Curriculum

The 100% online CEED program consists of:

one week, self-paced How to Study Online course,
one week, Online Orientation held on Zoom with required sessions held daily midday,
three week, self-paced Foundations course in Energy, Finance, and Environmental and Climate Justice, and
13 weeks of core courses in Energy Justice (5 weeks) and Clean Energy Development (8 weeks) with required live sessions on Thursdays, 12 - 1 p.m. ET. A new module, or week's worth of content is released each Monday.
two 1-week breaks between the core courses

All course material is made accessible to enrolled learners on Canvas through the Yale G.L.A.S.S. portal.

Download the Updated Course Themes and Objectives here.

Note: We regularly update the program curriculum, so there may be some adjustments to the ordering of the modules and content.

How to Study Online

The program will kick off with a short module titled How to Study Online. This asynchronous and self-paced course will give participants access to all the program platforms and provide advice for succeeding in the program. It takes approximately three hours to complete and can be done completely asynchronously.

Online Orientation

The cohort will convene online for the first time during Orientation week. Participants will meet their peers and learn the basics of successfully collaborating online with the teaching team. There will also be time for participants to ask any remaining questions before we get started!

Orientation will be delivered via Zoom for approximately 5 hours over the course of a week. Required sessions run daily, midday Eastern Time. Because Orientation activities include the use of breakout rooms and social activities, the sessions will not be recorded, and participation is required.

Foundations (3 weeks)

All the Foundations course materials are made available at the start of the course, and take approximately 15 hours to complete in total. While you will be able to interact with fellow participants, Foundations courses are designed for you to go through it on your own, without feedback or input from your instructors.

Module 1 - Energy Foundations: A great warm up to what comes next, this module goes over the basic concepts of energy. A required module for all participants unless you opt out based on the results of a very short placement test when the course opens. Participants who opt out are still encouraged to take the course.

Module II - Environmental and Climate Justice Foundations: Helps build a common vocabulary in justice, environment, and energy while examining the fundamentals of race, power, intersectionality, indigeneity, decolonization, structural inequity, and the origins of social, environmental, and climate justice movements. Required for all.

Module III - Introduction to Project Finance: Bring you up to speed on the basics of finance and renewable energy project finance. Required for all.

Energy Justice (5 weeks)

Examine problems within the energy sector, diving into scale, intersections, and governance of the problems.
Examine restorative and voice-centering approaches to justice and how we can advance a just and equitable clean energy transition.
Dive into case studies on: renewable energy development, transportation, public health, historical inequities of indigenous land dispossession, and global justice issues.

Energy Justice is the first of two core courses in the program, lasting 5 weeks. Each week, on Monday midday, new content will be made available to participants, with most assignments due by the following Monday. The asynchronous materials includes short lecture videos, quizzes, readings, discussion questions, and other assignments. In some cases, optional content and/or extra credit opportunities will be provided. The major assignment for this course includes developing an energy justice case study on the topic of your choice.

On Thursdays, from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET, participants are required to join a live session on Zoom to engage in a synchronous lecture, panel discussion, or other group activity. Optional office hours with the teaching team will also be offered at various times in the week.

Clean Energy Development (8 weeks)

Clean Energy Development is the final core course of the program, lasting 8 weeks. Each week, on Monday midday, new content will be made available to participants, with most assignments due by the following Monday. The asynchronous materials includes short lecture videos, quizzes, readings, discussion questions, and other assignments. In some cases, optional content and/or extra credit opportunities will be provided.

Dive into everything you need to consider to bring a clean energy project from conception through to development:

Introduction and Identifying / Creating Markets,
Site Selection, Land Control, and Scale,
Principles for a clean, affordable, just, and equitable energy project,
Interconnection,
Community Engagement - Consultation & Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC),
Permitting, and policy & legal requirements and opportunities,
Origination and Marketing,
Financing and Investment,
Construction and Operations & Maintenance.

Clean Energy Development includes a final project, completed in groups, over the duration of the course. Groups design a pitch for a project idea, including details on the technology, siting, financing, interconnection, offtake, community engagement, and justice-centered approaches. Projects are presented in the last live session.