To build a sustainable future.
This certificate is co-sponsored by The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the Global Studies Center/UCIS, linking our expertise in global sustainable development with UCIS expertise offering interdisciplinary credentials across schools, departments, and fields of study.
The Certificate provides graduate students with tools to engage with complex challenges of global sustainable development. Global sustainable development involves the pursuit of a better world for all through the elimination of chronic poverty, discrimination & injustice, and environmental degradation, in order to ensure a sustainable future of well-being for the earth and its peoples. Worldwide, a common framework used to pursue sustainable development is found in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which promotes 17 inter-related, comprehensive, and universally applicable sustainability goals spanning economic, social, political, and environmental issues. This Certificate provides theoretical knowledge, interdisciplinary approaches, and practical skills needed to tackle chronic problems and achieve sustainable development goals on issues including poverty, hunger, health, inequality, gender empowerment, the environment, peace and justice, governance, NGO and civil society participation, and global cooperation. Learn how to solve global problems in comprehensive, sustainable, and ethical ways appropriate to diverse national and regional realities, capacities, and priorities.
The curriculum provides in-depth theoretical understanding of global sustainable development as well as practical skills to engage with complex challenges targeted through the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, which encompasses the “5 P’s”: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. Certificate courses address a wide range of SDG topics including poverty, hunger, health, education, gender inequality, the environment and natural resources, water and sanitation, energy, employment, development planning and management, global inequalities, peace/inclusion/and justice, governance and global partnerships.
To find out more and to enroll, contact an advisor listed below:
- Elaine Linn, www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/advising
- Renee Kidney, rkidney@pitt.edu
Requirements for the Certificate in Global Sustainable Development:
Students complete 12 credits (6 credits in GSD foundation courses, and 6 credits of approved GSD electives), as well as a Digital Portfolio which can be shared with future employers and graduate schools.
Download the complete Plan of Study >>
Students may take up to 2 approved Certificate courses (6 credits) that simultaneously fulfill other Degree requirements. Students may take up to 2 approved courses outside of The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
Please note that not all elective courses listed are offered every year. Students may propose a course for review as an approved elective course.
Minimum of grade of C or higher required for all Certificate courses. Certificate courses may not be taken on S/NC basis.
Required Courses: 6 credits
Students may choose two of the following Foundation Courses-
PIA 2501 -- Development Policy & Administration
PIA 2510 -- Economics of Development
PIA 2448 -- Political Economy of Development
Digital Portfolio:
Meet with Elaine Linn to create your Digital Portfolio using the Digication platform, due the semester of graduation.
Elective Courses: 6 Credits
From the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs-
PIA 2115 -- Environmental Economics
PIA 2117 -- Program Evaluation (offered online)
PIA 2125 -- City & Region: Theory & Practice
PIA 2164 -- Natural Resources Governance
PIA 2307 -- Human Security
PIA 2310 -- Markets & States
PIA 2448 -- Political Economy of Development (if not taken as Foundation Course)
PIA 2473 -- Strategies of Global Inquiry (with approved research topic in GSD)
PIA 2476 -- Nonviolent Resistance Movements
PIA 2478 -- Asylum Policy & Politics
PIA 2496 -- Governing Technology
PIA 2501 -- Development Policy & Administration (if not taken as Foundation Course)
PIA 2502 -- Environmental Policy Local to Global
PIA 2507 -- Human Rights & Social Change
PIA 2508 -- NGO Advocacy & International Coalitions
PIA 2510 -- Economics of Development (if not taken as a Foundation Course)
PIA 2512 -- Poverty & Inequality
PIA 2519 -- Comparative Governance (offered online)
PIA 2522 -- Climate Policy Local to Global
PIA 2526 -- Micropolitics: NGOs, Civil Society & Development
PIA 2529 -- Political Economy Analysis (offered online)
PIA 2531 -- Human Rights & UN Sustainable Development Goals
PIA 2551 -- Gender & Development
PIA 2552 -- Managing Organizations in Development
PIA 2553 -- Global Health Policy
PIA 2590 -- Local & Global Food Policy & Sustainability
PIA 2715 -- GIS for Public Policy
PIA 2740 -- Planning & Analysis for Sustainable Regions
Up to two approved elective courses may be taken from other Schools within the University-
CEE 2610 -- Engineering & Sustainable Development
ENG 2007 -- Sustainability Capstone (with permission & approved topic)
ENG 2905 -- Current Issues in Sustainability
PUBHLTH 2025 -- Concepts & Methods in Global Health (2 cr.)
PUBHLTH 2033 -- Managing the Natural Environment
PUBHLTH 2173 -- Transforming Global Health Education into Action
BFIN 2043 -- International Financial Management
BSEO -- Managing the Natural Environment (1.5 cr.)
BSEO 2578 -- Sustainable Business Strategy (1.5 cr.)
BSPP 2328 -- The Business of Humanity – Strategic Management