EEM Establishes Two New Graduate Certificates with the GW School of Business


January 13, 2022

Liesl Riddle GWSB

Graduate students in the GW School of Business (GWSB) became able to pursue two new graduate certificates in the Fall 2021 semester as part of a new partnership with the Environmental and Energy Management concentration, preparing students for emerging careers that combine the need for management and business skills with E&EM knowledge.

Business School students are now able to earn graduate certificates in Energy Systems Management and Environmental Systems Management as they fulfill requirements for their GWSB programs. Each certificate requires students to complete 12 credit hours of coursework in SEAS, nine hours of required courses and a relevant elective.

Over the past several years, GWSB leaders have been hearing from alumni and business leaders how critical environmental and energy management skills have become to tackling the toughest challenges in industry. Establishing new programs to fulfill these needs—and partnering with EEM, which already has the expertise in house to do it—emerged as a natural path forward.

The new cross-school collaboration is the result collaboration between Prof. Liesl Riddle, GWSB Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, and EEM Lead Professor Jonathan Deason, who jointly identified relevant coursework and worked with EMSE and SEAS staff and faculty to eliminate administrative barriers to develop these new programs.

This new partnership comes at a time SEAS is thinking about the role of engineering at GW, and in society more generally, SEAS Dean John Lach said. It helps to operationalize the School’s desire to develop a differentiated value proposition for students to have the kind of opportunities and experiences they might not be able to get at another institution.

While some GW business students previously took SEAS courses, the new certificates have created an easier pathway for students to pursue these subjects. Details about the new graduate certificates can be seen at https://business.gwu.edu/graduate-certificate-environmental-systems-management.