Program Overview

Introduction to the Minerals, Materials and Society Graduate Certificate

The Minerals, Materials and Society (MMS) graduate certificate is a unique program in the United States, offering a for-credit graduate program aimed at industry, government, and civil society professionals working across mineral and extractive supply chains. This interdisciplinary program approaches the topic from an industrial ecology perspective, focusing on key skills needed to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of the sector.

Program Overview

The MMS graduate certificate program is designed with online offerings, as well as on-campus and field course offerings. The program is geared towards mid-career professionals and is evaluated on the basis of the applicant's undergraduate record, TOEFL scores (if applicable), and two letters of recommendation.

Admission Requirements

Admissions will be accepted on a rolling basis. Existing University of Delaware students need to fill out a simple one-page form, depending on their enrollment status. External students must submit the following:

• A completed graduate school application form plus application fee
• Transcripts of all college work
• Two letters of recommendation from persons qualified to judge the applicant's potential for work in this field
• Graduate Application Essay (no minimum word count)

Certificate Course Requirements

The program requires 15 credits in total. Students must take two required courses:

• GEOG 655 Certification Systems for Sustainable Development (1 credit)
• GEOG 669 Minerals and Ecological Economics (2 credits)

Experiential Laboratories

Students must choose one of the following Experiential Laboratories:

• GEOL 613 Analytics of Minerals for Risk Management (2 credits)
• GEOG 665 Ecological and Social Restoration of Mineral Landscapes (2-3 credits)

Electives

Students must choose four to seven electives, depending on the number of credits, to give a total of 15 credits. Electives can be chosen from the following categories:

• UD On-campus/Remote Learning Electives
• UQ Online Courses

UD On-campus/Remote Learning Electives

• ANTH 630 Anthropology of Development: Extractive Industry (1 credit)
• ANTH 633 Anthropology of Mining in Africa (1 credit)
• ARTH 667 SEMINAR: Art and Materiality in the Age of European Expansion (1 to 12 credits)
• ENEP 624 Water Resource Management (1 credit)
• ENEP 667 Seminar (1 credit) Environmental Governance
• GEOG 663 Environmental Impact of Deep-sea Mining (2 credits)
• GEOL 612 Geology of Strategic Mineral Deposits (1 credit)
• GEOL 802 Topics in Geophysics (1 to 3 credits)
• MAST 647 Current Topics in Chemical Methods in Oceanography (1 to 3 credits)
• MAST 853 Oceanography Seminar (1 to 12 credits)
• CIEG 631 Industrial Ecology Methods (1 credit)
• MSEG 567 Materials for the Electronics Sector: Supply, Innovation and Impacts

Additional Information

The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the minerals and materials sector, with a focus on sustainability and environmental impact. The program is geared towards mid-career professionals and is evaluated on the basis of the applicant's undergraduate record, TOEFL scores (if applicable), and two letters of recommendation.