Environmental Studies Certificate - planned for Fall 2008

    As planned, the Environmental Studies Certificate Program will provide three tracks of study:  Education, Sciences, Professional/Advocate.   The program will feature the Environmental Forum of Marin seminar series (either the 7-week or 18-week option) as its core coursework requirement. Each participant will build upon this core by selecting 3-9 units of elective courses, from an approved list, within their selected area of emphasis. Most participants will also earn 2-4 units of credit by participating in an Internship placement with an environmental organization where they can learn practical applications for their newly attained knowledge and, hence, be qualified for employment and/or engagement upon Certificate completion.

    This Certificate program is designed as a collaborative effort, incorporating the best of the educational talent and resource that currently abounds in our community. There are many environmental educators who run high-quality, credible programs and who seek endorsement from PACE to award continuing education units for participation. This program partners with these caluable educators to use their programs as "core" and "elective" components of the Certificate.

Key Features of The Environmental Studies Certificate:

• Affordable and Relatively Quick- The cost and time commitment to complete this Certificate program is significantly less than would be required to obtain an Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's degree in Environmental Science/Studies.
• Internship Opportunity- As a part of the coursework, students will have the opportunity to participate in an internship that will hone their ability to practically apply their new skills and knowledge and enable them to make a meaningful contribution to the environment. This internship component provides a unique opportunity for prospective academic students to "test" this field of study before committing to an academic Associates, Bachedlor or Graduate program.
• Flexibility to Upgrade- The program will be structured to allow participants to apply components of the certificate towards an academic degree should they later seek to upgrade their skills and knowledge basis.
• Diverse Applications- There are many ways in which this program can provide benefit for participants:  employment, self-enrichment, networking, leadership, etc.