GCeCS Curriculum

Students pursuing the GCeCS complete a minimum of 17 credits, including 3 graded courses, 1 seminar/reading course and a capstone project that includes a communication seminar or course. Only 6 credits taken for the certificate can also be used to fulfill degree requirements.

Required Coursework (11-12 credits)

Physical Climate (3 cr)

Choose one of: 

Climate and Biogeochemistry (3 cr)

  • The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate (ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 588, 3 cr, generally offered Winter Quarter)

Applications of Climate Science (3-4 cr)

Choose one of:

  • ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 554 Paleoclimate Proxies (3 cr, alt years) 2021
  • ATM S/ESS 559/OCEAN 558 Climate Modeling (4 cr, Sp, alt yrs)
  • SMEA 521 Governmental Responses to Climate Change (3 cr, Au, alt yrs)
  • ATM S 514/ESS 535 Ice and Climate (3 cr)
  • ATM S 555/ESS 581 Planetary Atmospheres (3 cr) 
  • ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 589: Paleoclimatology: Data, Modeling and Theory (Steig, 3 cr) Wi 2020

Other Recent Options:

  • SEFS 521: Drawdown PNW: Prioritizing Climate Solutions (Lawler, 3 cr) Wi 2020
  • PUBPOL 593 Climate Change and Energy Policy (Steurewalt, 4 cr) Wi 2020
  • SMEA 521: Climate Change Governance (Dolšak, 3cr) Au 2019
  • ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 554: Paleoclimate Proxies (Steig and Sachs, 3cr) 
  • ENV H/Global Health 518: Understanding and Managing the Health Risks of Climate Change (Ebi, 3 cr) Wi 2020

Climate Change Seminar (2 cr)

  • ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 586 Current Research in Climate Change (2 cr, Winter 2021) Topics vary, see seminar page. 

Communications Training or Seminar (1-3 cr)

Choose one of:

  • ATM S/ESS/OCEAN 593: Communicating Climate Science Seminar (Bertram, 1 cr) Au 2020
  • C ENV 500 ENGAGE: The Science Speaker Series and Seminar-teaches emerging scientists to effectively communicate through the development of a seminar on their own research for a general audience. (3 cr; Winter quarter; http://www.engage-science.com/seminar-resources/)
  • Trainings offered by the Pacific Science Center

Other Recent Offerings:

  • SMEA 550: Theory and Practice of Linking Knowledge with Action to Address Modern Env Challenges (Rozance, 2cr), Wi 2020
  • SEFS 590 C: Holistic Learning and Storytelling (Vogt, De Abreu, Schreier, 3 cr), Wi 2020
  • Pacific Science Center Communication Course, Sp 2020
  • PUBPOL 582 Climate Change Communication (Bostrom, 4 cr), Sp 2020

For climate-related courses listed by quarter visit: https://pcc.uw.edu/education/quarterly-climate-courses/

Departmental offerings and new, sometimes one-time offerings are shared via the pccgrads listserve (subscribe to the pccgrads mailman listserve for opportunities); many can be used to fulfill the communication requirement.

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