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Learning outcomes for completion of the certificate include foundational technical knowledge and practical professional skills. Students will be able to integrate sustainability and circular economy concepts with the design of products and services that have positive environmental and social impacts, while creating and leading organizations that incorporate principles and practices of the circular economy as core strategic initiatives. 

Our graduates will be specialists in the rapidly emerging field of the circular economy. They will understand the underlying foundations of sustainability engineering, the context of how this knowledge can be successfully applied in a business setting, and the leadership skills to drive transformational change within their organizations and communities. As specialists, students will be able to:

• Have a science and fact-based discussion with friends, family and work colleagues that explains the need to rapidly move to a more circular economy.
• Describe our current economic and industrial model of “take-make-waste” and the need to transition to a more resilient and sustainable circular economy.
• Design sustainable products and packaging using cradle-to-cradle methodologies.
• Quantitatively assess a product and organization’s social and environmental impacts using the latest data scoring frameworks, including life-cycle analysis, carbon and water footprint analyses.
• Employ brand management strategies to communicate the organization's values and value proposition to their customers.
• Establish operations and supply chains consistent with the organization’s sustainability and circular economy goals.
• Identify and apply international frameworks (i.e., ISO 14000) within the organization.

• Product design
• Social and environmental impact analysis
• System thinking
• Innovate business models
• Sustainable finance management
• Marketing and brand management
• Sustainable and resilient operations and supply chains
• Stakeholder communication
• Change management
• Technical skills
• Business skills
• Leadership skills

The online Design for the Circular Economy Graduate Certificate is a 9-credit hour, 100% online program. The program offers four specializations consisting of twelve 1-credit hour courses, as outlined below.  From the list below, students are required to complete any two 3-credit hour specializations (totaling 6 credit hours) and 3 additional courses (totaling 3 credit hours), which could include another specialization, or any three topical electives.

To remain in good standing in the program, students must earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (no more than one credit of C+ can be applied toward certificate program requirements). Once the certificate requirements are met, the certificate will be automatically awarded and transcribed on the student’s transcripts. 

Applied Sustainability for Technical Managers (3 credits)

Sustainable and Circular Product Development (3 credits)

• EMEA 5222 Product Design for the Circular Economy
• EMEA 5223 Packaging Design for the Circular Economy
• EMEA 5224 Circular Product Design Frameworks and Certifications

Sustainable & Resilient Operations and Supply Chains(3 credits)

• EMEA 5228 Impacts of Sustainable Operations and Supply Chains

Transformative Leadership in the Circular Economy (3 credits)

• EMEA 5241 The Circular Economy
• EMEA 5242 Sustainable Marketing and Consumer Trends
• EMEA 5243 Leading the Way: Becoming a Sustainability Change Agent

There are no formal prerequisites for the Design for the Circular Economy Graduate Certificate, but we recommend that prospective students have an undergraduate degree in engineering, science, or a technical field (including areas such as physics, applied mathematics, and computer science). If they do not have an undergraduate degree in engineering or a technical field, we recommend that students try the non-credit versions of courses to test their readiness before upgrading to the for-credit versions.

The Engineering Management Graduate Certificate on Coursera is $667 per credit hour.

The program requires 9 credit hours of coursework, the total program cost is $6,003. Because this program is 100% online, the tuition is the same for all students regardless of residency status.

Students will only pay for the courses they enroll in for each session. You do not have to pay the full cost of the certificate once you enroll for-credit.

• This program is not currently eligible for financial aid provided through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• CU Boulder does not currently offer scholarships for this program.
• Employer reimbursement may be an option for you. Check directly with your employer to see if they have a "tuition assistance" or "tuition reimbursement" program where your employer helps finance your education.
• This program is eligible for education benefits offered through Veterans Affairs (VA). Check with your VA advisor and visit the WEAMS website for more information.

Students can always work on the public/non-credit version of courses before enrolling for credit. We recommend that students always start the courses in the public version first, no matter how far along you are on your certificate completion.

When you work on the course in the public (not-for-credit) version, you can work at your own pace and redo assignments. Then when you are ready to enroll for credit, you use the enrollment form, pay tuition and complete the account linking and onboarding, the progress you made on the coursework in the public version will transfer into the for-credit version. Then, you will access the restricted for-credit content (usually a final exam or project) and complete the requirements by the session deadlines for credit.

Take the next step in your education to boost your career. This Graduate Certificate can be stacked toward the Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) on Coursera degree if you are interested in continuing your education. By stacking this 9 credit certificate into your 30 credit degree, you would have completed 30% of your ME-EM degree.

To pursue admission to the ME-EM degree program, you’ll need to complete the following requirement:

• Indicate interest in degree admission (via the ME-EM enrollment form)
• Earn a 3.0 CU cumulative GPA.
• Pass one pathway specialization with a pathway GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  • B- is passing for most classes. Up to 3 credits of C+s can count towards your degree. After grades are finalized, you will receive an email from emp-coursera@colorado.edu confirming your admission.

By completing these steps, you will go from working on a certificate to earning a degree.

CU Boulder will mail your complimentary paper certificate approximately eight weeks after the end of the session in which you complete your certificate requirements. 

You should verify both your name that will appear on your diploma, as well as the address your diploma will be mailed to in your Buff Portal. You will need to Update Your Contact Information if your name and/or home address are not listed correctly.

You also have access to a Certified Electronic Diploma & Certificate (CeDiplomas/CeCertificates). Go to the electronic diplomas & certificates card in Buff Portal and click the "Access your CeDiploma/CeCertificate" link to access CeCredential Trust, an approved third-party vendor of CU Boulder. Please see CeDiplomas/CeCertificates for additional information regarding electronic diplomas.