Education

EDUCATION

EDUCATION

Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development are some of the fastest growing fields in both education and employment. And, there are great universities in the US, such as UC Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, and Stanford, for example, providing extraordinary leadership in climate change. As the issues become more significant, this will become an increasingly important field to focus your career on.

In early 2018, as the interest in climate change education became ever more critical, over thirteen North American universities formed a coalition: University Climate Change Coalition, committing to work in close partnership with We Are Still In and America’s Pledge to help America’s climate leaders meet or exceed climate goals. 

There are numerous lists ranking the best universities in specific environmental fields already available: environment/ecologyenvironmental lawenvironmental policyenvironmental science, and agriculture.

For 13 years, Sierra Club’s magazine, Sierra has been ranking colleges judging who has the best sustainability-focused courses, eco-friendly cafeteria provisions, carbon-neutral land and energy policies, and opportunities to engage with the environmental movement. In 2020, a record 312 schools vied to be named the most eco-savvy in all of academia. Here are the top 20.

Students might game out a climate plan built at a community college in Santa Fe. Learn about it here and look here to see the game played.

For K-12 education and ways to take action in school, please see the YOUTH page.

New Jersey Becomes First U.S. State to Require Schools to Teach Climate Change

ONLINE COURSES

Climate Change Education

10/08/21
A large body of scientific information indicates that global climate change is unequivocal, almost certainly is caused mostly by human activities, is already causing significant harm, and as it continues, holds great risks for our…

Climate Change Courses

10/08/21
Humanity faces an immense challenge: providing abundant energy to everyone without wrecking the planet. If we want a high-energy future while protecting the natural world for our children, we must consider the environmental consequences of…

Interactive Courses

08/16/21
WWF advocates environmentally-responsible approaches to climate change adaptation that bring benefits to both people and nature. WWF Adapt provides a wide range of learning tools that help conservation, development and humanitarian professionals better understand climate…

The University of California, San Diego

01/07/19
Our Energy Future This course is designed to introduce students to the issues of energy in the 21st century – including food and fuels which are inseparably linked – and will discuss energy production and…

The University of Chicago

01/07/19
Global Warming I: The Science and Modeling of Climate Change This class describes the science of global warming and the forecast for humans’ impact on Earth’s climate. Intended for an audience without much scientific background…

American Museum of Natural History

01/07/19
Our Earth’s Future Our Earth’s Future is about the science of climate change and how to talk about it. You will learn from scientists in the fields of climatology, oceanography, Earth science, and anthropology who…

The University of Queensland

11/30/18
Making Sense of Climate Science Denial Climate change is real, so why the controversy and debate? Learn to make sense of the science and to respond to climate change denial. In public discussions, climate change…

Resilience.org and the Post Carbon Institute

11/30/18
We’re offering this course—Think Resilience: Preparing Communities for the Rest of the 21st Century—to help you get started on doing something. You can take the course, consisting of 22 video lectures (about 4 hours total)…

KEY RESOURCES

NOAA, Smithsonian and fed partners seeking suggestions to update key climate literacy guide

03/23/23
NOAA, as part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), is requesting suggestions on structure, topics, and content to help update a key national climate literacy guide used by educators, policymakers, and scientists across…

Certificate in Clean Energy

04/08/22
The clean energy sector encompasses many different technologies and policies. The NYU Clean Start program - a collaboration between the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon and the Center for Global Affairs within NYU SPS…

Columbia Climate School

01/04/22
The Columbia Climate School's mission is to develop and inspire knowledge-based solutions and educate future leaders for just and prosperous societies on a healthy planet.

Offshore Wind Education

11/10/21
The Fundamentals of Offshore Wind program, part of New York State's Offshore Wind Training Institute, is a 3-week, 45-hour summer program designed to provide an introduction to offshore wind in a modular format.

Wind Programs at FSC

10/29/21
Whether you are a graduating high school senior, a current college student, or a seasoned professional, there is something for everyone in the Wind Program at FSC. All of these programs will help to improve…

Center of Excellence for Offshore Energy | SUNY Maritime College

10/26/21
Recognizing the growth in the offshore renewable energy sector, Maritime College established the Center of Excellence for Offshore Energy to focus on building a clean energy workforce and encouraging research in this growing area. The…

Online Learning with Coursera

10/26/21
The New York State Department of Labor is partnering with Coursera, the leading online training provider. Through Coursera, unemployed New Yorkers will have access to nearly 4,000 programs across high-growth industries and can hone skills in data…

NOAA upgrades Climate.gov site

10/12/21
NOAA’s Climate Program Office today launched a newly redesigned version of Climate.gov, NOAA’s award-winning, flagship website that provides the public with clear, timely, and science-based information about climate. The redesign expands the site’s already significant…

Handling climate change education at universities: an overview

09/25/21
Climate change is a problem which is global in nature, and whose effects go across a wide range of disciplines. It is therefore important that this theme is taken into account as part of universities´…

Climate Curriculum | K-12 Science Lessons on Climate Change

02/17/21
A comprehensive curriculum that provides engaging and informative science lessons on Earth's changing climate.

