State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

education30

  • Challenges Inherent in Teaching Geosciences

    Several inherent attributes of ocean, atmosphere and solid earth sciences contribute to making these disciplines challenging to teach and learn at the K-14 level. These include the large spatial scale of important processes, the consequent reliance on models and representations rather than actual target phenomena in hands-on activities, the centrality of systems thinking and emergent…

  • Creating a Workforce to Achieve a Low-Carbon Economy

    Thanks to a recent gift of $250,000 from a generous Columbia University alumnus, the Earth Institute will be establishing an innovative master’s level program in carbon management. The program will provide interested students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills needed to address the complex and competing challenges of achieving a low-carbon economy.

  • Take MDP Courses in the USA, Practice in Nigeria, Graduate in Costa Rica

    As a student, imagine taking courses from experts at the Earth Institute and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, living in Nigeria for two months while helping villages problem-solve the complex challenges of sustainable development, and graduating from your home institution in Costa Rica. Picture meeting at a university campus every…

  • Global Linkages, Global Literacy: MCI Celebrates World Read Aloud Day through School-to-School Partnerships

    What happens when students around the world are connected via modern technologies to share their experiences and perspectives? The Millennium Cities Initiative is determined to find out through its exciting School-to-School partnership program, which brings together schools from the United States with schools in the Millennium Cities – underserved urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa. While…

  • Supporting Students from Developing Countries with Scholarships and Internships

    A recent anonymous gift of $200,000 to the Earth Institute will provide financial support for students from developing countries. The gift will fund two scholarships for students either in our MA in Climate and Society or MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, and will also provide funding for summer internships.

  • Take MDP Courses in the USA, Practice in Nigeria, Graduate in Costa Rica.

    As a student, imagine taking courses from experts at the Earth Institute and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, living in Nigeria for two months while helping villages problem-solve the complex challenges of sustainable development, and graduating from your home institution in Costa Rica. Picture meeting at a university campus every…

  • This Year’s Sachs Student Lecture

    On Tuesday, November 17, Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, will give his sixth annual student lecture from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Alfred Lerner Hall on the Columbia campus. The title of this year’s talk is “Choices for America’s Economic Future.” The topics of Sachs’ lectures have varied over the years, but…

  • Master of Science in Sustainability Management

    Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the School of Continuing Education are pleased to announce a new Master of Science program which, pending approval by the University Senate, will admit its first class beginning in fall 2010.

  • A Revolutionary Degree to Train Better Development Professionals

    Typically, development professionals do not have the background in the natural and health sciences they need to properly understand the complex forces affecting issues such as hunger and extreme poverty. The innovative M.P.A. in Development Practice, which started this fall, is meant to help change that. This degree is the first of a network of…

Columbia Climate School Giving Day on October 28, 2026, featuring students and renewable energy imagery

October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.

  • Challenges Inherent in Teaching Geosciences

    Several inherent attributes of ocean, atmosphere and solid earth sciences contribute to making these disciplines challenging to teach and learn at the K-14 level. These include the large spatial scale of important processes, the consequent reliance on models and representations rather than actual target phenomena in hands-on activities, the centrality of systems thinking and emergent…

  • Creating a Workforce to Achieve a Low-Carbon Economy

    Thanks to a recent gift of $250,000 from a generous Columbia University alumnus, the Earth Institute will be establishing an innovative master’s level program in carbon management. The program will provide interested students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills needed to address the complex and competing challenges of achieving a low-carbon economy.

  • Take MDP Courses in the USA, Practice in Nigeria, Graduate in Costa Rica

    As a student, imagine taking courses from experts at the Earth Institute and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, living in Nigeria for two months while helping villages problem-solve the complex challenges of sustainable development, and graduating from your home institution in Costa Rica. Picture meeting at a university campus every…

  • Global Linkages, Global Literacy: MCI Celebrates World Read Aloud Day through School-to-School Partnerships

    What happens when students around the world are connected via modern technologies to share their experiences and perspectives? The Millennium Cities Initiative is determined to find out through its exciting School-to-School partnership program, which brings together schools from the United States with schools in the Millennium Cities – underserved urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa. While…

  • Supporting Students from Developing Countries with Scholarships and Internships

    A recent anonymous gift of $200,000 to the Earth Institute will provide financial support for students from developing countries. The gift will fund two scholarships for students either in our MA in Climate and Society or MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, and will also provide funding for summer internships.

  • Take MDP Courses in the USA, Practice in Nigeria, Graduate in Costa Rica.

    As a student, imagine taking courses from experts at the Earth Institute and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, living in Nigeria for two months while helping villages problem-solve the complex challenges of sustainable development, and graduating from your home institution in Costa Rica. Picture meeting at a university campus every…

  • This Year’s Sachs Student Lecture

    On Tuesday, November 17, Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, will give his sixth annual student lecture from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Alfred Lerner Hall on the Columbia campus. The title of this year’s talk is “Choices for America’s Economic Future.” The topics of Sachs’ lectures have varied over the years, but…

  • Master of Science in Sustainability Management

    Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the School of Continuing Education are pleased to announce a new Master of Science program which, pending approval by the University Senate, will admit its first class beginning in fall 2010.

  • A Revolutionary Degree to Train Better Development Professionals

    Typically, development professionals do not have the background in the natural and health sciences they need to properly understand the complex forces affecting issues such as hunger and extreme poverty. The innovative M.P.A. in Development Practice, which started this fall, is meant to help change that. This degree is the first of a network of…