Certificate of Undergraduate Study in Environmental Justice

The Certificate of Undergraduate Studies in Environmental Justice provides a sequential introduction to an understanding of the social forces of culture, power, and economics that underpin the impact of environmental problems and planning. With the increased environmental impacts of climate change here in New Jersey, our communities need clear-eyed assessment of the impact of mitigation and development plans on all citizens of the state. This certificate will produce graduates with the awareness and capabilities to see those social forces and how they interplay with the physical environment. Students earning this certificate will have a knowledge of how to work with local and deferral governmental bodies to meet the EPA requirement: EPA has as its goal for all communities and persons across this nation to enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. Neither sociologists, nor students of the environment can achieve these goals without a coherent integration of the constructs which are a hallmark of Environmental Justice, and these goals will be addressed in the required classes. The Department of Labor is itself hiring environmental justice sociologists, as of the writing of the proposal. Across the federal government, multiple agencies are hiring in this area, as are state and local agencies required to comply with environmental regulations that require demographic assessments, community outreach, and community education. Additionally, the activism movement in environmental justice is active and energized as more and more people become alarmed about environmental issues and how policies related to them are being formed.