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REQUIREMENTS

Students are required to take 15-19 credit hours (see details below) and must earn at least a “C” in all program coursework to earn the Certificate in Ecological Restoration and Nature-based Engineering. The certificate will consist of the following components: 

REQUIRED COURSES (9-11 hours)

• A ‘Foundations’ Course (3 hours)
  • ECOL(ENVE) 3330, Foundations of Ecological Restoration and Nature-Based Engineering (3 hours)
• An ‘Extension’ Course, which will vary based on the student’s major (3–4 hours)
  • Non-engineering majors:
    • ENVE 2610, Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Sustainability (3 hours)
  • Agricultural Engineering (B.S.A.E.) majors Choose one of the following:
    • ECOL 1000, Ecological Basis of Environmental Issues (3 hours)
    • ECOL 3500, Ecology (3 hours)
  • Civil Engineering (B.S.C.E.) majors:
    • ECOL 1000, Ecological Basis of Environmental Issues (3 hours)
  • Environmental Engineering (B.S.Env.E.) majors Choose one of the following:
    • ECOL 3300, Field Program in Ecological Problem-Solving (4 hours)
    • ECOL 3530, Conservation Biology (3 hours)
    • ECOL 3770S, Urban Ecology – Service Learning (3 hours)
    • ECOL 3885S, Ecology of Invasive Species (3 hours)
    • ECOL 4010/6010, Ecosystem Ecology (3 hours)
    • ECOL 4080/6080, Principles of Integrative Conservation and Sustainability (4 hours)
    • ECOL(FANR) 4220/6220, Restoration Ecology (3 hours)
    • ECOL(MARS) 4225-4225L, Methods in Marine Ecology (4 hours)
    • ECOL(FISH)(WASR) 4310/6310, Freshwater Ecosystems (3 hours)
    • MARS 4010, Marine Ecology (3 hours)
    • WILD(ECOL) 3580, Vertebrate Natural History (3 hours)
    • WILD 4100-4100L, Principles of Wildlife Habitat and Management (3 hours)
• A Service-Learning ‘Capstone Course,’ which will vary based on a student’s major (3–4 hours)
  • Non-engineering majors:
    • ECOL 4720S, Capstone Project in Ecological Restoration and Nature-Based Solutions (3 hours)
  • Agricultural Engineering (B.S.A.E.) majors:
    • AENG 4910S, Capstone Design I (2 hours) AND
    • AENG 4911S, Capstone Design II (2 hours)
  • Civil Engineering (B.S.C.E.) majors:
    • CVLE 4910S, Capstone Design I (2 hours) AND
    • CVLE 4911S, Capstone Design II (2 hours)
  • Environmental Engineering (B.S.Env.E.) majors:
    • ENVE 4910S, Capstone Design I (2 hours) AND
    • ENVE 4911S, Capstone Design II (2 hours)

ELECTIVE COURSES (6-8 hours)

Choose 6-8 hours from the following, with courses chosen from at least two different categories. 

Social Dimensions

• ANTH 3090, Past Peoples, Present Climates (3 hours)
• ANTH 4070/6070, Cultural Ecology (3 hours)
• ANTH 4085/6085, Conservation on a Changing Planet (3 hours)
• ANTH(ECOL)(FANR)(SOCI) 4846, Environmental Governance (3 hours)
• EHSC 3060, Foundations in Environmental Health (3 hours)
• FANR 4020/6020, Sustainable Development (3 hours)
• GEOG 3633, Cities and Nature (3 hours)
• GEOG 4810/6810, Political Ecology and Environmental Governance (3 hours)
• MARS 4400/6400, Introduction to Marine Policy (3 hours)

Biodiversity Dimensions

• CRSS(HORT) 4400/6400, Agro-Ecology (3 hours)
• CRSS(MIBO) 4610/6610-4610/6610L, Soil Microbiology (4 hours)
• ECOL 4010/6010, Ecosystem Ecology (3 hours)
• ECOL 4010L/6010L, Ecosystem Ecology Lab (1 hour)
• ECOL(FISH)(WASR) 4310/6310, Freshwater Ecosystems (3 hours)
• ECOL(FISH)(WASR) 4310L/6310L, Freshwater Ecosystems Lab (1 hour)
• HORT(CRSS) 4430/6430, Plant Physiology (3 hours)
• MARS 3450, Marine Biology (3 hours)
• MARS 3450L, Marine Biology Laboratory (1 hour)
• MARS 4010, Marine Ecology (3 hours)
• MARS(PBIO) 4160-4160L, Life and Death in the Salt Marsh (3 hours)
• PBIO 3650-3650L, Plant Ecology (4 hours)

