Joint Graduate Certificate · Concept for discussion

Graduate Certificate in Global Engineering

Offered jointly by the Mortenson Center, CU Boulder, and UNU-INWEH

DELIVERABLES C2, C3 AND C5 OF THE OPERATIONAL PLAN · SEPTEMBER 2026 · SUBJECT TO UNU APPROVAL AND CU BOULDER ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE

1 Concept

The joint CU–UNU Graduate Certificate in Global Engineering combines the Mortenson Center's graduate courses with UNU-INWEH's Online Learning Centre. It is open to the Mortenson Center's online and on-campus Graduate Certificate students and to current CU Boulder MS students, who earn the joint certificate alongside their existing program. Students earn 9 graduate credits in Mortenson Center courses, including a required practicum co-advised by UNU-INWEH, and complete at least three UNU-INWEH online courses. The CU Boulder credits are the academic credit; the UNU-INWEH courses are a completion requirement for the joint certificate and are verified by UNU-INWEH's certificates of completion.

The 9 credits are the amount that counts toward the Mortenson Center's Professional Master's degrees, so the joint certificate is also the first step toward a joint degree (section 6).

2 Requirements

Requirement	Amount	How it is met
Practicum	3 credits	CVEN 5939, online or in the field, with a CU Boulder primary advisor and a UNU-INWEH co-advisor (required)
Other Mortenson Center courses	6 credits	From the courses in section 3: online courses for online students, and online or in-person courses for on-campus students
Grades	B- or higher	In each CU Boulder course or module
UNU-INWEH online courses	3 courses minimum	Any three courses from the list in section 4, each completed with a UNU-INWEH certificate of completion

3 Mortenson Center courses

Online courses, which count for every student. Modules run for five weeks and carry 1 credit.

Code	Course	Credits
CVEN 5919	Global Development for Engineers	3
CVEN 5939	Global Engineering and Hazard Resilience Practicum	3
CVEN 5109	Introduction to Environmental & Development Economics for Engineers	1
CVEN 5119	Introduction to Global Health for Engineers	1
CVEN 5129	Program & Project Management	1
CVEN 5989	Study Design & Impact Evaluation	1
CVEN 5999	Data Analytics for Development	1
EVEN 5979	Introduction to Humanitarian Aid	1
CVEN 5837	Energy Access for Global Engineers	1

Offerings and terms vary by year; the Mortenson Center course pages list the current schedule. On-campus students may also count the in-person courses approved for the CU Boulder certificate: CVEN 5149 Applied Global Health for Engineers; CVEN 5139 Solution Identification & Proposal Development; CVEN 5979 Community Appraisal; EVEN 5989 Disaster Risk Reduction; Special topics Refugees & Displacement; CVEN 5969 Water Security, Sanitation and Hygiene; MCEN 5228 Design Research Theory and Methods; CVEN 5909 Hazards, Resilience & Sustainability for the Natural & Built Environment; MCEN 5299 Special Topics: Household Energy Systems in the Global South; ENVS 5100 Special Topics: AI for Good.

Practicum

Every joint certificate student takes the practicum (CVEN 5939), online or in the field, and it has two advisors. A CU Boulder primary advisor supervises the practicum, and the credits are earned at CU Boulder. A UNU-INWEH co-advisor helps scope the work and shares in grading it.

4 UNU-INWEH online courses

Free, self-paced courses on the UNU-INWEH Online Learning Centre, each ending in a UNU-INWEH certificate of completion. Students complete at least three. The list covers water security, water and health, SDG 6 policy, and the Earth-observation and data skills behind deliverables A1 and A2.

