Community Risk and Resilience Certificate

The Community Risk and Resilience Certificate serves community leaders: planners, economic development professionals, community health workers, state and local agency personnel, and others in skill development in applying resilience theory toward building community well-being, with a particular focus on the impacts of climate change. Resilience is a new approach to managing the impacts of climate change including flooding, drought, unseasonable temperatures affecting resources and food systems, wildfires, and others. The coursework builds skills in resilience in response to multiple stressors, risk management and communication, community engagement, and specific climate change related knowledge and practice.

Applications for admission will be evaluated based on the applicants experience, personal statement, and letters of recommendation. The personal statement should address the applicant’s career goals and motivation to join the program. A prospective student’s professional experience will be evaluated with an admission preference for multiple years (2 or greater) in a related field. One letter of recommendation is required, however up to three may be submitted; it is preferred that the letters of recommendation are written by the prospective student’s current or past supervisor. Admission of a student with an undergraduate GPA less than 3.0 will be considered with a demonstrated track record in a related field.

A student may transfer up to 8 semester hours of courses into the Master of Sustainability, Security, and Resilience, with a maximum of one course (up to 4 hours) in any single associated complementary certificate. Requests for transfer must meet university eligibility rules and must be reviewed and recommended by the student’s advisor, approved by the program director, and the Dean of the Voinovich School. Courses recommended for transfer credit must significantly meet the outcomes of the course for which it is being substituted.