Canada's first interdisciplinary online Graduate Certificate in Sustainability provides a broad range of learners, including working professionals, an opportunity to gain essential knowledge and skills to lead, develop and assess innovative solutions for complex global sustainability challenges.
The Â鶹ÊÓƵ, a globally recognized leader in sustainability, developed this four-course online graduate certificate through the College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS), in close collaboration with the founding faculties of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (ALES) and Science, and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sustainability Council. The realization of the program reflects a new partnership between Colleges and the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies to enable the expansion of interdisciplinary graduate programming at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ.
Keeping in stride with sustainability students
There is a clear and high demand for sustainability-related programming, as evidenced by the widespread interest in the university’s undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability (CIS).
The interdisciplinary nature of the CIS has been a major draw, attracting a diverse student body from 30 different programs across 10 faculties. “This broad engagement highlights that learners from across various fields recognize that sustainability and associated analytics are critical skills for their future careers,” said Matina Kalcounis-Ruepell, College Dean and Vice Provost, CNAS. “With the introduction of the new online Graduate Certificate in Sustainability, we will not only continue to meet the growing demand but also support all our graduates as they pursue the endless opportunities that this field has to offer.”
Career-ready learning
Learners will gain the in-demand skills needed to meet the growth expected in sustainability-related fields — there are more than 233,000 job openings in green industries expected by 2029 in Canada alone. At the intersection of sustainability, data science and artificial intelligence, the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability will provide immediately applicable skills, bridging the gap between theory and practice and preparing learners for a new or better career path.
According to Jessica Butts Scott, Associate Vice President, Online Learning and Continuing Education, “the program is purpose-built for fully online delivery, providing flexibility for learners and rooted in the quality expected from the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. It combines the foundations of sustainability, proposed solutions and future transitions with the fundamentals of data science and artificial intelligence.” It also empowers learners to make data-informed, sustainable decisions and to contribute to the collective progress to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Â鶹ÊÓƵ skills on the world stage
Â鶹ÊÓƵ students are already making a global impact when it comes to the sustainability sector. A team of undergraduate and graduate students — Ayla McCallum, Claire Theaker-Brown, Moyosooreoluwa Okunlola, Zirui Wang and Kritika Rawat — presented at the Canadian finals of the Map the System (MTS) competition which took place in Banff earlier this year. The group went on to compete in the international MTS finals in England in July.
Hosted by the University of Oxford, the MTS global competition challenges students to think differently about social and environmental change. It encourages participants to map, rather than solve, a chosen issue, helping them understand and contribute to sustainable social change.
Continuing growth and innovation in graduate studies
The online Graduate Certificate in Sustainability marks the first of several online graduate certificates and master’s programs that will launch in the coming two years, an outcome of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan (IEGP) to diversify the graduate learner population. It reflects a new graduate program framework for the Â鶹ÊÓƵ developed by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies to support expansion and access to graduate education through innovative, stackable program options that create clear pathways for lifelong learning.
Applications for the online Graduate Certificate in Sustainability opened on September 1, 2025, and will close on December 5, 2025. The first cohort begins January 5, 2026.