Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility
Make a Difference With the Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility
The Wisconsin School of Business Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility (BESR) is designed for UW–Madison graduate students who want to broaden their understanding of sustainable business practices. This certificate provides the real-world skills and knowledge needed to manage enterprises that integrate economic, environmental, and social decision-making in their daily operations.
Declare the BESR Certificate
- Submit an application form
- Request a certificate declaration via MyGradPortal, accessible through MyUW
Both need to be completed for the application to be processed.
Get a Competitive Edge in Your Chosen Field
With sustainability increasingly becoming a mainstream business focus, UW–Madison graduates who earn the Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility have a competitive advantage in securing positions in a variety of fields, including:
- Consulting
- Strategic Planning
- Risk Management
- Accounting and Sustainability Reporting
- Supply Chain Management & Operations
- Finance and Impact Investing
- Sustainable Real Estate Development
- Public Policy
- Nonprofit Sector
- Project Management
Upon successful completion of all BESR Certificate requirements prior to or concurrently with degree requirements, “Awarded Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility” will be listed on your official transcripts.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You must be a UW–Madison student to participate in the Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility Program.
Yes, as long as you are a graduate student at UW–Madison, you can pursue the Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility offered by the Wisconsin School of Business.
No—there are no additional tuition costs or fees.
Program Overview
As a student in the Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility Program, you will acquire career-enhancing knowledge and skills to
- Analyze how business, society, and the natural environment interrelate to drive sustainability challenges.
- Synthesize knowledge of business with knowledge of the natural and societal environment to develop and implement sustainability solutions for business and policy.
- Develop appreciation of how different professions and disciplines contribute to business sustainability.
- Prepare for business sustainability-related career pathways in industry, consulting, government, and NGOs (non-governmental organizations).
A Flexible Curriculum You Can Customize
The BESR Certificate Program curriculum includes a required foundation course and at least 3 credits in advanced business sustainability courses. To complete the minimum required 12 credits, you may choose a maximum of 6 credits of electives compatible with your career goals.
Required Foundation Class
- MHR 710 Challenges and Solutions in Business Sustainability (spring, 3 credits)
Advanced Business Sustainability Coursework—choose at least 3 credits**
**Contact BESR Certificate director at ann.terlaak@wisc.edu if listed classes conflict with required MBA classes
- GEN BUS 713 Role of Business in Society (2 credits)
- GEN BUS 714 Corporate Governance and Board Membership (3 credits)
- MHR 617 Diversity in Organizations (3 credits)
- REAL EST 651 Green – Sustainable Development (3 credits)
- RMI 650 Sustainability, Environmental, and Social Risk Management (3 credits)
Other Elective Coursework—choose at least 6 credits*
Up to 6 credits of electives can be counted toward the required 12 certificate credits.
- ACCT 700/765 Financial Accounting (3 credits)
- ACCT 710 Managerial Accounting (3 credits)
- ACCT 771 Seminar in Strategic Cost Management and Performance Measurement (3 credits)
- FIN 700Introduction to Financial Management (3 credits)
- MHR 723 Business Strategy (3 credits)
- MHR 728 Bargaining, Negotiating and Dispute Settlement for Managers (3 credits)
- MARKETING 700 Marketing Management (3 credits)
- OTM 700Operations Management (3 credits)
- OTM 732 Economics for Management (3 credits)
- RMI 700 Principles of Risk Management (3 credits)
- RMI/GEN BUS 701 Managing Legal Risks (3 credits)
- ECON/A A E/ENVIR ST/URB R PL 671 Energy Economics (3 credits)
- AAE/ECON/F&W ECOL 531 Natural Resource Economics (3 credits)
- AAE 642 Foundations of Development Economics
- AAE 643 Foundations of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (3 credits)
- AAE 671 Energy Economics (3 credits)
- AAE 760 Frontiers in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics 1 (3 credits)
- AAE 762 Frontiers in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics 2 (3 credits)
- AAE 771 Microeconomics of Resources and Energy: Theory to Practice
- AAE 772 Applied Econometrics of Resource and Energy Demand
