

UD Professor Saleem Ali receives Humboldt Research Award from Germany’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
The professor who made the trip

Article by Raegan Paultaf | July 24, 2026

Visiting Lerner College instructor Dan Alia was unanimously nominated by his students for the 2026 Study Abroad Faculty Director of the Year award
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Article by Facilities Services and Campus Planning | July 24, 2026

Academy Street to close for one week beginning Tuesday, July 28

The professor who made the trip

Article by Raegan Paultaf | July 24, 2026

Visiting Lerner College instructor Dan Alia was unanimously nominated by his students for the 2026 Study Abroad Faculty Director of the Year award
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Article by Hillary Hoffman | July 23, 2026

UD researchers develop a green recycling process to recover precious metals from hydrogen technologies
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Article by Tracey Bryant | July 22, 2026

UD researchers join national energy initiative to bring AI into advanced manufacturing