Code	UNU-INWEH course	Hours	Enrollment open until
INWEH-01	Global Water Security	100	Apr 2029
INWEH-26	Water and Health: Targeting Linkages and Gaps for Impact	5	Dec 2028
INWEH-11	Integrated Water Resource Management	20	Dec 2027
INWEH-03	SDG 6 Policy Support System	3	Dec 2026
INWEH-02	Big Data Analysis for Water-related Applications	18	Dec 2027
INWEH-16	Active and Passive Satellite Data Analysis Using Cloud Computing for Surface Water/Flood Mapping	14	Dec 2027
INWEH-19	Spatial Data Management with Google Earth Engine	30	Jan 2028

Hours and enrollment dates are as listed on each course page at lc.unu.edu (September 2026). Courses that close before or during the first cohort need renewing by UNU-INWEH. The in-situ sensing course planned under deliverable C1 would be added to the list once it launches. Not selected: INWEH-04 Flood Early Warning Systems (invitation only, closed in 2021), courses with no certificate of completion (INWEH-06, INWEH-08, INWEH-15, the WISE Scales course), courses outside the certificate's focus (INWEH-05, 07, 10, 17, 20, 27 and the UNOOSA Earth-observation course), and non-English versions of listed courses.

5 Who it is for

Online Graduate Certificate students: working professionals with a bachelor's degree, anywhere, who complete every requirement online.
On-campus Graduate Certificate students at CU Boulder, who take the certificate alongside their degree.
Current CU Boulder MS students, including the Mortenson Center's Professional Master's students, who add the UNU-INWEH requirements to earn the joint certificate.
Professionals from ministries, regulators and utilities, who take individual modules without enrolling in the full certificate (deliverable C2).

6 Pathway toward a joint degree

All 9 credits of the joint certificate count toward the Mortenson Center's Professional Master's degrees. The joint certificate can therefore lead to a joint degree at a later stage, and the concept note (deliverable C5) sets out that pathway.

7 Marketing, recruitment and joint branding

Joint branding

Name: CU–UNU Graduate Certificate in Global Engineering, used in the same form by both institutes.
Credential: CU Boulder records the certificate on the student's transcript. UNU-INWEH recognizes completion of its requirements in a form to be agreed, such as a co-signed certificate.
Names and logos: each institute uses the other's name and logo on certificate materials only with written permission (MOU clause 5). A shared lockup and a one-page brand note for web, print and social media would be agreed once.
Web presence: a program page on the Mortenson Center site and a matching page on UNU-INWEH's site and Online Learning Centre, linking to each other and to the CU application.

Recruitment channels

Audience	Mortenson Center	UNU-INWEH
Current CU students	Certificate and Professional MS advising; information sessions each semester	Guest seminar by a UNU-INWEH researcher
New online students	Online certificate page, admissions inquiries, alumni and the 80+ practicum partner programs	Online Learning Centre learners, especially those who already hold certificates of completion from the listed courses
International and UN-system audiences	Implementing partners and field programs	UNU Hubs, UN-Water network, member-state contacts, newsletters and events
Professionals taking single modules (C2)	Module listings and partner organizations	Ministries, regulators and utilities in UNU-INWEH's capacity-building work

Launch and intake

Announcement: alongside the public announcement of the MOU, with UNU-INWEH's 30th anniversary as one proposed venue.
Spring 2027: joint program pages live, a joint webinar, and outreach through both institutes' channels.
Fall 2027: first intake, through the existing CU Boulder certificate application.

To agree

Whether prior UNU-INWEH certificates of completion count toward the three-course requirement.
Any fee reductions or scholarships for applicants from UNU-INWEH's network.
Who approves joint materials before release, and how enrollment is reported to both institutes.

8 Timeline

Q4 2026: Concept note, including the list of UNU-INWEH courses in section 4.
Spring 2027: UNU and CU Boulder approvals; joint program pages and outreach (section 7).
Fall 2027: Joint certificate and individual modules open.

9 Approvals needed

CU Boulder: approval of the joint certificate as a 9-credit credential with a UNU-INWEH completion requirement, open to online and on-campus certificate students and to current MS students.
UNU-INWEH: agreement to the course list, renewal of courses that close before or during the first cohort, co-advisors for practicum students, and how UNU-INWEH recognizes completion of the joint certificate.
Both: a written arrangement for the joint offering under clause 2.2 of the MOU, with any fees or staff time agreed in writing (clause 2.4).