About this Course
Ecological Economics
Ecological Economics is the study of the allocation of available resources among alternative desirable ends within and between generations. Economics should be science based and value driven, but unfortunately much of what passes for economic theory today is faith based and ideology driven. Economic ideologues generally favor one approach to allocation, such as capitalism or socialism, for any economic problem. Ecological Economics takes a more scientific approach, assessing the desirable ends of economic activity, the nature of the available resources required to achieve those ends, existing institutions, and characteristics of human behavior before deciding how to allocate resources.
Ecological economics differs from conventional economics in the following ways:
- Ecological Economics views the human system as a subset of the sustaining and containing global ecosystem.
- Ecological Economics upholds that the global ecosystem obeys the physical laws of thermodynamics (which physicists refer to as the supreme laws of nature) as well as the laws of ecology.
- Ecological Economics recognizes that the global ecological-economic system is highly complex, non-linear and continually evolving and that simple answers or models to difficult questions rarely exist.
- Ecological Economics requires a systems approach toward economic theory and decision making in order to provide a meaningful process to address modern economic challenges and opportunities.
The Course
This course integrates theory and application, walking you through four main modules introducing you to the theory of ecological economics and guiding you through a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. Each module contains three types of assignments: those that expose you to the basic theory, those that focus specifically on your project, and those that ask you to integrate basic theory into your project. For the PBL portion, students work in groups on specific research problems chosen in consultation with the instructor, applying the ecological economics framework to solving these problems.
The balance between analysis, synthesis, and communication is stressed.
- Analysis is the breaking down of complex problems into understandable components.
- Synthesis is the re-integration of the components in a way that helps us better understand the whole.
- Communication is the translation of results into a form that can be understood by the relevant stakeholders. In this case, communication will include a publishable-quality research paper or project.
Frequently Asked Question
Are prerequisites required for the course?
No. However, you must you must have the Master’s or Ph.D. within a related field or have equivalent life experience.
When is the course next offered?
To see when Ecological Economics is next offered online, go to the Continuing Education online course page.
How much do I have to pay to take the course?
If you are planning on taking the course independently, with no faculty interaction, then the course is completely free. If you would like to take it through the University of Vermont, you must register at UVM and pay for the appropriate credits. For tuition and fees, see the Continuing Education tuition website.
How long does the course last?
If you are taking the course independently, you can go through the course at a pace that is most convenient for you. If you are taking the course through the University of Vermont, the course last approximately 16 weeks either in the fall or spring semester, or about 8 weeks in the summer session (summers have an accelerated pace of study).
