The Centre for Sustainability offers a Certificate in Sustainability for students enrolled in the MIA, MPP, and MDS programs at the Hertie School. The Certificate is awarded to students who devote a meaningful portion of their studies to sustainability-related coursework. To be eligible, students must complete at least 2 sustainability courses and a Masters' Thesis on a sustainability topic. In exceptional and well-justified cases, 3 sustainability courses may be accepted instead of two courses and a Masters' Thesis (see below for more details on requirements).
How do we define sustainability-related coursework? The United Nations Brundtland Commission Report (1987) concluded that human development can be sustainable if it meets “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainability is a situation in which well-being of all humans is at least maintained (or improved) for future generations – with particular attention to those less well-off – considering multiple dimensions of sustainability. For coursework to be relevant for the Certificate in Sustainability, it should mainly relate to the Centre’s primary topic areas including climate policy, energy policy and/or other environmental dimensions of sustainability.
To receive a Certificate in Sustainability, students must demonstrate that they have completed 2 sustainability courses and a Masters' Thesis* on a sustainability-related topic. The Masters' Thesis does not have to be supervised by Centre-affiliated faculty, but it must pertain to sustainability as defined above.
Regular attendance of the Centre’s Sustainabilty Colloquia is also expected.
*In exceptional and well-justified cases, 3 sustainability courses may be accepted in lieu of 2 courses + a Masters' Thesis. Decisions about exceptions will be made by the Centre and Dean of Graduate Programmes.
The Certificate for Sustainability is open to all students currently enrolled in the MIA, MPP and MDS programmes at the Hertie School. The Certificate was first launched in Spring 2023.
For coursework to be relevant for the Certificate in Sustainability, it should mainly relate to the Centre’s primary topic areas including climate policy, energy policy and/or other environmental dimensions of sustainability. Courses do not have to be taught by Centre faculty. See the definition of sustainability above for further reference. Core courses (including project courses) and elective courses count.
To apply for the Certificate, please fill in this form (access via your Hertie School credentials). At the end of the form, you will be asked to upload the following documentation:
- Scan/photo of final transcripts (including thesis grade), after receiving them at graduation
- Thesis abstract/executive summary
- Course syllabi for any courses taken at partner institutions
To submit the form, you are required to use your Hertie School email address. In case you can't access the form or experience any other technical problem, please write to Jenny Shirar (Centre Manager) and Bernardo Bock (Associate - Projects and Administration), at sustainability[at]hertie-school[dot]org.
If you are a dual degree student writing your thesis and/or graduating at a university with a different graduation timeline, you may apply for the Certificate when your final results are available (no later than one month after your graduation).
Dual degree and exchange students can also apply to receive a Certificate in Sustainability.
- Hertie School students who spend an exchange semester elsewhere but otherwise do their coursework and master's thesis at the Hertie School: Courses taken during the exchange semester may count toward the certificate.
- Dual degree students who do either their first or second year at the Hertie School. Courses and master's theses completed at the partner institution may count toward the certificate.
Students who spend one exchange semester at the Hertie School are not eligible for the certificate. Coursework completed during previous degrees does not count toward the Certificate.
Eligible students must provide course title, course description and a syllabus for certificate-relevant courses taken at the partner institution, plus transcripts that prove completion of the courses, in their application.
If you apply with a complete application by June 30th after Hertie School graduation: Certificates will be issued by the Centre for Sustainability over the summer.
If you apply at another time, Certificates will usually be issued within 3 weeks of a complete application.
No, Certificates are offered by the Centre on an extracurricular basis. In other words, they are not formal, accredited concentrations and do not appear on formal graduation documents.
No, attempting a Certificate does not qualify students for priority course registration or Masters' Thesis supervisor allocation. It is also not guaranteed that certain sustainability courses will be available in all semesters. The Centre offers the Certificate as a way to acknowledge students who focus on sustainability topics in their studies, but it is not a formal degree track.
Sample Sustainability Courses
Below are some examples of courses offered by Centre faculty that are relevant for the Certificate. This list is not exhaustive and these courses won't always be available, but this list can give students an idea of what courses may be offered. Please keep in mind that courses do not have to be taught by core faculty of the Centre to be relevant for the certificate.
Energy economics is an introduction to the technology and economics of energy systems, power markets, and electricity networks. The economics of wind and solar energy, the cornerstones of low-carbon energy systems, lie at the heart of this course.
This course is offered as an elective for second-year students and as an Economics II course in the advanced track for first-year students.
Renewable Energy Policies is an introduction to support schemes for renewable energy, discussing the “why” (justification) and the “how” (design) of such policies. We cover feed-in-tariffs, contracts-for-difference, renewable portfolio standards, and many more.
This course is offered as an elective for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.
Electricity system modeling is an introduction to computer-based modeling of electricity systems using spreadsheet programs (Excel) and numerical optimisation software (GAMS). In this do-it-yourself centred course, students will learn the science and the art – and the limitations – of electricity system modeling.
This course is offered as an elective for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.
The course on Electricity market design trains students in liberalised electricity markets, in particular in Europe. More specifically, it has a dual objective. First, it equips students with the knowledge to design robust and efficient electricity markets. Second, it trains students in trading on electricity systems (sometimes by exploiting weaknesses in market design).
This course is for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.
The Policy Process: Climate and Energy offers an introduction to key concepts and practices in public policy making and governance. It provides a broad overview of climate and energy policy by drawing extensively on practical examples from these fields.
This course is offered as an MPP core course.
Econ II: Economic Growth & Climate Change studies the long-term consequences of economic growth and climate change through the lens of welfare economics. Equipped with insights from the major models of economic growth (Solow, Ramsey, Romer) and the empirical literature, we discuss if in a world of climate change, sustained economic growth is feasible – and desirable.
Prerequisites: Economics I
This course is a core course for 1st year MIA and MPP students only.
Emissions pricing represents a unique policy instrument to reduce greenhouse gases in the face of anthropogenic climate change. Instead of direct interventions like technological development on the efficiency side, emissions pricing aims to shifts costs of the overuse of global commons, like air and water, from the consumer back to the polluter - yet, not without controversies. This class will equip students with a solid theoretical basis to understand the emergence, function and the meaning of emission pricing, including the political economy of emission pricing and welfare-theoretical aspects as well as the technology push- and pull-effects, logics of negotiations and ethical foundations. In this course, theory meets practice when discussing several emissions pricing cases to prepare students to quickly understand ongoing debates and controversies as well as engage practically in this policy field.
This course is offered as an elective for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.
Advanced climate policy provides a comprehensive overview and opportunity to engage with important details of the emerging field of climate policy. The European Union’s Green Deal and Germany serve as main case studies.
This course is offered as an elective for MIA and MPP students.
Sustainability 101 introduces key concepts and topics in sustainability. While the focus is on the environmental dimension, we also engage with the social and economic dimensions of sustainability and consider normative foundations.
This course is offered as an elective in the open enrolment programme and as part of the Executive MPA programme.
