Certificate in Engineering, Ethics & Society

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The Certificate Program in Engineering, Ethics & Society welcomes students from across the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

The certificate prepares students to: 

  • Develop an ethical awareness that helps them to think clearly and critically about the place of science and technology in diverse global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
  • Foster an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments
  • Contextualize their own experiences and communicate with others across diverse backgrounds, traditions, and cultures

Certificate Requirements

Students must complete 12 credits of coursework (four courses), with a minimum grade of C+ in each course. 

ENES certificate coursework is composed of two types of courses, “Inquiry” and “Context.” 

  • Inquiry courses ask students to engage confidently with questions that lack absolute and unequivocal answers, and appreciate that the process of asking and answering such questions should be thorough and rigorous.
  • Context courses help students to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental and societal contexts. 

To complete the certificate, students should select their four required courses using these categories. The exact combination can vary (for example, a student might take two courses in both “inquiry“ and “context”, or three “context” courses and one “inquiry” course, or another combination).

Students should select Inquiry courses from the list below. Students may also petition the directors of the certificate for other courses, including transfer credits, to count as Inquiry courses.

  • ENES 1010: Humanity in a Technological Age
  • ENES 2000/2843: AI, Writing, and Inquiry
  • ENES 3100: Ethical Awareness for Engineers

Students should select Context courses from the list below. Students may also petition the directors of the certificate for other courses, including transfer credits, to count as Context courses. 

  • ENES 1850: Engineering in History: The Social Impact of Technology
  • ENES 2020: The Meaning of Information Technology
  • ENES 2130: History of Modern Technology from 1750 to the Atomic Bomb
  • ENES 2360/3360: Gaining a Global State of Mind for Effective Engineering Practice
  • ENES 2160/3160: Energy, Society, and the Climate Question
  • ENES 3430: Ethics of Genetic Engineering
  • ENES 3843: Special Topics
  • ENLP 2000: Leadership, Fame and Failure
  • ENLP 4000: The Empire of Modern Science

Students are also encouraged to pursue courses outside of ENES to fulfill either the “Context” or “Inquiry” requirement with approval from the certificate directors. The list below is not exhaustive, but is intended to give students a place to start: 

  • ASEN 3046: Introduction to Humans and Aviation
  • ENVS 3140: Environmental Ethics
  • EVEN 2400: Introduction to Global Engineering
  • INFO 3101: History of Computing and Information
  • PHIL 2160: Ethics and Information Technology

Directors

More Information

All CEAS students in good standing at CU Boulder may apply to earn a Certificate in Engineering, Ethics & Society. After an initial advising meeting with one of the Certificate Directors, students must inform the directors that they intend to complete the certificate by submitting the EES Certificate Enrollment Form. Once a student has completed the requirements for the certificate, they should fill out the Certificate Completion Form and submit it to the directors. (Note: this form can be sent any time after the student completes the certificate requirements and grades for all courses counting towards it are in. Deadlines are on the Registrar's certificates page.) Once the Certificate Directors have approved the Completion Form, the Registrar's Office will add the certificate to the student's official record.

Certificate students are socially engaged and are involved in a variety of organizations throughout the college that seek to provide ethical grounding and moral focus to questions raised by technological development and engineering innovation. EES students:

Fellowship

Interested in a $500 scholarship?

Herbst Fellows embody the program’s commitment to ethical practice and engaged scholarship and receive a $500 scholarship. During their fellowship year, Herbst Fellows interrogate the ethical issues most important to them by producing a profile of their work to be published in the spring edition of the Colorado Engineer Magazine.

2025-26 Herbst Fellows

  • Chiara Pesce, "Eastern and Indigenous Perspectives on Climate Change: A Contrast with Western Philosophy”
  • Kate Mulholland, "Preventing an Orbital Tragedy of the Commons: The Need for Sustainable Space Governance”
  • Daniel Alemayehu, "How technology has shaped human identity and how we can shape the identity of technology through humanity”
  • Jacob Petro, "Engineering Happiness: The Role of Mental Health in Engineering Student Success and Humanity”
  • Sheamus Murphy, "The Ethical Engineering Depiction in Mixed Media”
  • Matthew Hanly, "Historical and Policy Perspectives on Engineering Ethics in Defense Systems”
  • Lena Rosario, "Interpretations of Sustainability”