University Climate Change Coalition

08/26/20
For North American research universities committed to climate action and cross-sector collaboration, UC3 is a collaborative coalition that leverages relationships and expertise to accelerate local climate solutions and build community resilience.

CLEAN Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network

08/26/20
The CLEAN Collection of Climate and Energy Educational Resources A collection of 700+ free, ready-to-use learning resources rigorously reviewed by educators and scientists suitable for secondary through higher education classrooms.

NASA Innovations in Climate Education

08/26/19
NASA Innovations in Climate Education, or NICE, is designed to improve the quality of the nation's STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and enhance students' and teachers' literacy about global climate and Earth system…

Earth Institute at Columbia University

12/17/18
Columbia’s Earth Institute blends research in the physical and social sciences, education and practical solutions to help guide the world onto a path toward sustainability. Their news publication is State of the Planet.

NEWS

Biden’s new Climate Corps will train thousands of young people

By Maxine Joselow 09/20/23
President Biden on Wednesday announced an initiative to train more than 20,000 young people in skills crucial to combating climate change, such as installing solar panels, restoring coastal wetlands and retrofitting homes to be more…
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Climate deniers coming for your kids

09/13/23
As if the fear of rampaging gunmen or fights to ban books about people of color, LGBTQ+ families, or basic human functions aren’t enough of a distraction for U.S. children as they return to schools…
Read more

Climate Science Is under Attack in Classrooms

By Scott Waldman 09/12/23
Political battles over climate change are increasingly being fought in the classroom. Conservative activists and politicians in states across the country are trying to limit or distort the teaching of climate science to schoolchildren, marking…
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This California high school includes sustainability and green jobs in its curriculum

By Anya Kamenetz 09/07/23
Jesika Gonzalez will tell you that she wasn’t the biggest fan of Porterville, California, while she was growing up. “When I was younger, I was very, like, angsty,” the 18-year-old said as she flicked her…
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US ‘university’ spreads climate lies and receives millions from rightwing donors

By Peter Stone 09/06/23
A rightwing media outlet promoting climate-crisis denialism and other “anti-woke” staples to young students and adults via social media has become a fundraising Goliath, raking in close to $200m from 2018 to 2022 with big…
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Nonprofit trains science teachers to weave storytelling into climate lessons

By YCC Team 09/01/23
Writing poems and interviewing family members might sound like assignments for a language arts class. But a Washington State-based nonprofit called IslandWood is helping middle school science teachers weave these sorts of activities into their…
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Climate education that builds hope and agency, not fear

By Jeffrey D. Corbin and Others 08/09/23
The urgency of the climate crisis grows every year; meanwhile, disinformation and politicization have made communicating the science of climate change increasingly challenging. For the past 2 decades, such communication efforts have focused mainly on…
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Students give top law firms an F on climate

By Lesley Clark 08/01/23
Top U.S. lawyers are ramping up their work for the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report by climate-conscious law students that singles out firms representing the contentious Mountain Valley pipeline.
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Penguins in Your Fridge? These 7-Year-Olds Have Climate Solutions.

By Cara Buckley 06/16/23
Standing at the front of her classroom at Slackwood Elementary School north of Trenton, N.J., one afternoon in June, Michelle Liwacz asked her first graders to consider a problem: Antarctica is getting warmer. What could…
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New Jersey is teaching kids about climate. Opponents call it ‘indoctrination.’

By Anya Kamenetz 06/07/23
Carolyn McGrath thought she was ready for her testimony in front of the New Jersey Department of Education. An art teacher, she had dressed in a jaunty polka-dot blouse and chunky green necklace, and had…
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Students and Faculty at Ohio State Respond to a Bill That Would Restrict College Discussions of Climate Policies

By Dan Gearino 05/31/23
Keely Fisher chose to pursue her Ph.D. at Ohio State University because she wanted to learn about climate change from a world-class faculty. The problem has nothing to do with Ohio State and everything to…
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Students and climate activists push local universities to fully cut ties from fossil fuel industry

By Alecia Reid 05/31/23
Colleges and universities across the country are investing in climate education and research, but not all of them are practicing what they preach.
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