Physical Dimensions

• CRSS(FANR) 3060, Soils and Hydrology (3 hours)
• CRSS(FANR) 3060L, Soils and Hydrology Laboratory (1 hour)
• CRSS(GEOL) 4540/6540-4540L/6540L, Pedology (3 hours)
• CRSS 4580/6580, Soil Erosion and Conservation (3 hours)
• CRSS 4600/6600, Soil Physics (3 hours)
• CRSS 4600L/6600L, Soil Physics Laboratory (1 hour)
• CRSS 4670/6670, Environmental Soil Chemistry (3 hours)
• ENGR 3160, Fluid Mechanics (3 hours)
• ENGR(MARS) 4113/6113-4113L/6113L, Introductory Geophysical Fluid Dynamics with Applications (4 hours)
• ENVE(MARS) 4175/6175, Coastal Meteorology (3 hours)
• ENVE 4410/6410, Open Channel Hydraulics (3 hours)
• GEOG 3010, General Geomorphology (3 hours)
• GEOG 3290, Mountain Geography (3 hours)
• GEOG 4020/6020, Fluvial Geomorphology (3 hours)
• GEOG 4040/6040, Global Environmental Change Past and Present (3 hours)
• GEOL 4220/6220, Hydrogeology (3 hours)
• GEOL 4500/6500-4500L/6500L, Sedimentary Geology (3 hours)
• MARS 4100/6100, Geological and Physical Oceanography (3 hours)
• MARS 4800/6800, Regional Oceanography of the South Atlantic Bight (3 hours)
• WASR(FORS) 4110/6110-4110/6110L, Forest Hydrology (4 hours)
• WASR(CRSS)(ECOL)(ENGR)(GEOG)(GEOL) 4700L/6700L, Hydrology, Geology and Soils of Georgia (3 hours)

Practice and Implementation

• BCHE(ENVE) 4490/6490, Environmental Engineering Remediation Design (3 hours)
• ECOL 4080/6080, Principles of Integrative Conservation and Sustainability (4 hours)
• ECOL(FANR) 4220/6220, Restoration Ecology (3 hours)
• ECOL(MARS) 4225-4225L, Methods in Marine Ecology (4 hours)
• ECOL 4450/6450-4450L/6450L, GIS for Ecologists (3 hours)
• ENVE 3320, Environmental Engineering – Urban Systems (3 hours)
• ENVE 4250/6250, Energy Systems and the Environment (3 hours)
• ENVE 4435/6435, Natural Resource Engineering (3 hours)
• GEOG 4060/6060, Field Methods: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (3 hours)
• GEOG 4350/6350-4350L/6350L, Remote Sensing of Environment (3 hours)
• GEOG 4570/6570-4570L/6570L, Advanced Geographic Information Science (3 hours)
• HORT 4095/6095, GPS/GIS Applications for Landscape Managers (3 hours)
• LAND 4390/6390, Ecological Landscape Restoration (3 hours)
• MARS 4960S, Faculty-Mentored Undergraduate Service and Outreach in Marine Science (1-3 hours)
• WASR 4400/6400-4400L/6400L, Wetland Management and Restoration (3 hours)
• WILD 4100-4100L, Principles of Wildlife Habitat and Management (3 hours)

GUIDELINES

APPLICATION

Fill out the application form by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. Students must be in good standing with the university at the time of applying. Students will be notified by email when they have been accepted into the program. Once accepted, students must add the Undergraduate Certificate in Ecological Restoration and Naturebased Engineering to their active curricula program via the MyPrograms option in Athena.

ADVISING APPOINTMENTS

Students are encouraged to meet with the Certificate Director and/or the Ecology Undergraduate Advisor after an application has been approved to plan a program of study, and then periodically afterward as needed.

MAKING REGULAR PROGRESS

Regular progress is expected to remain in the program.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Students can petition for substitutions to requirements for the certificate by emailing the Certificate Director a written statement that explains the rationale for the request. A syllabus, which includes a topical outline, for the substituted course must be included in the email. After receiving the necessary information, the Certificate Director, in consultation with the Advisory Board, will review the petition and let the student know the results.

APPLYING FOR GRADUATION

When you Apply to Graduate (during your last semester at UGA)—you must apply to graduate with the Ecological Restoration and Nature-Based Engineering Certificate in order for the Certificate to be listed on your final transcript.

COMPLETION OF EXIT QUESTIONNAIRE

An exit questionnaire will be issued to graduating certificate students to collect the following information: student major, certificate courses taken, grades earned, attainment of learning outcomes.