Clemson University
AC-4: Graduate Program

Our complex world faces many challenges, including contaminated water supplies, hazardous wastes, an increasing population and limited resources. The Ph.D. program in Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences provides students with a comprehensive background in one or more fundamental aspects of environmental engineering, environmental science and/or the earth sciences. The major field of study is generally interdisciplinary in nature, consisting of coursework in several areas of the basic and applied sciences, as well as the engineering sciences, so that a better understanding of our earth and environment is obtained and to develop better solutions for the critical problems that we face now and in the future. Using principles of biology, chemistry, physics, geology, mathematics and engineering, Ph.D. program graduates work to: 
- improve and protect air, water and soil quality, 
- ensure public safety and health, 
- evaluate and design products and processes for a more sustainable future, 
- develop sustainable approaches to energy and resource management, and 
- better understand the natural processes and human influences that shape our planet.

The basic services that make modern life possible are often taken for granted. But when electricity, water or the internet become unavailable, vulnerabilities in infrastructure become clear quickly. Recovery can take weeks, and the poor are disproportionately affected. 
The focus of the graduate research program in Resilient Infrastructure Systems is identifying and mitigating the vulnerabilities of complex, critical, and interdependent infrastructure systems, and preparing professionals who can assess technological and societal risks; communicate those risks to decision makers; and devise strategies that improve community resilience.

The Master of Resilient Urban Design degree (MRUD) is a post-professional degree for graduates and professionals with prior design skills in architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, or other disciplines focused on natural resources or the urban condition. The MRUD prepares individuals to engage complex cultural, market, and government policy forces through sustainable and resilient urban form. Inclusive of sustainability and cities’ abilities to help sustain diverse environments, cultures, and economies locally and globally, resiliency also implies the ability of a community to anticipate and recover from challenges. As such the MRUD program seeks to envision not only humane, equitable, and ennobling places now, but to ask “what if” questions about the city and urban system as a whole.

The certificate in Architecture + CommunityBUILD, offered by the School of Architecture, is open to enrolled M Arch and MS in Architecture students. The certificate addresses issues of social justice and community sustainability through community engagement and appropriate design solutions. 

Medical device “reprocessing” involves the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of medical devices and healthcare products after each use. Reprocessing is recognized as one of the top 10 regulatory science priorities by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is an essential practice in healthcare delivery. 
The GreenMD Medical Device Design, Recycling and Reprocessing Certificate is an internship immersion program that prepares students for careers in the fast-growing global medical device industry. It provides an educational program that aims to train engineers to optimize medical device designs for sustainability in healthcare, to gain skills in reprocessing validation methods for industry while maintaining regulatory compliance, and to develop medical device commercialization strategies.

Clemson University’s Master in Public Administration (MPA) program offers three professional, non-degree certificates. The Public Administration (PADM) Certificate is a synchronous online program that allows students to learn and network with colleagues and faculty from a diverse set of  public and non-profit sectors. The certificate is 15 credit hours and allows students to choose from a mix of core public administration and specialization courses. Specialization courses in Local/State Government, Regional Sustainability, Emergency Management, Homeland Defense and Security and Non-Profit Management permits students to choose courses in an area of defined interest. All of the credits earned during the certificate program are fully transferable to the full MPA degree program.