Environment and Society Geography

Environment and society geography examines how human society and the natural world are interconnected. This certificate specifically addresses how geographers approach questions concerning human-environment relations, environmental processes, and environmental justice. Students who enroll in this certificate program will engage frameworks such as political ecology, environmental geography, sustainability, and globalization. Courses that contribute to this certificate cover topics such as conservation, agriculture, food, water, energy, climate change and health, as well as the complex ways these elements interact. Upon completing the certificate, students will be able to analyze human-environment systems, the political economy of resource use and management, environmental problems, and remediation across local-to-global scales. Focus areas include: conservation and protected areas; development; environmental health and inequality; urban-rural dynamics; food-energy-water nexus; and environment-society interactions involving agriculture, nutrition, and well-being.

You Might Like This Program If...

• You are interested in the complex interactions between environments and society.
• You want to obtain the tools needed to address both the social and natural dimensions of environmental issues associated with health, sustainability, food scarcity, climate change, energy alternatives, water resources and urban and industrial growth.

The 12-credit Certificate in Environment and Society Geography will engage students with issues, knowledge, and diverse forms of learning, analysis, and exposition related to the interactions of human societies and environments. This certificate is based on the twin foundations of this sub-field of geography, namely human-environment interactions and nature-society relations. Its purpose is to train students to use frameworks such as political ecology and environmental geography to provide the tools and concepts of change and sustainability necessary to analyze human-environment systems, environmental problems, and remediation across local-to-global scales, and the political economy of resource use and management.

Learning objectives: Identify, describe, and analyze human-environment systems and processes across the globe; recognize how humans depend on, alter, and manage their environment in various places; and think critically about addressing complex human-environment challenges.

If you are a first year student applying to Penn State:

Click Apply to start your Penn State application. Before starting, you can also review the Applying Online Worksheet for more details and helpful hints about the application.

Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the Save and Continue button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). As you begin the SRAR process, a new window will open allowing you to complete your SRAR. SRAR will focus on your high school coursework. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. Therefore, have a copy of your secondary school records available as you complete your SRAR. You will need to enter every class and every grade earned for the last three years, as well as those classes in progress.

After completing your SRAR, you will be directed back to the Penn State application in order to complete the Program of Study portion of the application. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for first-year students.

After completing this section of the application, you will provide some additional information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

If you are a transfer student applying to Penn State:

All international transfer students will be required to submit official high school transcripts in order to complete the application. International transfer students will not complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) for either their high school or college coursework.

If you have accepted your offer of admission to Penn State:

If you completed SRAR and are accepted to Penn State, please provide the following for grade verification:

• Official transcript from years 9, 10, 11, and 12. If the transcript is issued in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.
• Official copy of the Tawjihi, accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.

Students earning the Environment and Society Geography certificate learn a wide range of research and analytical skills that are highly valued by employers. Students who are trained at the intersection of the environment and society find jobs in all levels of government, nonprofit organizations, and in industry. This  is one of  several geography-related certificates that students can use to tailor their educational experience   in preparation for the job market. In addition to Environment and Society Geography, the Department of Geography offers certificates in Geospatial Big Data Analytics; Geographic Information Systems; Human Geography; Landscape Ecology; Justice, Ethics, Diversity in Space; and Physical Geography.

Students earning the certificate in Environment and Society Geography are well positioned to find employment with diverse organizations spanning business, government, and nonprofit sectors. Such organizations may include (but are not limited to): American Red Cross, Amnesty International, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Heifer International, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. State Department, local, regional, and state planning agencies, environmental and engineering consulting firms, policy research institutes, private corporations, and humanitarian organizations.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES WITH A CERTIFICATE IN ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY GEOGRAPHY

Opportunities for Graduate Studies

A certificate in the dynamic intersections of the environment with society is useful for students who are interested in pursuing graduate degrees in the environmental and social sciences. Alumni enter graduate and professional studies in a variety of programs, including (but not limited to) geography, planning, international development, urban studies, sustainability, environmental sciences, ecology, public policy, emergency management, and law. They sometimes begin graduate or professional programs directly after finishing undergraduate studies, but often get several years' work experience before returning to school, either full or part-time.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

Professional Resources

• American Association of Geographers (AAG)
• Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers
• American Geographic Society (AGS)
• National Geographic Society (NGS)
• International Geographic Union (IGU)