- AAE 773 Seminar in Resource and Energy Demand Analysis
- F&W ECOL/AAE/ENVIR ST 652 Decision Methods for Natural Resource Managers (3-4 credits)
- URB R PL/A A E/ECON/ENVIR ST 671 Energy Economics (3 credits)
- URB R PL/ECON/PUB AFFR 734 Regional Economic Problem Analysis (3 credits)
- GEOG 507 Waste Geographies: Politics, People, and Infrastructures (3 credits)
- LAND ARC 563 Designing Sustainable and Resilient Regions (4 credits)
- LAND ARC 621 Designing Healthy Communities Seminar (3 credits)
- SOC/C&E SOC 541 Environmental Stewardship and Social Justice (3 credits)
- URB R PL 550 Transportation and the Built Environment (3 credits)
- URB R PL 551 Climate Action Planning: Sustainable Transportation (3 credits)
- URB R PL 841 Urban Functions, Spatial Organization and Environmental Form (2-3 credits)
- URB R PL 843 Land Use Policy and Planning (3 credits)
- URB R PL 865 Water Resources Institutions and Policies (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/F&W ECOL 515 Natural Resources Policy (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/GEOG 534 Environmental Governance: Markets, States and Nature (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/C&E SOC/SOC 540 Sociology of International Development, Environment, and Sustainability (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/SOIL SCI 575 Assessment of Environmental Impact (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/A A E/F&W ECOL 652 Decision Methods for Natural Resource Managers (3-4 credits)
- ENVIR ST/A A E/ECON/URB R PL 671 Energy Economics (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/AGROECOL/AGRONOMY 724 Agroecosystems and Global Change (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/POP HLTH 739 Climate Change, Human and Planetary Health (2 credits)
- ENVIR ST/PUB AFFR/URB R PL 809 Introduction to Energy Analysis and Policy (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/URB R PL 843 Land Use Policy and Planning (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/URB R PL 865 Water Resources Institutions and Policies (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/POLI SCI/PUB AFFR 866 Global Environmental Governance (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST/A A E/POP HLTH/PUB AFFR 881 Benefit-Cost Analysis (3 credits)
- ENVIR ST 977 Sustainable Development – An Integral Perspective (3 credits)
- CIV ENGR/G L E 421 Environmental Sustainability Engineering (3 credits)
- CIV ENGR 494 Civil and Environmental Engineering Decision Making (3 credits)
- CIV ENGR 729 Environmental Sustainability Tools (3 credits)
- EPD 660 Core Competencies of Sustainability (3 credits)
- LAW 845 Water Rights Law (2-3 credits)
- LAW 848 Introduction to Environmental Law (3 credits)
- LAW 918 Selected Problems in International Law Seminar: “Human Rights/Humanitarian Law,” or “Climate Change, Human Rights & the Environment” (2-3 credits)
- LAW 988 Selected Problems in Environmental Law Seminar: “Natural Resources Law,” or “Agricultural Law & the Environment” (2-3 credits)
- LAW 989 Environmental Law and Practice (3 credits)
- PUB AFFR Introduction to Energy Analysis and Policy (3 credits)
- PUB AFFR 866 Global Environmental Governance (3 credits)
- PUB AFFR 881 Benefit-Cost Analysis (3 credits)
- POP HLTH 789: Principles of Environmental Health: A Systems Thinking Approach (3 credits)
*Notes:
- The list of electives above will be adjusted as new courses are offered and others dropped. You may request to substitute a listed course with a related one by submitting a syllabus, as well as a written explanation of how the substitute course meets the learning outcomes of the certificate and how it will assist you in reaching your own goals for earning the certificate. The substitute course must be approved by the BESR Certificate faculty advisor in coordination with the Certificate Oversight Committee.
- For courses with access restricted to Wisconsin School of Business students, nonbusiness-school students may select equivalent open-access lower-level courses numbered 300 and above (e.g., substitute Marketing 700/765 with Marketing 300).
Recommended Extracurricular Activities
Certificate students are encouraged, but not required, to engage in extracurricular activities that enhance the certificate’s learning outcomes. These include:
- Speaker events such as the Weston Lecture Series
- Competitions such as Walmart’s Sustainable Business Plan Competition and D-Prize Competition
- Conferences such as the Nelson’s Institute Annual Earth Day conference and Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council Conference
Contact Us
Want to learn more about the Certificate in Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility? Please contact us for more information about the program, or to get answers to your specific questions.
