University of Victoria
EN-12: Continuing Education

UVic offers five sustainability-focused certificate, diploma, and micro-credential programs through the Continuing Studies department:

Ecological Restoration: This program offers specialized training in high-level ecosystem functioning and is designed for practitioners working in restoration and related environmental fields that see problems with current practices and want to investigate alternative and innovative solutions. Students develop critical thinking skills and deal with uncertainty that is present with problems in ecological restoration.

Restoration of Natural Systems – Diploma: This dynamic, interdisciplinary credit diploma program provides comprehensive knowledge and skills to those interested in the rapidly emerging field of ecological restoration. Students learn about the most current restoration practices from experienced and knowledgeable instructors, surrounded by peers who share their passion for the natural world.

Restoration of Natural Systems – Certificate: This dynamic, interdisciplinary non-credit certificate program provides comprehensive knowledge and skills to those interested in the field of ecological restoration. Students learn current restoration practices from experienced and knowledgeable instructors. Similar to the RNS Diploma, this certificate program emphasises a holistic approach, providing training that combines the research and theory of the biophysical sciences with skills for effective collaboration with communities in restoration work.

Transformative Climate Action - Certificate: This is a flexible, interdisciplinary credit program that allows you to tailor your electives to your specific climate action goals. You will learn to engage with the social and political challenges of mitigating and adapting to the disrupting effects of climate change. Develop new ways to build collaborative solutions that support decolonization, integrate diverse communities, enhance social resilience and overcome polarization.

Climate Action Planning - Micro-credential: The Climate Action Planning micro-credential (CAP) is a great opportunity to learn the foundations of planning for climate action. You will develop the skills needed for you as a professional to put into action at all government levels.

The methodology for this analysis involved a comprehensive review of data related to the 2022/23 academic year, encompassing the 2022F (fall), 2023S (winter), and 2023K (summer) terms. The primary data source for this study was a report detailing course sections, where each instance of course delivery to different groups on different days was considered as a separate course section, even if the course content remained the same. An initial consideration was given to the possibility of counting courses only, rather than course sections, with an aim to potentially eliminate duplicate sections from the dataset. However, this decision was contingent upon further input and feedback.

The report provided course descriptions as advertised in their original form without specific rewrites related to sustainability. This was done with the assumption that the existing descriptions contained sufficient information to discern their relevance to sustainability topics. To enhance the analysis, each course description was reviewed, and those deemed relevant to sustainability were identified. Additionally, an extra column was added to the dataset to categorize the general sustainability goals associated with these identified courses. This categorization was based on an assessment of the course content and its alignment with sustainability principles.