Science in a Changing World (Graduate Certificate)

This 15-credit graduate certificate in science in a changing world prepares students to focus on science in the context of social change or individual intellectual development.

Course material, classroom activities, teaching/learning interactions, and projects focused on real-world problems provide students opportunities to

learn about science and its social and historical context
gain a set of models for work in education, policy, and other areas of civic engagement
discuss practices and philosophies of science, education, and social change
undertake research with a view to engaging with science in a changing social and personal world

Required Courses

Students seeking the 15-credit graduate certificate in science in a changing world (SICW) should take two of the four courses required for the SICW MA and three electives. Required courses for the SICW MA are the following:

Note

The graduate certificate in science in a changing world can be earned completely through face-to-face sections or completely through online sections, or a combination. For information about online tuition and fees, click here .

SICW courses also allow students from other graduate programs to fulfill elective requirements.

Elective Courses

Three electives can be chosen from across the graduate school, but it is recommended that the combination of foundation and elective courses be spread across the three areas of science, interpretation of science in context, and pedagogy and civic engagement. The program director, in consultation with the program faculty, determines which distribution area(s) any course counts toward. Contact the program for a current list of courses and areas in which they fit. Courses offered by departments in the College of Science and Mathematics, with the exception of policy-oriented courses, automatically count for the science area. They are explicitly included in the list only if they also count for another area.

Certificate students can take more than two foundation courses and count the extra ones as electives.

Subject to the approval of the program director, up to two undergraduate courses (300-level or above) may count as electives.

Admission Requirements

Please see the general statement of admission requirements for all graduate programs in the “Admissions ” section of this publication. In addition to submitting all application materials as described in th general requirements, please note the following.

The Critical and Creative Thinking Program will recommend for admission those applicants who present evidence of their ability to do graduate work with distinction. Such evidence will normally include:

A distinguished undergraduate transcript with a grade point average of at least 3.0.
At least three positive and informed letters of recommendation submitted by persons with whom the applicant has worked closely and who have direct knowledge of their abilities. Recommenders should be able to comment in detail about an applicant’s academic strengths, work, and/or life experience. For graduate certificate applicants, at least two such letters.

Optionally, applicants may submit results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) and/or evidence of teaching or other examples of workplace competence, such as curriculum projects and lessons or business plans, to strengthen their application.