Students participating in the Climate Leaders kick-off workshop hosted by the Waterloo Climate Institute (September 2023).
Graduate students from any faculty can go beyond the context of their own academic-professional silos to broadly engage with the complexity of whole-of-society climate change solutions from community to global scales.
The Interdisciplinary Graduate Diploma (GDip) in Climate Change builds on existing disciplinary strengths to train graduates from any faculty to go beyond the context of their own academic-professional silos to broadly engage with the complexity of whole-of-society climate change solutions from community to global scales. This GDip will help students gain insights into climate change research and professional practice from diverse disciplinary lenses, to inform more impactful climate action. Students will have opportunities to network and collaborate with students and faculty members from across campus who share a common interest in climate change research, communication and action. If successfully completed, the GDip will be recognized on the student’s transcript and diploma.
Prospective students are advised that offers of admission to a new program be made only after the University's own quality assurance processes have been completed and the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance has approved the program.
The University of Waterloo is now accepting applications for the proposed Graduate Diploma (GDip) in Climate Change. Processing of these applications and admission of students will not occur until the program is approved by the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance. The University will acknowledge and store applications but will be unable to evaluate or act on them in any way until the program has been formally approved by the Quality Council. Please contact Daniel Scott for more information.
Admission requirements
- The Interdisciplinary Graduate Diploma (GDip) in Climate Change is offered in conjunction with any University of Waterloo master's or doctoral program, with the exception of the Masters in Climate Change (MCC) and the Graduate Diploma in Climate Risk Management.
- Students must register by completing an online registration form. The application should identify one elective course that the student would like to take in fulfillment of the GDip requirements. Students will receive confirmation of successful enrollment from the Program Director.
- Students must be in good standing in their home master's or doctoral program to take courses for the GDip in Climate Change.
Diploma requirements
- Students must complete 2 graduate level courses (0.50 unit weight), one required (GEMCC 605 – Climate Change and Society), and one elective, in addition to the degree requirements of their home master's or doctoral program. There can be no double counting of courses for the diploma and the degree.
- Students must also complete a climate change professional networking milestone by participating in (and reflecting on) at least four extra-curricular interdisciplinary climate change events or activities.
- The elective course (.50 unit weight) may be selected from the list of pre-approved course electives (or other courses that fit with the goals of this GDip, and as approved by the Program Director):
- ENBUS 652 - Business and Climate Change
- GEMCC 610 - Climate Prediction, Modeling and Scenarios
- GEMCC 620 - Climate Data and Analytics
- GEMCC622 - Climate Change, Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction
- GEMCC 630 - Land Use and the Carbon Cycle
- GEMCC 640 - Climate Change Governance: From Global Treaties to Local Innovation
- GEMCC 644 - Climate Resilient Canadians and Health Systems
- GEMCC 652 - Climate Change and Community Planning
- GEMCC 660 - Carbon Accounting and Management
- GEMCC 675 – Climate Justice
- GEMCC 694 – Climate Change Special Topics: Climate Services
- GEMCC 694 – Climate Change Special Topics: Climate Interventions
- GGOV 628 - Governing a World in Climate Crisis
- ECON 673 – Climate Change Economics
- HIST 624 - Environmental & Climate History, Premodern
- HIST 660 - Transnational and Global History: Old Problems and New Directions
- ARCH 672 - Energy Effective Design
- ARCH 673 - The Science of the Building Envelope
- ECE 632 - Photovoltaic Energy Conversion
- ECE 660 - Operation and Control of Future Integrated Energy Systems
- ACCTSC 991 / STAT 946 - Topics in Probability and Statistics: A Quantitative Approach to Sustainable Finance
- PHS 604 - Public Health and the Environment
- Students must maintain an average of 70% across courses for this GDip