The TCD Certificate is offered to students enrolled in UF’s Master’s or PhD programs, spanning more than 25 affiliated academic units.
The certificate is designed to complement the knowledge and skill sets that students develop in their home units, “adding value” to their graduate education. TCD certificate students are expected to attain the following professional competencies upon graduation:
- Holistic contextual understanding of integrated social, cultural and ecological systems, with the ability to discuss key concepts or problems from different perspectives.
- Ability to evaluate critically the scientific and other evidence resulting from work in biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource use, and human well-being in the tropics and elsewhere.
- Collaboration and communication skills and strategies critically needed to work with diverse actors and build partnerships, including the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams and effectively communicate in diverse ways with diverse audiences.
To achieve these competencies, the certificate curriculum includes TCD core courses, which bring together students and faculty from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and perspectives into the same classroom. These core courses are intended for students to learn across disciplines, to bridge theory and practice, and to build their capacity to understand and critically evaluate conservation and development problems from diverse perspectives. Students are considered partners in learning, and these core courses also seek to instill the practice of critical self-reflection to enhance the abilities of graduates to work effectively in a complex and constantly changing world.
Core skills courses in particular are intended to promote opportunities to develop and practice skills that are not typically part of conventional graduate research programs. To promote effective broad-based collaborations for change, TCD recognizes the need to extend skills sets beyond scientific, analytical and technical research abilities. Intended to address the complexity of actors and interests and ultimately to change the way policy-makers, managers, citizens, scientists and scholars interact with each other, TCD offers courses that develop skills in communication, leadership, facilitation, collaboration and conflict management, planning and/or organizational management skills.
The certificate also requires coursework in ecology and the social sciences/humanities. These course requirements are intended to provide in-depth exposure to fields, concepts and issues that differ from those in students’ home units. Course options are numerous and should be selected for their importance and utility in providing intellectual breadth, whether pursuing a career in academia, government, private sector or a non-governmental organization.
Please see the specific curriculum requirements for Ph.D. and Master’s students from TCD affiliate units, including MALAS (M.A. in Latin American Studies) and MDP (Masters in Sustainable Development Practice) students. If you have any questions about which courses might be best for your individual TCD course plan, please contact the TCD Interim Academic Advisor, Karen Kainer.
To apply for the TCD Certificate, please see the How to Apply, which includes the procedures to officially register for the certificate within UF’s administrative system. Please also see Graduation Procedures to make sure the certificate appears on your transcript and is mailed to you. If you have any questions about the application and graduation procedures, please see TCD Coordinator, Patricia Sampaio.