Online

Online STEM and Sustainability Certificate

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The STEM and Sustainability Education Certificate provides a background in the foundation of integrated STEM instruction and sustainability education. Our program empowers educators to incorporate STEM and Sustainability learning opportunities into a range of settings, from formal classrooms to informal community spaces. Through community-based local-to-you learning and solutions-driven courses, program participants will develop ready-to-implement curricular activities, and be ready to adopt rapidly changing science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), and sustainability content.

STEM and Sustainability Education Graduate Certificate Highlights

High Quality Education

The STEM and Sustainability Education Certificate provides students with a skill set to:

  • Improve proficiency in core content and cross-disciplinary knowledge in STEM and sustainability with competencies rooted in problem-solving, critical thinking, digital literacy, and innovation.
  • Strengthen cultural competence of the moral and ethical considerations of STEM education by cultivating social-emotional awareness and engaging community assets to build educational environments for student populations.
  • Promote resilient and adaptable skill development for students and educators to better navigate increasingly uncertain instructional and career settings.
  • Strengthen core subject knowledge to construct lessons that contextualize the content with cross-disciplinary knowledge, sustainability, and local to global problem-solving.
  • Become proficient in evidence-based practices and skills in monitoring student development to enhance learning and make curriculum adjustments when necessary.

Flexibility

Support from Application through Graduation

At UC, you’ll have a full support team behind you:


Prerequisites

  1. A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college/university.
  2. Overall minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (recommended).*

*Candidates who graduated from a non-accredited college or university or who do not meet the minimum grade point averages requirement for admission will need a waiver from the School of Education. For the program to request a waiver, the candidate must provide evidence that address mastery of the knowledge prerequisite to the courses required by the program, acceptable writing skills, the ability to engage in critical thinking, and a personal commitment to completing the program. The evidence must convincingly demonstrate the candidate’s potential for success in graduate level work.


Admission Materials

  1. Two Letters of Recommendation.
  2. Goal Statement.
  3. Resume or CV.
  4. Unofficial Transcripts.
  5. Copy of active professional teaching license.

Complete the online application and submit the application fee.

Standard Application Fees:

  • $65.00 for domestic applicants to most degree programs
  • $70.00 for international applicants to most degree programs
  • $20.00 for domestic applicants to Graduate Certificates
  • $25.00 for international applicants to Graduate Certificates
  • Application fees for UC Online programs are waived through Fall 2026 for all applicants who apply by July 1, 2026
  • Fee waivers are automatically applied for applicants who: 
    • Are currently serving in the US armed forces
    • Are veterans of the US armed forces

You can find more information here. Applications are accepted continuously throughout the year. Please review and submit the following materials:

All applicants are required to upload unofficial transcripts during the application process, showing all undergraduate and graduate course work completed, including degrees granted and dates of conferral.

Official transcripts are not required until the student has received and accepted an offer of admission from the university. Once the offer has been confirmed, the student must submit official transcripts.

Students who have received degrees from the University of Cincinnati do not need to submit official paper copies of their UC transcripts.

For questions regarding international students, contact an Enrollment Services Advisor.

Transcripts can be submitted electronically or by mail. To see if your transcript(s) can be ordered electronically, visit the links below and search for your previous school(s).

If you do not see your past school(s) listed on either site, please contact the school(s) directly. Then, mail your sealed, unopened, official transcripts to:

Please mail sealed, unopened, official transcripts to:

University of Cincinnati
Office of Admissions
PO Box 210091
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0091

Two letters of recommendation are required.

  • Recommendations should come from individuals who can attest to your academic and professional skills. References from current and former employers are always desirable. Additionally, recommendations from contacts within academia or professional organizations you’re involved in are also desirable.
  • Those writing letters should explain who they are, their relationship to the applicant, and what they know of the applicant’s academic and professional abilities.
  • Letters of recommendation from family, friends or current students are not accepted.
  • Recommendations are submitted by the recommender themselves; they cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant or another party on behalf of the reference.

Professional Resume:

A resume relevant to academic and professional data. It should include the applicant’s name; phone; email; colleges attended with degrees, dates conferred, and grade point average; employment history; professional experience; present employer; and names of references.

Curriculum Vitae:

A detailed look at the applicant’s career path, including achievements, publications, and awards. Including comprehensive information about candidate’s research background, presentations, publications, committee memberships and other experience of an academic, clinical, or scientific nature.

The goal statement serves as a sample of the applicant’s writing quality and ensures their goals match with the program. It should denote applicant’s desired program concentration (if applicable) and highlight applicant’s motivation for pursuing a career in the field, and how the program will benefit them.

No GRE is required of applicants.

GRE scores are optional for admission. Scores are recommended to strengthen applications that may be weak in areas. For example, applicants with a minimum undergraduate GPA of less than 3.0 should include GRE scores with their application.

 

You may transfer up to one third of the credits of the program, about 9 credits credit hours of graduate courses from a regionally accredited college or university. These credits must have been earned within the last five years prior to admission and be approved by the program faculty. Practicum coursework cannot be transferred into the program.

Transferring from one graduate program to join another at UC, all UC graduate credits taken as part of the incomplete program or under a certificate are eligible to use to fulfill requirements in the new program, based on faculty evaluation of the equivalence to courses in the new curriculum and program approval.

International students are required to provide specific information about their transcripts. Transcripts must have a course-by-course evaluation completed from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

English Proficiency Requirement: English proficiency is required of all applicants whose native language is not English. Students can demonstrate proficiency in a number of ways at the graduate level.

At the University of Cincinnati, we offer multiple start dates to accommodate your schedule. 
Term Application Deadline Classes Start

Summer 2026

Fall 2026

April 24, 2026

August 8, 2026

May 11, 2026

August 24, 2026

The University of Cincinnati's online course fees differ depending on the program. On average, students will accrue fewer fees than students attending on-campus classes.

The one fee applied across all UC Online programs is the distance learning fee. Students living outside the state of Ohio must also pay an additional “non-resident” fee to enroll in courses at UC Online. This fee is lower than the out-of-state fee for traditional on-campus programs.

To view tuition information and program costs, visit the Online Program Fees page.

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