Those who are curious and passionate about climate change and its threats to society, and are interested in discovering sustainable solutions to climate threats.

The Graduate Certificate in Climate Change and Sustainability has one intake per year (August).

Applicants seeking admission must have obtained either:

• A bachelor’s degree in the subject or related fields; or
• Candidates with other qualifications and experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by the Graduate Studies Division, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
• Applicants who do not have a degree from an English-speaking university must present evidence that they have attained the basic level of English language proficiency either a TOEFL score of 100 (for the internet-based test) or IELTS score of 7.0. Exceptions may be allowed on an individual basis.

Full-time students can study full-time over one semester, or part-time over two semesters, which start in Semester 1 (August–December), and continues in Semester 2 (January–June).

Under normal circumstances, the period of candidature is 6 months of full-time study or 12 months of part-time study from the date of commencement of the course. The maximum period of candidature for the Graduate Certificate Programme is me is 24 months of full-time study or 36 months of part-time study from the date of commencement of the course, inclusive of approved leave of absence and medical leave. Leave of absence of up to one year will not be counted towards a candidate’s maximum candidature. Subsequent leave will be considered as part of the candidature.

The curriculum of the Graduate Certificate in Climate Change and Sustainability programme consists of two core compulsory courses, and two elective courses. Core courses will be offered every academic year. Elective courses may not necessarily be offered in the same academic year. All courses are worth 4 Units.

CCS Timetable
CCS Course Description

Core Courses
CCS5101: Climate Change the Science and the Policy
CCS5102: Sustainability and Climate Change

Elective Courses
CCS5201: Introduction to Climate Modelling
CCS5202: Climate Risk, Adaptation Pathways and Resilient Worlds
CCS5203: Resilience of Socio-Ecological Systems
CCS5204: Water, Food and Energy Insecurities
CCS5205: Sustainable Finance
CCS5206: How to Live Well on a Damaged Planet
CCS5207: Coastal Vulnerability, Risk and Adaptation
CCS5103: Political Economy of Climate Change & Sustainable Development

The assessment for each course will be based on a combination of examination and continuous assessment, specified in each course. A candidate who fails a core course, defined as receiving a F for the course, must retake the same core course during the period of candidature. A candidate is allowed to retake the same core course once. Failure to pass the core course after the second attempt will result in termination of the candidature. A candidate who fails an elective course may be permitted to either retake the same elective course once, or replace the failed course by taking another elective course in a subsequent academic year. Failure to pass the elective course after the second attempt will result in termination of the candidature.

Students who wish to take additional courses or retake a course will be charged based on the workload of a course. The fee will be pro-rated for each course based on the Unit requirement for the programme and the prevailing programme fee for the respective cohort of students. As the full workload requirement for the programme is 40 Units, each 4-Unit course will work out to 10% of the programme fee. With this revision, a student who reads an additional or repeated course in Geography with 4, 8, and 12 Units will be charged 10%, 20%, and 30% of the programme fee, respectively.

A candidate may withdraw from an elective course within the first two weeks of a semester. A candidate who does not withdraw from a course within the said timeframe must be examined in that course unless granted leave of absence by the Head of Department or his/her nominee. The Head, or his/her nominee, will consider each application according to the circumstances of the case.

A candidate who is not granted leave of absence but who withdraws from any course of an examination after a given deadline will be deemed to have sat and failed in that course of the examination. No extension of the maximum period of candidature will be permitted as a result of such failure.

Students are required to complete 16 Units before graduation, including two core courses (sub-total = 8 Units), two elective courses (sub-total = 8 Units).

The cost of each course of this programme for AY2025/2026 will be S$5,610 (including GST).
The entire cost of the Graduate Certificate (four courses in total) will be S$22,460 (including GST).

In addition, candidates are also required to pay other miscellaneous student fees decided by the University.